Welcome to Commonwealth Coffeehouse. It's a warm, cozy and truly friendly little place to be. The kitchen is wonderful and the pastries they create emit an aroma that I just want to breathe in all day long.Placing our order and talking with the staff makes for an educational moment and aren't those what life is all about? If I were to own a coffee shop, I would want it to be just like Commonwealth and if you haven't been when in San Antonio, well you are just plain missing out.
One of my favorite things here?? The water has basil and pineapple in it. It is just wonderful and I think I'll do this at home too. Sooooo refreshing.They even have a HUGE back area complete with a garden and CHICKENS!! That's right -- fresh eggs going on here baby. The garden is mostly herbs, but even still --- fresh is best and if you can use it in the kitchen, go for it.
Okay, the bellies are happy and the day is before us. What should we do. Oh you think we have a plan? Silly you, we are travel by the seat of our pants people. What looks good at just this moment? That is the question. We make a decision to go to the zoo and set the GPS to get us there. Within mere moments of arrival, Mister pulls into a driveway and parks. Okaaaaay. He must know something I don't. We are at the site of the old Portland Cement Company. VERY cool. Once we arrive, I know something he doesn't. It's also the entrance to the Japanese Tea Gardens. Love it when we both do a little research beforehand. A nearby historical sign tells us, "Near this site in 1879, 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 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." Pretty cool huh?
You can peek into the old kilns and see the years of work they performed.
As I look up to the top of the stack, I notice that we can cross a bridge onto it. Leading Mister up the path, he then learns that we are also at the Japanese Gardens.The rock work all along the path is fascinating to me. I love how the slats are placed on their sides for decoration, reminding me so much of Ireland.
Into the gardens we go ---
I'll share some more history on this. "In 1899, 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 were made, the park officially opened to the public in 1901. At this time, the quarry was still operating. Between the quarry and San Antonio River to the east was an 11-acre tract of land owned by Mrs. Emma Koehler, widow of Pearl Brewery owner, Otto Koehler. Mrs. Koehler donated this land to the city in 1915 for a public park and its location immediate adjacent to the abandoned quarry posed a challenge for City Parks Commissioner, Ray Lambert. Lambert ultimately came up with the idea of a lily pond which eventually became 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, and 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 on $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 continue 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 inviation, 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 Registed Texas Historic Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places."
Views through the pagoda -
And Mister doing his thing -
Well, dang -- this was such fun stop. Now what? Oh yeah, back to the zoo track we were on. It just so happens that Brackenridge Park is also home to it and thus we are only a few minutes away, including parking.
Perfect -- a quick run through (aren't reciprocal memberships fun?) to see the critters will top off our morning wonderfully.The San Antonio Zoo is home to SO many birds. Oh my. It's crazy and I almost think it could stand alone as an aviary. Wow. They also have an aquarium as one of their exhibits. How fun. I'm just going to share some images with few comments -- enjoy these treasures as much as we do.
Picture the sounds as you look and let the colors and personalities pop out.
Their hippo viewing is incredible. The habitat itself, not so wonderful, but these two really put on a show for us. Look at all the marks on the side of this one.
So, here is something I've not seen before. He(she) is holding it's mouth open and letting the fish swim around and clean teeth. What the what? This pose is held for about 3-4 minutes. Crazy cool.
Birds, birds, and more birds --
If this isn't proof that birds are descendants of dinosaurs, I don't know what is.
Eyes -- OMG -- the eyes. I truly could not stop laughing and was held in his stare for quite awhile.
Highlights y'all, just highlights. It was a quick run through and you really should stop in sometime when you are there. If ya live in San Antonio, their membership seems to be a good deal AND you can have reciprocals.
Now what? It's almost time for a meal, but not quite. One more stop? I read about the Quadrangle and want to check it out. Loving history as much as we do, it seems like fun AND has the added benefit of animals. Yep. A two-in-one stop.
Fort Sam Houston is located right in the city and from the moment we arrive on the grounds, it is reminiscent of the F.E. Warren Air Force base in Cheyenne. The houses are just so cool and I remember when Amanda lived in one. Great history.
