Destination Deco: Hill Country Deco

About the Program

Join the Art Deco Society of New York (ADSNY) and our hosts, Jim Parsons and David Bush––architectural historians and authors of Hill Country Deco; DFW Deco; Fair Park Deco: Art and Architecture of the Texas Centennial; and more––for a private three day VIP tour that will offer a dazzling and informative look at the extraordinary architecture and design of the 1920s and 1930s in the Texas Hill Country cities of San Antonio and Austin.

In 2019 ADSNY members were hosted for an extraordinary visit to Dallas and Fort Worth with the delightful Deco duo of Jim and David, and we have been eagerly awaiting this tour with them to visit another fascinating Art Deco area defined by Texas’ boom of the 1920s and ’30s.

In this in-depth three day exploration designed just for ADSNY, we will see interwar architecture and design that helps tell the stories of the Hill Country’s two principal urban centers. In San Antonio, richly ornamented “Modern Spanish” office and public buildings reflected the city’s wealth and Hispanic heritage, while Deco in Austin was shaped by the two largest local institutions, the University of Texas and the Texas state government.

We’ll explore how sophisticated Art Deco skyscrapers and department stores reflected a rapidly urbanizing state, and we’ll see wonderful examples of pared-down modernistic schools, post offices and government buildings constructed after the 1929 stock market crash, as New Deal stimulus programs poured into the area. Along the way, we will hear the stories behind some of these remarkable structures and the larger-than-life Texans who built them.

Our home base for the three day weekend will be the Drury Plaza San Antonio Riverwalk, a hotel located in the 1929 Alamo National Bank Building, one of the Alamo City’s most prominent Art Deco skyscrapers.

Day One: San Antonio

Friday, March 22, 2024

Our program begins Friday morning with an engaging introductory presentation by Jim Parsons and David Bush explaining how the cities and towns of the Texas Hill Country used Deco architecture and design to portray themselves as part of a modern, prosperous region. After the stage is set for the weekend’s festivities, we will be off to explore San Antonio’s Deco treasures during an exciting day of tours and special access. 

Highlights of the day will include:

• A look at the city’s 1937 Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, which features Art Deco lobby frescoes depicting the history of San Antonio painted by Diego Rivera protégé Howard Cook—one of the largest true fresco cycles in America
• A stroll along the San Antonio River Walk (1941), a WPA-era downtown beautification project with Deco-inspired elements
• An introduction to the work of Ethel Wilson Harris, an artist whose San José Workshops promoted traditional Mexican handicrafts and created wonderful Deco tile murals in the 1930s
• A visit to Thomas Jefferson High School (1932), a lavishly detailed public school modeled on Spanish and Moorish architecture—the school was so opulent that Life magazine hailed it as “the most outstanding high school in America”

Our day will include other special visits and tours and will conclude with a group dinner at one of San Antonio’s most historic restaurants. Note, walking distances covered this day are moderate as buildings visited are close together.

Day 2: Austin

Saturday March 23, 2024

With our expert guides, we will step back in time to see how Austin—the capital of the Lone Star State—is home to an unexpectedly rich collection of Art Deco design, including striking buildings created for all levels of government.

We’ll travel by motorcoach from San Antonio to Austin, where our day will include a number of stops including:

• A walking tour of downtown with highlights such as the recently restored WPA-era United States Courthouse (1936) and the State Highway Building (1933), which features delightful transportation-related detailing and a Texas-themed lobby mural
• A visit to the Texas Memorial Museum (1936), built as part of the Texas Centennial commemoration of the anniversary of the state’s independence from Mexico and a landmark on the University of Texas campus, which features a historic core of modern Spanish-style buildings designed by Paul Philippe Cret
• A stop at the McFarland House (1947), a unique cast-concrete Streamline residence now owned and restored by Preservation Austin

We are also planning a visit to one of the most unusual Deco homes in Texas: the Bohn House (1938), which features a design inspired by ocean liners and the fictional Shangri-La in the 1937 film Lost Horizon We’ll enjoy a distinctly Texan dinner on our way back to San Antonio.

Day 3: San Antonio

Sunday March 24, 2024

For our final day in San Antonio, we’ll set out on foot from our hotel for a mile long walking tour of some of the city’s most impressive Art Deco structures, including:

• The Tower Life Building (1929), conceived as part of an ambitious complex inspired by Rockefeller Center
• The Casino Club Building (1927), a charming private club with memorable Mesoamerican motifs
• The largest Kress store outside New York when it opened in 1939

Our downtown morning walk will also take us to the Alameda Theater (1949), a Streamlined movie palace modeled on the (demolished) Teatro Chapultepec in Mexico City. The theater is undergoing a restoration that includes its incredible phosphorescent murals, one of the largest sets of such murals surviving in the U.S. today.

We’ll wrap up our unforgettable visit with brunch in San Antonio’s charming historic center.

Lodging

We are staying at the Drury Plaza Hotel on the Riverfront, formerly the Alamo National Bank Building constructed of steel and concrete and completed in 1929. Trimmed in granite and marble, with elegant terra cotta embellishments, molded plaster and decorative bronze, the 24-story building was home to the Alamo National Bank, which occupied the first three floors, with other commercial tenants on the upper floors. In 1956, a metal sign and weather gauge was installed on the roof to advertise Alamo National Bank. The neon spire rises six stories above the building and has become a landmark on San Antonio’s Riverwalk.

