Request from Tobin Hill at HDRC

Also read: NOWCASTSA’s excellent article: Tobin Hill neighborhood history, character is under fire by city and developers

April 18, 2019 Update from Anisa Schell (THCA Board):

Some of you may already be aware of the proposed demolitions of 430 and 434 E Magnolia. Because of the outcry of concern from the community, and after visiting the site with the Designation/Demolition Committee, the Office of Historic Preservation has decided to move forward with requests for Historic designation of both structures. The cases will be heard at the Historic and Design Review Commission Wednesday, May 1, no earlier than 5 PM in the first-floor boardroom at 1901 S Alamo.

The hearing is public and anyone may attend. 
In the past, it has been very helpful to have a large community of supporters attend and speak at the hearing.  You may sign up to speak before the hearing, anytime between 2:30 and when the case is heard (no sooner than 5:00pm).  

Each person will have three minutes to speak, but a short statement of support is all that is necessary. For example, you can use your time to say something like, “I am Anisa Schell and I live at 430 E. Mistletoe Ave. I support the Landmark Designation of these two houses. 430 and 434 E Magnolia are homes that contribute to the historic nature of the street and our neighborhood. They should not be torn down. Please designate these houses to protect them. Thank you.” 
In addition to speaking at the hearing, writing letters of support for the designation of these houses ahead of time is helpful.  Please send emails to Jessica.Anderson@sanantonio.gov. Your email should state that you support the Landmark Designation of 430 and 434 E Magnolia and make sure to include your name and address.  

The emails forwarded below provide a little more insight into what has happened so far with these properties. Also attached is the statement I wrote opposing the demolition of these properties. 

Tobin Hill Community Association needs your support for the historic designation of the two houses at 307 & 309-311 E. Evergreen.  

Demolition applications were filed for these houses in February. In researching the houses, it was discovered that 307 E. Evergreen was the home of Robert G. Cole who went to West Point, and later received the Medal of Honor for his bayonet charge during the Normandy Invasion. Cole has a video game character and local high school named after him (where Shaquille O’Neal went to school as well).

In its more recent history, 311 E Evergreen became locally known as “That Place Off Evergreen.” It was a local recording studio and live music venue, contributing to Tobin Hill’s culture of local music and the performing arts.

The adjacent house, 307 E Evergreen, is known as The Cole House, as well as the former offices of Mujeres Unidas:

“Cole House is also significant in the area of social history for its associations with women’s civic history in the city of San Antonio. Clara Hoff Cole, the house’s longest continuous resident, moved into the house in 1919 and remained until her death in 1949. During that time she was a working professional and single mother of three children, teaching in the Tobin Hill neighborhood at Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jr. High School until sometime around 1944, when she had begun teaching at Mark Twain High School. Her involvement in the community and her son Robert’s military service attracted fairly constant attention from city newspapers through the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Several decades later the Cole House became the office location of Mujeres Unidas, a charitable organization established in 1994 by Yolanda Rodriguez-Escobar to serve local women and Latinx community members with HIV/AIDS… Although their tenure at the Cole House happened within the past fifty years, it is still noteworthy and adds to the significance of the property in the area of social history and cultural heritage for the community of the Tobin Hill neighborhood and city of San Antonio.”
–Excerpt from 307 E Evergreen Statement of Significance, written and collected by Stephen Fonzo

These cases will go before the Historic Design Review Commission on April 17, 2019 at 5:30PM. Staff is recommending approval of the Landmark designations, however the property owner has not consented. If the homes are not designated, they will be demolished to make room for a multi-unit housing development.  

Your support at the hearing on Wed., April 17 would be appreciated.  The cases are “time certain” and are scheduled to be heard at 5:30PM. You may sign up at the One-Stop, 1901 S. Alamo, to speak any time from about 2:30 P.M. up until the time when the case is heard. (i.e., 5:00).  Emailed comments may be sent ahead of time to the case officer, Jessica Anderson, Jessica.Anderson@sanantonio.gov.