Alamo Portland and Roman Cement Works (added 1976 - - #76002005)
Also known as Japanese Sunken Garden Brackenridge Park , San Antonio
NOTE: free admission; hours dawn until dusk www.japaneseteagarden.org
The Alamo Portland and Roman Cement Works - the first Portland cement factory west of the Mississippi - was a critical supplier for the many Texas public works projects of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Its story begins in 1879, when visiting Englishman, William Loyd, came upon an old San Antonio quarry. The stone reminded him of rock he’d seen in English quarries, prompting him to run samples by a young German chemist, George H. Kalteyer – then a junior partner in his father's drugstore. Kalteyer was well qualified to examine Loyd's specimens, as he had previously studied chemistry in Germany under a Dr. Frisenius of Wiesbaden during the late 1860s. At that time Friesenius was engaged in a study of natural cements for the German Government and Kalteyer served as an assistant.
Loyd's suspicions bore out: the samples proved to be blue argillaceous limestone, a natural cement rock which contained the correct proportions of lime to clay to produce true Portland cement. Sample burns of the specimens by W. R. Freeman, a local hydraulic engineer, further confirmed that the stone from the old quarry was suited for the manufacture of Portland cement, a strong, durable, and quick-hardening blend still in wide use today.
Loyd and Kalteyer, along with other investors, organized the Alamo Portland and Roman Cement Company. And on January 15, 1880, the Alamo Roman and Portland Cement Company became the first of its kind west of the Mississippi – and only eight years behind the first one of its kind in America (Copley, PA.).
The original cement works produced 10 barrels a day powered by a steam engine.
Although local acceptance of this new building material was slow to develop, the company was able to expand and, in 1897, after being reincorporated as the San Antonio Portland Cement Company, introduced an advanced manufacturing process: a rotary kiln using powdered coal as fuel. The tall stack Schoefer-type kiln was added in 1889. Also by that time the plant had agencies throughout Texas and produced two hundred barrels daily (up from this quarry’s 10). With forty employees the plant produced Portland and Roman cements, gray and hydraulic lime, and artificial stone.
All of the cement used in the erection of the new State Capitol Building at Austin was furnished by this plant. Austin’s famous Driskill Hotel also made large use of the plant’s materials.
The material at this site was exhausted and the operation of the plant discontinued in 1907 in favor of a new site later known as Cementville near Alamo Heights. That plant is still in operation, and is today one of the Southwest's largest producers of Portland cement.
Although the original frame factory buildings are gone, the ruins of the three kilns are significant objects in the history of building technology in the Southwest.
QUARRY TO PARK:
In 1899, the San Antonio Water Works Company, through its president, George W. Brackenridge, donated 199 acres to the City of San Antonio for a public park. This tract comprises the largest portion of the park that today bears Brackenridge's name. After some improvements, the park officially opened to the public in 1901 just east of this quarry.
Time moves on, and in 1915 Mrs. Emma Koehler, widow of Pearl Brewery owner Otto Koehler donated 11 acres between the quarry and the river to the City for another public park. The abandoned quarry between this tract and the Brackenridge park posed a challenge for City Parks Commissioner, Ray Lambert.
Lambert ultimately came up with the idea of a lily pond which evolved into the Japanese Tea Garden.
With plans from his park engineer and no money, Lambert was able to construct the Garden. Between July 1917 and May 1918, Lambert used prison labor to shape the quarry into a complex that included walkways, stone arch bridges, an island and a Japanese pagoda. The garden was termed the lily pond, and local residents donated bulbs to beautify the area. Exotic plants were provided by the City nursery and the City Public Service Company donated the lighting system. The pagoda was roofed with palm leaves from trees in City parks. When completed, Lambert had spent only $7,000.
In 1919, The American City magazine reported that "the city of San Antonio has recently completed a municipal lily pond and a Japanese garden which we believe are unique."
