Blue Star Street Industrial Historic District
Also known as: Blue Star Arts Complex
Why it's listed
Four warehouses built between 1917 and 1934 make up this industrial complex on South Alamo Street in San Antonio. The land belonged to the San Antonio Belt and Terminal Railway Company, which leased parcels to tenants who put up their own buildings beside the rail sidings. Early occupants included Pittsburgh Plate Glass, G.A. Hormel Company of Texas, Muegge-Jenull Warehouse Company, Texas Cold Storage and Blue Star Ice and Cold Storage. The buildings are plain one- and two-story structures of brick, clay tile, concrete and frame, with only modest detailing on the brick facades facing South Alamo. Loading docks for rail and trucks, steel clerestory windows, a gantry crane, cork-insulated cold storage rooms and warehouse doors survive. Active and abandoned rail spurs remain, and the site borders the San Antonio River. Little changed from the 1930s until a certified rehabilitation of one building converted it mainly to housing. The district is valued as an intact rail-served warehouse complex of the early twentieth century.
Significance in brief: The district is described as an intact terminal railway facility whose utilitarian warehouses housed manufacturing, wholesaling, cold storage and meatpacking businesses dependent on rail freight. It retains loading docks, rail sidings, cranes and warehouse doors from its earlier functions. The form states that the site keeps a high degree of integrity and was nominated for local significance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 94000627, listed June 24, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1432 S. Alamo St., San Antonio |
|---|---|
| County | Bexar County |
| Listed | June 24, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94000627 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Other: Utilitarian warehouse |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Buildings are in good condition and now used for commercial and residential purposes, with art galleries and studios. Building IV had a certified rehabilitation completed in 1992, and one section of Building II is being renovated for a performance company. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 29.40826, -98.49706 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 94000627.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999642
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.