Conservation Society to Host Historic Preservation Month Seminar

Date: Saturday May 13, 2023 Rescheduled: Saturday, June 24, 2023

Time: 10:30 a.m. to Noon; doors open at 10 a.m.

Place: Seddon Recital Hall, Lucilla Bennack Music Center at University of Incarnate Word

4301 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas 78209

Just north of Hildebrand Avenue, and south of the UIW roundabout off Broadway

Parking: Free surface parking is available in front of the music center.

Free and open to the community.

In 2006, the City of San Antonio acquired the site of the former legendary garden of Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, Miraflores, when it wrestled the property away from private corporate ownership amid concerns of deterioration and destruction. Since that time, some restoration has been undertaken, however much more is needed.

Over the past 17 years, the property has continued to decay and remains inaccessible despite its status as public land.

In the past few years, more information has come to light, increasing public interest in the fate of the small 5-acre area. Please join us on Saturday morning, June 24, as we gather to discuss the cultural and historical significance of Miraflores and to explore motivations, challenges, and obstacles for its potential restoration as a public garden.

The Conservation Society of San Antonio’s Historic Preservation Month event will feature:

Eugen Logan Wagner, PhD, FAIA (panelist), born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, is a practicing architect in Austin, Texas, and the author, together with Hal Box and Susan Kline Morehead, of “Ancient Origins of the Mexican Plaza: From Primordial Sea to Public Space” (University of Texas Press, 2013).

Anne Elise Urrutia (panelist), author of “Miraflores: San Antonio’s Mexican Garden of Memory,” (Trinity University Press, 2022) is the great-granddaughter of Dr. Aureliano Urrutia and continues to devote significant time to researching and writing about his life and legacy.

Claudia Guerra (moderator) is the cultural historian for the City of San Antonio’s Office of Historic Preservation and editor of “300 of Years of San Antonio and Bexar County” (Trinity University Press, 2019).

A Q&A session will follow the presentation; and books by the participants will be available for sale and signing.

This event builds upon the momentum begun at the 2021 Miraflores symposium developed by Kathryn O’Rourke and Anne Elise Urrutia, sponsored by the Department of Art and Art History of Trinity University and Trinity University Press. The goal of “What’s Next for Miraflores” is to open new discussion that will inspire the next stage of active leadership and momentum for Miraflores to be restored as a place of distinct cultural heritage.

“CSSA invites local government, educational institutions, the architectural, planning, landscape, and design communities, and anyone with a passion for beautiful public spaces to join us on Saturday, June 24 to consider the serious efforts needed to advance this important project,” says CSSA President Kathy Rhoads. “Miraflores belongs to us all, so let us imagine its future together!”

Many thanks to Torrey Carleton and Ed Conroy for their efforts in putting this seminar together, to the CSSA for its sponsorship, and to the University of the Incarnate Word for hosting.

Posted April 26, 2023.

Historical photo by HL Summerville, from the Urrutia collection, all rights reserved.