{"nrhp_refnum":"94001335","name":"Builders Exchange Building","other_names":["Exchange Building","American Securities Life Building","American"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"152 Pecan St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Antonio","county":"Bexar County","state":"TX","lat":29.428992935000053,"lon":-98.49157226799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-11-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 10-story reinforced concrete office building with brick and cast stone veneer at 152 East Pecan Street in downtown San Antonio, Texas, built in 1924-1925 for the Builders Exchange of San Antonio.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it meets Criterion C in architecture as a representation of Late Gothic Revival design from the 1920s, one of only three commercial buildings in San Antonio with that style. It is also presented as an exceptional example of the work of regional architect George Willis. It was reportedly the first building in the country built and owned exclusively by an association of building industry members.","narrative":"Rising ten stories beside the San Antonio River, this 1924-1925 office building was built as the headquarters of the Builders Exchange of San Antonio. Emmett T. Jackson and George Willis designed it with a reinforced concrete frame, brick walls and cast stone ornament that gives a simplified Gothic Revival character, including crocketed finials above the roof. It is one of only three commercial buildings in the city in the Late Gothic Revival style. The Exchange financed it through a subsidiary company owned by its members, and the building is described as the first in the country built and owned solely by a building industry association. In 1927 the roof was painted with a sign to guide air mail planes. The Exchange left in 1950. The building has since been rehabilitated into 41 apartments with retail space and a restaurant at street level, and its facade is protected by a preservation easement.","period_of_significance":"1924-1925","architect_builder":"Jackson, Emmett T.; Willis, George","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated using the Investment Tax Credit into 41 studio apartments above street-level retail space and a restaurant; a perpetual facade easement has been accepted by the San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:24.023594-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/27/9711/40971127/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/94001335.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001335/1f8bf2e61b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001335/1f8bf2e61b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tenticle","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exchange_building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tenticle</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exchange_building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971127","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Building_(San_Antonio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5419563"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bexar-county/builders-exchange-building-94001335/"}