San Antonio Casino Club Building - San Antonio, Texas
N 29° 25.501 W 098° 29.323
14R E 549594 N 3255184
This unique building with a colorful tiered dome is a landmark in downtown San Antonio. It historically was the hangout of the high rollers and intellectuals from the Roaring 20's through World War II.
Waymark Code: WMAC0Z
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/21/2010
Views: 7
The San Antonio Casino Club Building, also called the Gilcrease Building in more recent years, is somewhat of a Flatiron building bordering the San Antonio River (and Riverwalk) on its left side and bounded by N. Presa on its right side when facing the main entrance at 102 W Crockett Steet.
The building was completed in 1927 and was the home of the San Antonio Casino Club, which was brought about by the merger of two local society groups, the Casino Association and the San Antonio Club, thus the name of the building. The Casino Club was formed in 1854 and tended to attract the wealthy tycoons, while the San Antonion Club was formed in 1882 to give the intellectuals a place to read about and discuss lofty issues.
By 1925, these two groups agreed to merge forces into what became the San Antonio Casino Club. In 1942 the multi-millionaire Willian Thomas Bilcrease purchased the building. Thomas Gilcrease grew up on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma and claimed his portion of the reservation as a child. When oil was discovered on his land, he was wealthy by the time he was in his 20s. Although he was married and divorced twice, Gilcrease was consistent in his love for Western art and artifacts. His collection of hundreds of thousands of pieces of art became the largest Western art collection in the US. He built what is now called the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, OK which now stores and displayes his huge art collection.
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