Lambert continued to improve the garden, and in 1920, at the base of the old cement kilns, a small village of houses was constructed, termed by the San Antonio Express as "another dream of the artist of the Lily Pool, Ray Lambert, Commissioner of Parks." The village was designed to be a tourist attraction for the manufacturing and sale of Mexican arts and crafts and an outdoor restaurant. It is not known how long the village operated. At the entrance to the gardens, artist Dionicio Rodriguez replicated a Japanese torii gate in his unique style of concrete construction that imitated wood.
In 1926, at the City's invitation, Kimi Eizo Jingu, a local Japanese-American artist, moved to the garden and opened the Bamboo Room, where light lunches and tea were sold. After Mr. Jingu's death in the late 1930s, his family continued to operate the tea garden until 1942, when they were evicted because of anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II. A Chinese-American family operated the facility until the early 1960s, and it was known as the Chinese Sunken Garden. In 1984, the area was rededicated as the Japanese Tea Garden in a ceremony attended by the Jingu's children and representatives of the Japanese government.
In recognition of the Tea Garden's origin as a rock quarry that played a prominent role in the development of the cement business, as well as its later redevelopment as a garden, the site is designated as a Texas Civil Engineering Landmark, a Registered Texas Historic Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Texas Historic Marker:
ALAMO PORTLAND AND ROMAN CEMENT COMPANY
Near this site in 1879, Englishman William Loyd discovered a blue argillaceous limestone believed to be a natural cement rock. Analysis by San Antonio Druggist and Chemist George H. Kalteyer confirmed the rock contained proper proportions of lime and clay to produce Portland Cement.
Loyd and Kalteyer, along with other investors, organized the Alamo Portland and Roman Cement Company, which was chartered in January 1880. This, the first Portland Cement Plant west of the Mississippi, began with one intermittent pot kiln. A second pot kiln was added in 1881, when the company name was changed to Alamo Cement Company. The tall stack Schoefer-type kiln was added in 1889. Cement from this plant was used in the construction of the State Capitol and the Driskill Hotel in Austin.
Through the vision and leadership of Portland Cement pioneers Loyd, Kalteyer, and Charles Baumberger, who succeeded to the Presidency following Kalteyer’s death in 1897, the company flourished. In 1908 the plant relocated to a site later known as Cementville near Alamo Heights. The original quarry became the Japanese Sunken Gardens in Brackenridge Park. The kiln area was designated as Baumberger Plaza in 1944.
Concrete 1944 City of San Antonio Monument:
This is the site of the first PORTLAND CEMENT PLANT west of the Mississippi River and the second plant in the United States. The company was incorporated January 15, 1880, under the name of Alamo Roman and Portland Cement Company.
Cement manufactured here was used in building the State Capitol in Austin.
The material at this site was exhausted and the operation of the plant discontinued in 1907.
Mr. Charles Baumberger Sr. became connected with this company on October 28, 1880, and was in charge of the business until its close.
Erected by the City of San Antonio 1944
Gus P. Mauermann, Mayor
Alfred Callaghan – Paul E. Steefler – Henry F Hein – R. L. Anderson
Commissioners
American Institute of Architects Twenty Five Year Award Plaque:
AIA San Antonio
A Chapter of The American Institute of Architects
TWENTY-FIVE YEAR AWARD
in recognition of outstanding architectural design and achievement for the
JAPANESE TEA GARDEN
The Japanese Tea Garden is a beloved San Antonio place. For nearly a century it has been an oasis for visitors from around the world, Described by Architectural Record as “a remarkable example of intelligent adaptation of design to existing conditions,” the garden is a registered Texas Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Japanese Tea Garden’s timeless beauty will continue to enchant visitors for Generations. November 4, 2009
FURTHER READING:
San Antonio Parks & Recreation “JAPANESE TEA GARDEN” (
visit link)
Texas Handbook Online “ALAMO CEMENT COMPANY“ (
visit link)
Alamo Roman and Portland Cement Company Historic American Buildings Survey National Park Service Department of the Interior (
visit link)
San Antonio Preservation Newslink April 2010 “Archaeological Discoveries at the Jingu House “ (
visit link)