DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and friend, this one's worth your time. In 1888, a developer by the name of Jay E. Adams packed up and came to San Antonio all the way from Denver, and he had his eye on real estate.
Specifically, he had his eye on a stretch of land north of the city — an area he named Laurel Heights. Now, when you're trying to convince people to build in a brand new neighborhood, you've got to show them what's possible. So Jay Adams did the only logical thing: he set the standard himself.
He commissioned architects Solon McAdoo and Albert P. Woolley to design him a three-story Queen Anne-style house, and those gentlemen did not disappoint. The home went up in rusticated limestone and wood, and from there the details just keep coming.
Covered porches. Wood shingle decoration. Carved stone detailing.
Leaded and stained glass windows. Elaborate metal work. You start to get the picture — this was not a man interested in doing anything quietly.
But here's where it gets truly memorable. The front porch railing features griffins — griffins, mind you — flanking the main entry. Half lion, half eagle, standing guard at the door of a limestone house in a brand new Texas neighborhood.
Then there's the rounded corner tower, the multi-planed roof climbing every which direction, and all that intricate ironwork tying it together. And out back, the carriage house — two stories of brick and rusticated stone, with its own rounded tower capped by a conical roof, like it decided it wasn't going to be outshone either. Jay Adams came to San Antonio from Denver with a vision for Laurel Heights, and he built something that would make any prospective neighbor look up, squint, and think — well, if that's the standard, I suppose I'd better get to work.
What the marker says
Developer Jay E. Adams came to San Antonio from Denver in 1888 to invest in real estate. His main focus was an area north of the city that he named Laurel Heights. To set the standard for construction, he built this three-story Queen Anne-style house designed by Solon McAdoo and Albert P. Woolley. The home is built of rusticated limestone and wood. It features covered porches, wood shingle decoration, carved stone detailing, leaded and stained glass windows and elaborate metal work. Dazzling features of the home are the rounded corner tower, multi-planed roof and intricate front porch railing with griffins flanking the main entry. The two-story carriage house is built of brick and rusticated stone and has a rounded tower with conical roof. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2012