2008 Woodie Awards
Main Plaza plan draws critique from architecture professor
By Charles Cima
Issue date: 3/3/06 Section: News
Originally published: 3/8/06 at 11:43 AM CSTLast update: 1/4/08 at 7:18 PM CST
The look of the historical center of San Antonio could change drastically and, some say, not for the better.
Detailed plans, unveiled Tuesday showed Mayor Phil Hardberger's $10 million vision for Main Plaza, closing streets surrounding it and increasing its footprint to about three acres.
Isabel Garcia, architecture professor at this college and member of the city's Historic Design and Review Commission, considers it a bad idea.
"Historically, plazas like that are the heart of a city," she said. "It's going to kill the historical heart of San Antonio."
"To block it off will kill it," she said. "For what? So we can have a place to gather when the Spurs win?"
Several options presented included closing all four streets surrounding Main Plaza or closing only two or three streets around the plaza. Under the plan, East Commerce, Dolorosa Street, Soledad and Main Avenue all are slated for closure. Alternatives are proposed to close two or three of the streets in different combinations.
"It's good to see they have some alternatives to traffic," Garcia said. "Overall, I think it works now. "What makes it work now will be fiddled with in the name of progress."
The two most familiar buildings facing Main Plaza are the Bexar County Courthouse on Dolorosa Street and San Fernando Cathedral on Main Avenue.
Father David Garcia, rector of San Fernando, has been involved in the project since 1995. "I embraced it then and I embrace it now," he said. "It's a fantastic opportunity for the city to create a great urban gathering space."
Garcia, the rector, said traffic problems arising from this project can be worked out. "I hope people will look at the overall picture and go from there," he said. "Maybe some streets stay open."
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff is supportive of the project. He did not attend the meeting and had not seen the details of the traffic plan. "You have to look at the plaza as a major economic initiative for the center of the city."
Wolff also believes a compromise can be reached to address traffic concerns, adding there would not be a major impact by leaving East Commerce open.
Former San Antonio Express-News publisher Charles O. Kilpatrick and his wife, Margie, who have lived downtown 17 years, disagreed with the format. "They didn't want anybody to speak against the project," he said. "If they continue on this way, they won't get anything done."
The chance for the public to comment has been limited in previous meetings, he said.
"We can force an election to stop it," he said.
Detailed plans, unveiled Tuesday showed Mayor Phil Hardberger's $10 million vision for Main Plaza, closing streets surrounding it and increasing its footprint to about three acres.
Isabel Garcia, architecture professor at this college and member of the city's Historic Design and Review Commission, considers it a bad idea.
"Historically, plazas like that are the heart of a city," she said. "It's going to kill the historical heart of San Antonio."
"To block it off will kill it," she said. "For what? So we can have a place to gather when the Spurs win?"
Several options presented included closing all four streets surrounding Main Plaza or closing only two or three streets around the plaza. Under the plan, East Commerce, Dolorosa Street, Soledad and Main Avenue all are slated for closure. Alternatives are proposed to close two or three of the streets in different combinations.
"It's good to see they have some alternatives to traffic," Garcia said. "Overall, I think it works now. "What makes it work now will be fiddled with in the name of progress."
The two most familiar buildings facing Main Plaza are the Bexar County Courthouse on Dolorosa Street and San Fernando Cathedral on Main Avenue.
Father David Garcia, rector of San Fernando, has been involved in the project since 1995. "I embraced it then and I embrace it now," he said. "It's a fantastic opportunity for the city to create a great urban gathering space."
Garcia, the rector, said traffic problems arising from this project can be worked out. "I hope people will look at the overall picture and go from there," he said. "Maybe some streets stay open."
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff is supportive of the project. He did not attend the meeting and had not seen the details of the traffic plan. "You have to look at the plaza as a major economic initiative for the center of the city."
Wolff also believes a compromise can be reached to address traffic concerns, adding there would not be a major impact by leaving East Commerce open.
Former San Antonio Express-News publisher Charles O. Kilpatrick and his wife, Margie, who have lived downtown 17 years, disagreed with the format. "They didn't want anybody to speak against the project," he said. "If they continue on this way, they won't get anything done."
The chance for the public to comment has been limited in previous meetings, he said.
"We can force an election to stop it," he said.
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