Collins Garden

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Located on the near south side of San Antonio, Collins Gardens is bounded primarily by Oriental Avenue on the north, Roslyn Avenue on the south, Nogalitos on the east, and the Frio City Road on the West. There is also a small, triangular portion of the neighborhood extending north from Oriental Avenue bounded by Floyd Avenue and Interstates 35 and 10 (formerly Hale Avenue). The neighborhood of Collins Garden is comprised of three original plats: Collins Courts and Southholme platted by Moore and Irish in 1913 and Collins Garden. The latter is named for Captain F.F. Collins, a Texas pioneer who bought the farmland between Nogalitos and the M-P Railroad and built a house, which was later destroyed by fire. After Captain Collins’ death the land was purchased by developer B.G. Irish and Company and platted in 1928. There were 622 parcels of land which sold for approximately $600 each. The housing stock is a mixture of Folk Victorians and Bungalows.

There are two particularly noteworthy buildings in Collins Garden. The first is Fire Station No. 16 originally located at 1519 Nogalitos. "Built in an eclectic Italian Renaissance and Spanish Eclectic Revival influenced style in 1921…..the building has a utilitarian feel appropriate for a government building built after World War I." (1) The building was vacated in 2001, and a new fire station was constructed at 2110 Nogalitos. The second structure is Collins Garden Elementary School built c. 1915 and located at 167 Harriman. The school was designed by Leo M. J. Dielmann who designed seven schools in this Progressive Style for the San Antonio Independent School District while he was board-appointed architect from 1914-1916.

Mardi Baron
San Antonio Conservation Society Volunteer – Historic Survey Committee
February 2009

Sources:

(1) taken from research conducted by Gloria Lamoureux, San Antonio Conservation Society Volunteer
(2) notes taken from City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation files

Collins Garden Elementary

Collins Garden Elementary School

Fire Station Collins Garden

Fire Station No. 16

Collins Garden Plat

Collins Garden Plat - 1928

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