Located just north of downtown San Antonio, Pearl provides a unique experience as a top culinary and cultural destination. As a former brewery which started operating in 1883 by local businessmen and moguls forming the San Antonio Brewing Association. The brewery became a huge focal point for commerce in the city, with a slew of historic buildings dedicated to the different facets of the brewing and cooperage (barrel making) industries.
In 1902, Otto Koehler took the helm of the brewery and set in motion strategic plans to grow the brewery in size and beer output. By 1916, the San Antonio Brewing Association became the largest Texas Brewery. When the prohibition era started in 1919, the Koehler family vowed to not let the brewery go under, it remained viable by offering a variety of items and services, and they changed its name to the Alamo Foods Company. When the prohibition ended in 1933 so did the name Alamo Foods Company, and they went back to the San Antonio Brewing Association. However, this confused the public that this referred to all brewing in San Antonio, so they changed the name to Pearl Brewing Company in 1952.
Today, ‘At Pearl’ is undoubtedly one of San Antonio’s coolest and quirkiest hotspots, replete with carefully preserved heritage architecture and bursting at the seams with local flavors.
It’s here, in the former stables where heavy horses used to transport the famous Pearl beer were housed, that WoodCo was tasked with providing flooring and other wood products to one of the area’s most prestigious music venues – Stable Hall.
A cultural icon, reimagined
Constructed in 1894, Stable Hall’s iconic oval shape makes it one of the most heralded buildings in the district and this undoubtedly set the scene for its transformation from utilitarian workhorse to a distinctive cultural venue with echoes of intimate early 1900s theater, classic Texas dance hall, and state-of-the-art concert venue.
Stable Hall is the latest in a series of developments WoodCo has worked on with in the Pearl complex over the last decade. Working with property owners Silver Ventures, architect Clayton Korte and contractor Joeris Construction, we’ve been involved in the redevelopment of adjacent buildings including the renowned Hotel Emma, Cured, Jazz, The Sporting District boutique and Southerleigh Fine Foods.
Reclaiming former glory
As part of the lease agreements at Pearl, it’s a requirement that tenants or developers commit to the complex’s policy on heritage preservation by using reclaimed materials from the original buildings wherever possible in the refurbished interiors.
This policy has seen contractors go to extreme lengths to preserve the original architecture of the buildings – the most ambitious of which saw the original, 100-year-old Boehler’s House building lifted off its foundations and relocated to a new address, as well as creative touches like the use of enormous beer fermentation tanks repurposed as intimate seating areas in the bar at Hotel Emma.
At Stable Hall, the developer’s vision was to recreate the feeling of a traditional Texas dancehall, with classic wood floors infusing the space with rustic charm that also supports the unique acoustics of this historic building.
Past meets present with engineered flooring
Our brief was to mill original long leaf pine joists from Stable Hall and other buildings within the At Pearl family into engineered flooring ¾” thick by 7” wide in random lengths for an authentic look and feel evocative of the venue’s quintessentially Texan and richly storied past. We also provided some S4S and joist material cut to specific sizes for the trim, the staircase and some repairs to the roof areas of the building, restoring as much original integrity as possible.
The outcome is an interior that marries the original with the contemporary in glorious harmony befitting of a venue with the spirit of San Antonio’s vibrant music scene at its heart – the floors of Stable Hall will accrue many decades of star-studded nights, weaving a whole new chapter into the fascinating story of this jewel in San Antonio’s architectural crown.
For further information about our work on Stable Hall, or to discuss your requirements for an upcoming heritage architecture project, get in touch.
Project Credits
Architect: Clayton Korte
Construction: Joeris Construction
Photo Credits: Korta Photography
Materials Used: Houston Plank