Parkmoor Building Going Strong at 98

The Parkmoor Building now houses the Jewel of Art Dance Studio

Just across the street from the Woodlawn Theater, at 1909 Fredericksburg Road, is the remaining portion of the Parkmoor Building, a beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival building, which served as a major shopping center for the residents of our neighborhood in the early 20th Century.  This complex was completed in 1925, the same year the first section of our neighborhood was platted as North Woodlawn Terrace.

What remains today is the northern half of the original building, which once extended south to Donaldson.  The missing half was a mirror image of the portion which remains.  When it opened, the newspaper called it the “first community store of its kind,” based on its uniquely beautiful architecture.

The Parkmoor Building soon after opening in 1925

The Parkmoor was designed by noted San Antonio architects Phelps & Dewees, who also designed portions of the 1926 expansion of the Bexar County Courthouse and the Gonzales Memorial Museum. They were also the supervisory firm for construction of Thomas Jefferson High School, and designed many other notable structures.

The Parkmoor’s owners, J. Frank Gallagher, former city treasurer, and druggists J.W. Blaize and J.E. Gallagher, invested $70,000 in the facility. The building originally housed the Gallagher-Blaize Drug Company, and within two years included a barbershop, grocery, tailor, cleaners, and fruit shop.

The Parkmoor Drugstore manufactured and delivered ice cream

The drugstore was soon renamed the Parkmoor Drug Store, and advertised that it would “give you the downtown service at downtown prices when you acquire your home,” in possible cooperation with local developers who were selling lots in the surrounding, rapidly growing neighborhoods.  These early residents were part of the growing car culture, and the drugstore advertised that it was “out where there’s room to park.”

The drugstore not only had a soda fountain, but as a tasty bonus, manufactured its own ice cream, which they delivered to a large area surrounding the store.  The price was 75 cents a quart, and would be “delivered to your door in perfect condition.”

Unfortunately, in the 1980s, the southern half of the building was demolished and the remainder was vacant for many decades.

The neighborhood rallied behind the old building and it was designated an individual landmark by the City of San Antonio in 2008.

The building has been beautifully restored and now serves as the Jewel of Art Dance Studio. Wonderfully, the owner is a resident of Monticello Park!