Tower Life Building

Built in 1929 after two years of construction, the Tower Life Building is one of San Antonio's most beloved buildings. Reaching a height of 404 feet (504 feet to the top of the flagpole), the eight-sided structure was designed in the Late Gothic Revival style and has served as an office building. It was the city's tallest building for 59 years until the Marriott Rivercenter hotel was built in 1988. LocaI real estate firm Smith Bros. Properties originally envisioned it to be one of the components of a large complex of structures called Bowen's Island Skyscrapers. Only a few buildings, including the Tower Life Buildings, were built before the Great Depression halted the project. The Tower Life Building was renovated in 2010, which included the removal of an obsolete television tower and replaced by the flagpole. The building added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

McDonald, Colin. "Cityscape: Tower Life Building." Mysanantonio.com. December 23, 2012. https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Cityscape-Tower-Life-Building-4140738.php#photo-3932380.

Olivo, Benjamin. "Paula Allen: 31-story Smith-Young building opened in '29." Mysanantonio.com. June 20, 2010.  https://www.mysanantonio.com/life/life_columnists/paula_allen/article/Paula-Allen-31-story-Smith-Young-building-opened-783158.php.

"Tower Life Building." Emporis. Accessed April 23, 2019.  https://www.emporis.com/buildings/118199/tower-life-building-san-antonio-tx-usa.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Life_Building#/media/File:Tower_Life_Building,_San_Antonio,_2011.jpg