Daughters of the Republic of Texas Meeting Hall – San Antonio TX

Description

Work had been done on the Alamo grounds in 1934 under the Texas Relief Commission which had been established in 1933 by Governor M.A. (Ma) Ferguson and used Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funds. A marker confirming this work is on the wall facing Crocket Street that connects the DRT meeting hall and their Library was relocated there from another lower wall that was present in the 1930’s.

Lewis Fisher writes in Saving San Antonio The Precarious Preservation of a Heritage that the City agreed to donate the fire station in the fall of 1936 and references an article in the San Antonio Express News on March 8, 1936. Fire Station No. 2 was to be torn down as part of the federally funded work being done on the Alamo grounds; however, Ernest Altgelt a member of the Centennial Advisory Committee, suggested to the DRT that they use the building for “some useful service” as it was a good strong building. The new building would be constructed from the foundation and remains of the old fire station.

An article in March 2, 1939 San Antonio Express News states that remodeling of the old central fire station on the grounds of the Alamo was underway and was expected to last for 3 months. The meeting hall would seat 300 people. The plan was to reconstruct the abandoned fire station into an assembly hall for “San Antonio patriotic organizations”. The structure was to cost $15,811 and this article notes that it would be one of the last projects in the area around the Alamo. It also identifies the work as being done through the WPA.

A picture and article in the San Antonio Light published sometime in 1939 states that work has been completed on the DRT meeting hall.

Known today as Alamo Hall the building is used for public and private events. It is the only indoor facility within the walls of the Alamo grounds.