Koehler Cultural Center - San Antonio, TX, USA
N 29° 26.936 W 098° 29.818
14R E 548782 N 3257830
A Victorian house now owned by Alamo Community College District and used by the San Antonio College Art Department. Previously owned by the Otto Koehler family for 70 years, this house sits on a full city block of property.
Waymark Code: WM9PRA
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/15/2010
Views: 6
The Koehler Cultural Center is a grand historical Victorian mansion of 12,655 sq. ft. sitting on a hill just north of downtown San Antonio in the Laurel Heights neighborhood(1,2,3). The house is also known as the Otto Koehler House because Otto Koehler built it by 1901 and lived in it with his wife Emma, and in 1908 his then 15 year old nephew named Otto A. Koehler came to live with them as family. Otto founded the City Brewery in 1883, which eventually became the Pearl Brewery. in 1952(4,6). He was CEO of the brewery and many other business ventures until he was scandalously murdered by his mistress, Hedda Bergemeister in 1914(4,5). After Otto's untimely death, his wife, Emma Koehler took the helm as CEO of Pearl and keep it going even through the Prohibition era. She eventually turned over control of the brewery and ownership of the house to nephew Otto A. Koehler in 1933(4). The house is a classic Victorian design which sits on a full city block bounded by the streets Ashby Place, Lewis Street, Courtland Place, and Belknap Place. Otto Koehler hired the experienced architect Carol von Seutter to design his house on the hill and Jacob Wagner as his contractor to get it built. Seutter recombined various styles into an eclectic design for this residence as was fashionable in the late 1890s-early 1900s. The architectural details are described as: "Friezes ornamented with sculptured garland, logic columns, and balustrades as well as Italian Palladian windows were Renaissance elements ... massive round arches at basement level as well as polygonal turrets, round bays, and the asymetrical disposition of the masses reflect the strong influence of the Richardsonian Romaneaque style ..."(1). It is a three story house and a basement, something not usually found in modern San Antonio homes (1,3). The property also has always had a large greenhouse and a large Carriage House as out houses(3). As mentioned above, Otto A. Koehler inherited this house after the death of his aunt, Emma Koehler, in 1943. Otto A. continued to live in and maintain this property until his death in 1969. Emma and Otto A. apparently had prearranged that the house would be given to what now is the Alamo Community College District upon their passing, so in 1971, the estate was passed to its third owner, and became part of San Antonio College (1). It is now being maintained by SAC and used primarily by the Art Department. the Carriage House is used by the Art Department for kilns and studios. The ACCD allows the lower floor of the house and the grounds to be used for special functions with prior permission and within strict guidelines for approval by the college president(7).
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