The Golf Resort and Subdivision Never Built
Bird’s-eye view of the never built Spanish Acres
The neighborhood we now call Monticello Park is actually a combination of two subdivisions built during the 1920s, 30s and 40s, North Woodlawn Terrace and Monticello Park. Another subdivision, and perhaps the most ambitious development planned during that period, was Spanish Acres, which featured a golf club, tennis courts, and a magnificent resort hotel, El Conquistador, but these were never built.
Local developers formed the Monticello Development Corporation and filed plans for Spanish Acres with Bexar County in 1926. This large scale development included 98 homesites in addition to the country club amenities and the hotel. This huge area stretched from Donaldson Ave. to Babcock, bounded by Wilson and Shearer. The eight story El Conquistador Hotel crowning this development, a magnificent example of Spanish Revival architecture, was designed by local architects Adams & Adams. Advertised at costing $1,771,000, the hotel and resort were designed to appeal to tourists coming to San Antonio, who could take advantage of our mild winters. In September, 1926, the San Antonio Light reported that the El Conquistador would open sometime after January 1, 1927, just a few months after the Gunter and Plaza Hotels, all designed as luxurious residences to vacation during the cold months.
The economy did not allow the development to move forward, so the developers sold a portion of the land to the school district and developed the remainder as homesites. This final development was named Monticello Park, now linked to the namesake for the newly built high school. Monticello was, of course, Thomas Jefferson’s primary home.
There are still some reminders of the hotel resort alive in our neighborhood. Notice the architectural elements of the hotel, particularly the domes. The same architects planned TJHS, and kept the architectural style they had originally planned for the area. And Club Drive is the street which would have lead to the planned golf club.
