TOWER LIFE BUILDING

San Antonio, Texas, USA

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The soaring Tower Life Building was for nearly 30 years the tallest 
building in San Antonio.  Built in 1929 and originally named the 
Smith-Young Tower, this building still remains the most interesting 
and locally popular landmark on the city skyline.  Though the 35-story 
tower had been for a time incorrectly labelled as the tallest building 
west of Chicago, the Smith-Young Tower still was perhaps the most 
important historic office tower in the South and still remains 
arguably one of the most beautiful.

The epitome of San Antonio's frenzied building boom of the 1920's, the 
tower was planned to be the centerpiece of a complex known as Bowen's 
Island Skyscrapers, but the Great Depression halted the remainder of 
the project and later also ended San Antonio's position as the leading 
metropolis in Texas.

For the oddly shaped site along the narrow San Antonio River, 
architects Atlee B. and Robert M. Ayres designed an irregularly 
eight-sided, step-backed tower clad in brick and glazed terra-cotta.  
In keeping with San Antonio's tendency for historicism, the 
Smith-Young Tower was eclectically decorated with Gothic-inspired 
ornament, showcasing one of the many fashionable architectural styles 
in which Ayres & Ayres were fluent.  The syringe-like radio mast was a 
later addition, and at night the upper setback portions are floodlit 
to create a brilliant wedding cake display on the skyline.  The firm 
of Ayers B. & Robert M. Ayers, important regional architects in Texas, 
located both their offices and the public observation deck on the 30th 
floor, where they had a commanding view of the city.  The first five 
floors were briefly occupied by the a Sears & Roebuck department 
store.  However, the major tenant of the building was Tower Life 
Insurance, from which the present name derives.  Today, the Tower Life 
Building is listed as a national historic landmark and remains a 
fascinating focal point along downtown San Antonio's Paseo del Rio.

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I've done some fudging on the scurk image to emphasize the building's 
verticality, particularly with the roof.  The brownish color might 
also be a little darker than in reality.  The actual neighboring 
building is a bland modern structure, but I tried a less jarring 
fill-in that preserves the actual neighbor's height and window lines.  
Finally, the real Tower Life Building stands at a tight intersection 
and doesn't have a large front plaza, so I have included a stand-alone 
version of the building which Window's users may place on a 3x3 
tilebase if they wish.

I hope this scurk does the Tower Life Building justice, as it is among 
my favorite buildings and is a true skyline gem.


Created by Lee Sojot
