Tower Life Building | |
 The building seen in 2011 | |
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 Interactive map showing the location of Tower Life Building | |
| Location | 310 South St Mary's Street, San Antonio, Texas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 29°25′22″N 98°29′29″W / 29.42278°N 98.49139°W |
| Built | 1929 |
| Architect | Robert M. Ayres and Atlee Ayres of Ayres & Ayres |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 91001682 |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1991 |
Tower Life Building (formerly Smith-Young Tower, Pan-American Tower, and Transit Tower) is a 31-story building and a historical landmark in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. Completed in 1929 and standing at 404 feet (123 m) tall, Tower Life Building was the tallest building and structure in San Antonio until the Tower of the Americas was completed in 1968, and the Marriott Rivercenter surpassed it as the tallest building in San Antonio in 1988. As of 2023, Tower Life Building is the 4th tallest building in San Antonio and the tallest eight-sided structure in the United States.
Designed by noted local architectural firm Ayres & Ayres (Atlee & Robert M. Ayres),[1] the neo-gothic tower has a brick and terra-cotta octagonal exterior, featuring gothic elements (such as grotesques, often misidentified as gargoyles) and an iconic green roof of Ludowici tile. The internal structure is reinforced concrete on the lower floors, and steel frame on the upper floors.
A television transmission antenna topped the tower from 1953 until 2010, when the tower reverted to the original design of a copper tophouse with a 114 ft (35 m) tall flagpole. In 1991 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]
After 78 years of ownership by the H. B. Zachry Family, the building was purchased in May 2022 by an ownership group composed of San Antonio developers Ed Cross, Jon Wiegand, and McCombs Enterprises. This ownership group plans to usher in new era for the building as a residence with 244 units for rent, expected to be completed in 2026.[3]
- ^ Cocke 1989, p. 42.
- ^ "Tower Life Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Biediger, Shari (January 22, 2024). "An inside look at the Tower Life office building slated for apartments". San Antonio Report. Retrieved May 21, 2024.