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Unveiling
in San Antonio
Bronze Goes "Green" without Verdigris
Bexar County
Preservation Triumphs Over Vandalism
San
Antonio, Texas
Photos and Notes by Terry Jeanson |
The
"Lady of Justice" Fountain
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 8, 2008 |
Thanks to
the diligence of our courthouse editor Terry
Jeanson, we’re able to share with our readers a noteworthy blurb of
restoration /
preservation from Texas’
favorite city.
From Mr.
Jeanson’s e-mail:
I saw an announcement in the paper yesterday and couldn't pass up the opportunity
to attend the unveiling of the new Lady Justice fountain at the Bexar
County Courthouse.
City and county officials, along with some judges
(one was a Texas Supreme Court judge) assembled in front of the courthouse
to dedicate the fountain and unveil the statue. The placement is in front of the
north side entrance and the public was seated in chairs in the middle of Dolorosa
Street. |
"I
can't believe it's not butter." The normally soft sandstone-red courthouse
is bathed in a rich yellow glow of energy-saving light. Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 7, 2008 |
The
Statue before the Unveiling
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 7, 2008 |
As I'm sure [courthouse
aficionados] are aware, the original construction of the courthouse
included a courtyard on the east side. The courtyard was filled-in with offices
in 1927. The original fountain was moved a few blocks east up Market Street and
sat there until 1997 when it was knocked over by vandals, destroying Lady Justice
and seriously damaging the water dishes and the base of the fountain. The fountain has
now been repaired and restored and a new brass Lady Justice statue (Themis) sits
on top. The new statue was designed by sculptor Gilbert Barrera, son of Roy Barrera,
Sr., a prominent San Antonio attorney.
According to today's paper (December
8, 2008), the new statue is Aphrodite, not Themis. I stopped by the San Antonio
Conservation Society and got some information about the old statue. It looked
nothing like the current Lady Justice, but the current figure was inspired by
the previous one.
“Referred to (in old newspaper articles) as "Venus
on the half-shell" and "a haggard Grecian nymph," the former statue was a representation
of the Roman goddess Venus (Greek goddess Aphrodite) standing on a scallop shell
with two tiny Cupid figures at her legs, her arm arching over her head, surrounded
by a fluttering drapery. Considered to be an eyesore, many were glad when it was
moved in 1927 to the park at the San Antonio Water Department's downtown pumping
station on Market St. near the Hertzberg Museum.”
According to a December
1997 article in the San Antonio Express, vandals toppled the top part of the statue,
shattering the figure of Venus "into small pieces that were not only impossible
to reassemble, but were virtually unrecognizable." The three goddesses on the
bottom of the fountain were not damaged. The fountain seems to be made of cast
iron or "pot metal." |
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The
new statue and the original fountain
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 8, 2008 |
So except for the
new Lady Justice / Themis / Aphrodite statue, the rest of the fountain is original.
It's a beautiful addition to the courthouse square.
Judge Wolff also bragged
about the new lighting that shows off the courthouse's
entire facade. Before anyone complained, he was quick to note that the lighting
was energy saving (only uses as much power as two clothes dryers) and that the
fountain water was recycled from courthouse
air conditioning condensation.
- Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 |
| "A
new lighting system bathes the facade of the Bexar County courthouse in a yellow-orange
glow." - Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 photo |
The
new Lady Justice / Themis / Aphrodite statue
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 8, 2008 |
| "A collage
of the three figures around the fountain base, one holding a garland of flowers,
one holding an urn and the third holding a cornucopia." - Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 photo |
| The San Fernando
Cathedral (also on the city's Main Plaza) lit up for Christmas. Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 | |
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