For someone who grew up on the north side of San Antonio, South Presa Street on the south side meant one thing, and it wasn’t the fact that the street is a major thoroughfare in that part of town. Instead, it was the location of San Antonio State Hospital, founded in 1892 as the Southwestern Insane Asylum. When we 1970s kids mentioned the place, it was usually just called “South Presa,” as in, “You belong in South Presa!” “They’re taking you to South Presa!” Better than calling it a loony bin, I guess, but that’s what we meant.
The hospital is still there, though in a building that opened just last year, and with a South New Braunfels Avenue address. Jay and I drove by the 349-acre hospital grounds the day after we went to Corpus Christi, because one day out and about wasn’t enough for me. We did a kind a day trip to the south side on January 17, not to see the hospital, but rather a nearby site, also on South Presa: Hot Wells of Bexar County.
Which doesn’t have a permanent sign yet, though it has been a county park for five years now.
More than 100 years ago, Hot Wells was a posh place to take the waters. Sulfuric waters, in this case, via a well fed by the Edwards Aquifer.
“The first structure burned to the ground in 1894 after only one year of operation,” according to the Edwards Aquifer Web Site, whose page on the historic vicissitudes of Hot Wells is well worth reading.
“The most famous version of the spa was its replacement, a lavish Victorian-style structure built in 1900 that became a renowned, world-class vacation destination for celebrities, world leaders, and wealthy industrialists. Some of its visitors were Will Rogers, Charlie Chaplin, Teddy Roosevelt, Porfirio Diaz, Tom Mix, Douglas Fairbanks, and Cecil B. De Mille.”
Probably not all at the same time — the overlap would be a bit of a stretch — but wouldn’t that have been a guest list to beat all? Alas, time took its toll on the site (more fires, especially) and now visitors come for the stabilized ruins.
There’s a certain elegance to them, even in their ruined state.
The park is simple in execution. The ruins are fenced off, but a sidewalk goes all the way around.
Note the ghost signs: Ladies Pool, Gents Pool and High Diving Strictly Prohibited in the Pools.
Urban ruins aren’t that common, at least not in the US. Our real estate tends to be recycled with all the demolition tech we can bring to the job. But any city with any sense of history ought to have at least one ruin. Of course, San Antonio has its share of fine ruins. But one more is good. Nice work, Bexar County.