Primarily built between 1890-1930 during San Antonio's "guilded age" of prosperity, Monte Vista contains a diverse mix of architectural styles. Some of the most common styles include Tudor, Spanish Eclectic, Queen Anne, and Craftsman.

British, New England, and Denver capital produced this residential building era, and the Laurel Heights story begins with Jay Adams, a Denver promoter. Leading architects Alfred Giles and Harvey Young provided community leaders T. H. Franklin, Mrs. E. A. Stribling, Frank C. Davis, Floyd McGown, G. Bedell Moore, Alfred S. Gage, Michael Goggan, and David St. Clair Combs homes of distinction in the neighborhood by 1910. The artists Julian and Eleanor R. Onderdonk also grew up there in a modest framed cottage that their grandfather built in 1882. Belknap Place, named for the founder of the first successful streetcar system, featured grand homes including that of Adams. Architect James Riely Gordon, who shortly thereafter designed the Romanesque Bexar County Courthouse, drew the plans for this singular four-story residence.

The neighborhood was threatened by commercial intrusion and deterioration in 1973, and the Monte Vista Historical Association was formed. More than 1,600 adult residents signed petitions that led to its designation by the San Antonio City Council as a historic district on July 17, 1975. The charter from the state set forth the association's purposes: "to encourage the preservation of the distinctive heritage of the Monte Vista area; to keep the physical identity of this late nineteenth-early twentieth century district intact; to educate the public, especially the youth, with the knowledge of our inherited neighborhood values which contribute to a wholesome urban environment."