Background Research and Historic Standing Structure Survey for the New Alamo Colleges Office Complex and Veterans Outreach and Transition Center

The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by Facility Programming and Consulting at the request of the Alamo Colleges to perform background research on six tracts of land and a Historic Standing Structure Survey of three structures that are situated east of downtown San Antonio, Texas. St. Philip’s College hopes to use the properties as college offices and to renovate the Good Samaritan Hospital into the Veterans Outreach and Transition Center. The Good Samaritan Hospital opened in 1948 to serve the African American community during a period of heavy segregation. Though the building lay vacant for many years, the structure and the role it played in the community provide important insight to the history of San Antonio as a whole. Therefore, due to its historical and cultural significance to the community, CAR suggests that the structure is potentially eligible for formal listing as a State Archeological Landmark (SAL). Two additional structures that will be impacted by the proposed project are craftsman-style bungalows built sometime prior to 1952. Both structures exhibit alterations that were done after 1952. CAR contends that they do not warrant formal listing as State Archeological Landmarks. Furthermore, because there are no nearby streams that would have attracted prehistoric occupations to the area, the likelihood of encountering buried prehistoric cultural remains is minimal within the project area. Therefore, CAR recommends no pedestrian archaeological survey of the project area. The Architecture as well as the Archeology Division of the Texas Historical Commission reviewed and concurred with these recommendations.