Protestant Home for Destitute Children

The building's architect was at the start of a remarkable run. James Riely Gordon, who came to San Antonio with his parents in 1874, practiced here from 1884 to 1900. His first major job was supervising construction of the Federal Courthouse and Post Office in San Antonio, and his Texas Building at the 1893 Chicago world's fair won a medal of merit. He is remembered above all for courthouses, designing at least eighteen for Texas counties, including Bexar, Comal, Ellis and Victoria. Outside Texas, his most important building is the territorial capitol of Arizona, built in 1898-1900.

What the plaque says

Protestant Home for Destitute Children Organized in 1886 as the San Antonio Home for Destitute Children, the Protestant Home for Destitute Children moved into this building in December 1890. The orphanage continued in operation at this site until 1926, when it relocated to larger facilities. This building, designed by noted Texas architect James Riely Gordon, features an unusual mixture of stylistic elements and was intended to blend well with its residential surroundings. Later uses of the structure included a Catholic mission and residential apartments. (1991)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Spanish Governor's Palace — 2.2 mi
  The last visible piece of the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar: a presidio captain's house with a 1749 keystone, a century as shops and saloons, and a romantic 1930 restoration.
• Casa Navarro State Historic Site — 2.2 mi
  The adobe and caliche-block home of José Antonio Navarro, a native-born signer of the 1836 declaration, and the last remnant of the Tejano neighborhood called Laredito.
• San Fernando Cathedral — 2.3 mi
  The Canary Islanders' parish church on Main Plaza, where Bowie married and Santa Anna raised a red flag, rebuilt in Gothic Revival around the walls of the 1750s church.
• The Alamo — 2.6 mi
  Mission San Antonio de Valero before it was a fort: a church its builders never finished, a thirteen-day siege in 1836, and the Army gable of 1850-52 that became its emblem.

More markers nearby

• Wesley Peacock House — 1.1 mi
• 9th Cavalry at San Pedro Springs — 1.3 mi
• Old San Pedro Springs — 1.4 mi
• Committee on Public Safety — 1.4 mi