Ursuline Academy (San Antonio, Texas) Explained

Ursuline Academy
Location:San Antonio, Texas, US
Coordinates:29.4311°N -98.4922°W
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Marker:building
Mapframe-Zoom:12
Mapframe-Caption:Interactive map showing the location for Ursuline Academy
Built:1851
Architecture:Gothic
Added:November 25, 1969
Refnum:69000201
Designated Other1:Texas
Designated Other1 Number:2069000201
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom

Ursuline Academy is a former all-girls Catholic school located at 300 Augusta St. in downtown San Antonio, Texas. The school is now occupied by the Southwest School of Art.[1]

The school was founded in 1851 by Jean-Marie Odin, with construction on the building taking place from 1848 to 1851. It was designed by architects Francois Giraud and Jules Poincard and was built using the rammed earth technique.[1] Over the next several decades, the campus was expanded to include two chapels: one in 1951 and a larger one in 1868, a dorm building in 1866, a priest house in the 1880s and lastly a second school building in 1910.

In 1965, the school was closed and moved to northwest side of San Antonio, with the buildings left abandoned until 1971. The property was then bought by the San Antonio Conservation Society and was restored throughout the next decade. It was then occupied by the Southwest School of Art, which has been based in the building since. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 1969.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ursuline Academy . sanantonio.gov . January 11, 2023.
  2. Web site: Ursuline Academy . npgallery.nps.gov . January 11, 2023.