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2 Second Floor Plan 1 Cupola Above 2 Mezzanine 3 Stairs 4 Mechanical 5 Restroom 6 Interior Roof 7 Stage Below
First Floor Plan 1 Pre-function 2 Bar 3 Office 4 Green Room 5 AV Room 6 Ramp 7 Servery 8 Kitchen 9 Storage 10 Restroom 11 Corridor 12 Assembly 6
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until 2000 when the Pearl Brewing Company ceased operations in San Antonio and sold the entire 26-acre tract to a local developer, Silver Ventures. The new owner has spent the past decade transforming the property into a lively mixed-use complex called Pearl. The development’s dominant structure is still the main brewery building, a massive brick pile that shares a similar Victorian architectural expression with the stable. Pearl’s tenants include AIA San Antonio’s Center for Architecture, the Culinary Institute of America, three restaurants, shops, and live/work housing. Pearl Stable, its renovation completed in 2006 by Ford Powell & Carson, serves as a function room that can be rented for special events. Over the years unsympathetic modifications were made to the stable building, including the removal of the entry’s elaborately detailed brick pediment, painting of the exterior brick, replacement of wooden windows with aluminum windows (some were in-filled with brick), and dismantling of the cupola. The task of converting the historic stable required minor exterior modifications to accommodate the building’s new use, and its interior was transformed to provide an elegant venue for functions without losing the sense of the building’s lengthy history. As part of the exterior renovation, the pediment was reconstructed and a cupola similar to the original was installed. The paint was removed from the brick but the original stain that highlighted the brick corbelling was retained. New wood windows similar to the original windows were inserted in some of the original openings. The interior was reconfigured by the architects to create an elliptical
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