Drury Hotels’ careful renovation in 2005 preserved many of the unique period features in the lobby: stained glass windows, bronze framework, marble walls and travertine flooring. The original 1929 chandeliers have been refurbished and still hang today from the 50-foot ceilings in the main lobby. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Inclusions, Exclusions, and Details

• All tours
• All admissions
• All gratuities
• Two dinners and two lunches and one special champagne brunch
• One glass of wine included with each dinner
• Local transportation
• Cleaned and sanitized audio assistance devices for all attendees on each walking and motor coach tour

Program price does not include:

• Travel to and from Texas
• Ground transportation to and from airport/train station
• Hotel accommodations
• Non-scheduled visits and activities
• Trip Insurance*

*ADSNY strongly recommends that you purchase a travel protection plan to protect yourself and your investment in the event of illness prior to or during the trip. When purchasing a policy, please consult travel agent to review covid related coverage. Insurance companies can be found online.

Registration and Fees

Three-Day Program

March 22–24, 2024

Program begins early morning Friday, March 22; attendees are encouraged to arrive Thursday, March 21.

• $2,250 per person (Half payment due at time of booking, Second Half due by 2/21)
  
• $1,980 per person LONE STAR DISCOUNT Paid in Full at time of booking

Space is extremely limited; you are urged to reserve your place quickly. Reservations are first-come, first-served. 

Credit card Payments

An additional 5.5% per ticket processing fee will be applied to all online payments.

• Click the gold Register button located to the left of the "About the Program" section
• Enter the requested information in the Registration Form and follow the instructions to pay online and complete your registration
• Upon completion of your event registration, an email confirmation will be sent to the email address you used to register. If you do not see this email in your inbox, please check your spam folder. 
• You will receive an email with the tour's meeting location the week before the program

If you have questions or need further assistance registering for this event, please email Info@ArtDeco.org and we will send you an invoice that can be easily completed without going through the ArtDeco.org website.

Check Payments

• Please email Info@ArtDeco.org to let us know you are mailing your registration
  
• Checks must be made payable to: Art Deco Society of New York
  
• And mailed to: Art Deco Society of New York,  
  400 East 56th Street, Suite 39N, New York, NY 10022

Registration Forms

Each attendee must complete his/her own Registration Form and submit it to ADSNY to secure registration. Hand-signed forms may be scanned and emailed to ADSNY at Info@ArtDeco.org or mailed to the above address. Electronic signatures are not accepted.

Why tour with the Art Deco Society of New York?

• ADSNY trips reflect the organization’s extensive knowledge and expertise in Art Deco architecture, design, and interwar culture, amassed since its incorporation in 1982. All ADSNY programs are carefully curated to provide authentic, and unique experiences, with special access to ADSNY’s experts, research, and resources.
  
• ADSNY tours provide stellar immersive experiences with engaging experts, superb personal service, and experienced trip leaders and local guides.  And when you travel with ADSNY, you can be sure that your safety and well-being are always our top priority.
  
• ADSNY’s expert tour guides, who are very knowledgeable about each area of interest, make enjoyable and engaging learning the core of every trip.
  
• Each of ADSNY’s trips attract informed, intellectually curious, and adventurous Art Deco enthusiasts who share your passion for learning and exploration. 
  
• ADSNY provides small groups with big experiences. Now more than ever, the idea of traveling with a small group of fellow enthusiast is reassuring. All ADSNY’s trips feature small groups, allowing for more flexibility so you get to know fellow travelers and trip leaders.  
• ADSNY’s trips include celebrated experts leading all guided tours, access to private spaces, all lunches and dinners, local transportation, and a knowledgeable ADSNY representative with the group each day to provide you with one-on-one service, so you are ensured an exceptional experience.  
• When you travel with ADSNY, your participation benefits the work of the important non-profit organization, supporting ADSNY’s educational mission to preserve New York’s Deco heritage, spread interwar knowledge, and share our resources. 
  

• VACCINATIONS: All attendees must be fully vaccinated and boosted. ADSNY has the right to require confirmation of vaccination before the program
• FACE COVERINGS: Face masks are optional and can be provided upon request.
• COVID RISK: Though positivity rates are declining, an inherent risk of exposure to covid exists in any public space where people are present. Those joining ADSNY'S in-person programming do so at their own risk to such exposure and can not hold ADSNY responsible.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out at Info@ArtDeco.org.

ADSNY strongly recommends that you purchase a travel protection plan to protect yourself and your investment in the event of illness prior to or during the trip, and to obtain additional medical coverage while on the tour. When purchasing a policy, please consult with a travel insurance agent to review covid related coverage. Insurance companies can be found online.

Cancellations, Responsibility, and Release

All payments are final, there are no refunds or exchanges. The Art Deco Society of New York (ADSNY) strongly recommends that you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Insurance companies offering cancellation policies can be found online.

Payment of your fee represents your acceptance of the following terms and conditions. ADSNY shall not be liable and does not assume responsibility for any claims, damages, expenses or other financial loss whether to person or property arising out of any illness, injury, accident, death, cancellation, delay, alteration, or inconvenience resulting from any act of omission, commission, or inadvertence of any hotel, carrier, restaurant, or other company or person rendering any of the services included in the tour or its pre- and post-tour arrangements, or caused by weather, sickness, strikes, or the willful or negligent acts of any other tour members or any cause whatsoever beyond the control of ADSNY. It is understood that there may be changes in the itinerary subject to weather or unexpected circumstances. In all cases, ADSNY will make every attempt to substitute other events of equal value and interest. By registering for this program you confirm that you agree to follow all safety protocols outlined in the program materials. ADSNY events may be photographed or recorded by ADSNY. By attending this program, you consent to the use of your image and voice by ADSNY for all non-commercial, nonprofit purposes.

PHOTO CREDITS: RICHARD BERENHOLTZ