Today Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s garden of Miraflores turns 99 years old, marking the beginning of its one-hundredth year of existence. On this day, May 3, 1921, ninety-nine years ago, Urrutia purchased 15 acres of land at Hildebrand and Broadway on the outskirts of San Antonio. Over the next several decades the accomplished Mexican surgeon created a 5-acre landscaped garden of winding pathways, sculptural artworks, fountains and pools, architectural structures, and a variety of plants next to the San Antonio River, along the western third of the property.

Miraflores today is no longer the heavily wooded landscape it was nearly 100 years ago. Passing by the property along Hildebrand, it now looks like a flattened, open field populated with ruins. A few features still stand out—the beautiful gate with its colorful ceramic tile murals (the original work on the gate’s outside was replaced several years ago), a large tile bench in ruins, a full-size replica of the Winged Victory, Nike of Samothrace, a small cottage falling apart at the seams, and a pedestrian gate by the well-known Mexican sculptor Dionicio Rodriguez. A statue of the doctor, recently restored and turned 180 degrees from its original position, stands further back, facing a recently added bridge to Brackenridge Park.

All the gates are locked. The land is just simply too fragile for public access. Over the nearly 60 years since the 90-year old Urrutia transferred the garden out of family hands, almost every aspect of the garden’s many features have been destroyed, removed, or allowed to decay.

What was this place and why was it important?

Over the past four years, I’ve explored my great grandfather’s garden in particular detail, a process which has led me deep into my family’s history and heritage. This history is both unique—as in Urrutia’s expression at Miraflores—and shared—as in the many stories of a growing mid-twentieth century San Antonio. As it happens, I’ve come to know the garden intimately as it was, and it was more than I ever could have expected. My book, Miraflores, a Mexican Garden of Memory, is forthcoming from Trinity University Press in Fall 2021, just in time to celebrate Miraflores’ centennial. But for now, on Miraflores’ ninety-ninth birthday, I’m celebrating the completion of my manuscript and preparing to write more about La Familia Urrutia en San Antonio. ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Miraflores!

Photo by Elise Urrutia, 2016.

Posted on May 3, 2020. Updated July 2021.