Highlands Christian Church

There is a church on the corner by my house - made of limestone - the original name and build date of the church was a mystery. Nina and I got used to calling it the Beat Down Church ... the sad looking sign on the corner has it named "Clift of the Rock".. the church needs a powerwash in the worst way. I knew it had to have some kind of history because it is a substantial looking building .. limestone, stained glass, arched windows all that stuff. Thanks to the Historic Homeowners Fair sponsored by the City of San Antonio I was able to use an 1954 City Directory to lookup the the original church name - Highlands Christian Church ... Finally, I have a research hook.

October of 1951 was the groundbreaking - Roy D. Holt was the first Reverend of the church at this location.

Will N. Noonan was the architect : He built out some of the Monte Vista homes of the 1930's. He also designed a home for A.H. Wilde in 1933 , the N. stands for Nelson, he was born in 1885






April 2 1950 San Antonio Express
Riverside Baptist Church
3600 S. Presa
Plans are drawn




The Harlandale Masonic Lodge went up in 1925 and is still standing ... it was ugly to start with and has only gotten uglier ... amazing that its still around ..

Dia de los Muertos

Its Dia de los Muertos - a time when Mexican family's create alters dedicated to family members who have passed.  This year I inherited a package of love letters sent between my grandfather and grandmother in 1925.   They both grew up in 1920s San Antonio, Texas and the letters reflect a courtship in English and Spanish.  He had great grammar and a lovely script style (he graduated from Brackenridge High School),  her handwriting is not as precise (I think she left school at 7th or 8th grade) and is so pleased to have a suitor.  They were together over 50 years.