I'm going to once again educate you against your will --- it's the price of reading a travel entry on this blog. "Fort Sam Houston encompassed an area of land just north of downtown San Antonio and goes back to 1976 when the Army began construction of a Quartermaster supply depot on 92 acres of land donated to the city of San Antonio. The Army constructed the supply depot, eventually known as the Quadrangle, from limestone cut from a local quarry. Though designated as a supply depot, the Army expanded the Quadrangle in 1877-88, to house the Headquarters, Department of Texas, as well as the 1880 construction of fifteen houses - the Staff Post - for the officers who staffed the Department. Line officers and Soldiers lived in tents and temporary wooden barracks. This post became known simply as The Post at San Antonio.
The Army continued expanding the Post at San Antonio throughout the 1880s to meet its needs in the western territories, to include the addition of the Infantry Post. Despite the growth and significance of the installation, it still bore the name 'Post at San Antonio.' This changed with the issuance of General Orders No. 99 on 11 September 1890. Acting Secretary of War L.A. Grant signed the orders which designated the Post at San Antonio as Fort Sam Houston. Named for the larger than life Texas general, the post - a mere supply depot 14 years earlier - now sat as the second largest Army post in the US.The 90-foot high clock tower was originally built as a water tank and lookout. When the post was connected to city water, the tank was removed and clock installed in 1882. (The recessed clock faces now seen were installed in 1907.)
Animals appear in Quadrangle photos by the 1880s. Written sources mention peacocks by 1897, while deer probably arrived in 1886, after Geronimo's band left in October. There have also been swans, turkeys, and alligator, and rabbits along with chickens, ducks, and geese as well as koi in the pond. (I have to tell you --- this is crazy cool. They are not even afraid of anyone and just wander the grounds.)
The Quadrangle Oak was recognized during the Bicentennial as the 'second most historic tree in Bexar County.' Because of its impressive size, many people believe the tree is hundreds of years old. Photographs, however, do not show the tree during the Quadrangle's construction. It was probably planted about 1886 or 1887 as part of a beautification project (which probably also explains the deer).
The tree is home to the peacocks and at first glace you do not realize just how many there are. Look closely.
Ooooh, so pretty -
Over the years, other beautification projects have also changed the look of the courtyard. Among them are a number of younger trees planted in more recent years. Hanging from many are dog tags honoring Soldiers, veterans, and military dependents.
Following the Spanish-American War, another major expansion brought a Calvary Post and Light Artillery Post. The construction of support buildings, barracks and housing pushed Fort San Houston's boundaries further. With additional land purchased for training areas, the post soon became the largest post in the Army. With the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, Fort Sam Houston was used as a staging point for troops mobilized as a show of force along the border in 1911, and again for the 1916 Punitive Expedition.In the late 1920s, the Army began improving the post's infrastructure. From 1928 to 1939, new housing and support buildings replaced the failing original structures. The use of the popular Spanish Colonial Revival architecture gave the post a distinctive appearance. The construction included a new eight-story, 418 bed hospital which opened in 1938. The War Department soon funded another 200-bed addition to the building to stem potential overcrowding. In 1942 the hospital was name Brooke General Hospital.
During World War II, Fort Sam Houston once again became packed with soldiers. Another 500-bed temporary building went up - 400 in the first year alone - during the war to house the Soldiers who transitioned through the post. A recruit reception center at Dodd Field, the airfield on the northern tip of the post, processed 1,000 recruits a day. From 1943 to 1946, Dodd also contained a prisoner of war camp for 1,600 Axis prisoners.
At the end of the war, Fort Sam Houston again became a demobilization point, and 500,000 Soldiers were processed back to the civilian world. The growth of San Antonio, as well as improvements in weapons range and infantry division needs meant Fort Sam Houston could no longer support a combat mission. The 1946 transfer of the Army's Medical Field Service School to the post marked the beginning of Fort Sam Houston's role as the home of Army medicine. "
I found some of the walls to be most interesting. Where did these steps go at one time?
One last look and now my tummy is grumbling. It's time to find food. What a great stop this was and we would likely stay longer and explore the museum, but the power is out. So sad.
There must be a brewery to check out that has food. Point me to it. Hello Weathered Souls. Hummus, pita, and vegies. Awesome.
Oh yeah - the main event. Perfect. Love, love, love the glass.
Moving on, the next stop tonight is at Busted Sandal, a small little brewery but dang, it's hopping. The El Robusto Porter has my name all over it. Well, it should.
Our final stop of the evening is at Kunstler --- dinner and one more. My camera is tired tonight and so am I. What a jam-packed day and it's late so we are calling it a day. Tomorrow is a new adventure.
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