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  • Writer's pictureMichael T. Berger, MBA

History Engaged: Monte Vista


We just love UrbanLiving Inside410 and as you know, we periodically take a look at Historic Districts inside Loop410. This week we are taking a look at a fantastic historic area Inside410 of the San Antonio Office Of Historic Preservation we know and love called Monte Vista.

The San Antonio Office Of Historic Preservation describes the district as follows:


"The Monte Vista Historic District is located slightly north of downtown San Antonio and is roughly bounded by San Pedro, Hildebrand, McCullough, Shook and Ashby. The neighborhood is characterized by distinguished residential architecture from the early 20th century including Classical Revival, Tudor, Spanish Eclectic, Queen Anne, and Craftsman style houses.



During San Antonio’s "Gilded Age," from approximately 1890 to 1930, several opulent suburbs developed including Monte Vista. The variety of architectural styles within the area reflects a booming period in San Antonio’s history before the Great Depression. Leading San Antonio architects such as Alfred Giles, Harvey Young, James Riely Gordon, and Atlee B. Ayres designed palatial homes in Monte Vista for some of San Antonio’s leading citizens in the 1910s. The eight-story Bushnell Apartments on Shook Avenue provided luxury living for several decades, and many Texas cattle baron constructed estates within the neighborhood along Kings Highway. Other streets included more modest dwellings, and the resulting variety of housing stock was at least partially responsible for the resilience of Monte Vista during the latter part of the twentieth century.



Facing deterioration and developmental intrusion, neighborhood residents formed the Monte Vista Historical Association in 1973 to preserve the community. Monte Vista was designated a local historic district in 1975, and the historical association sought "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; and to educate the public, especially the youth, with the knowledge of our inherited neighborhood values which contribute to a wholesome urban environment." The Monte Vista neighborhood was designated a National Register Historic District in 1998.



As you know, we are obsessed with the lifestyle associated with Inside410. The vibe is urban and cool and each year is just getting better and better. If you are looking to make a move and need to work with the best agents in San Antonio, shoot us an email and we will ensure your best representation available for UrbanLiving or give Gina a call at 210.744.8265.

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