Comal, Centennial & Memorial Garden

The Heritage Association of San Marcos' 46th annual Historic Spring Tour is approaching and will feature the stunning art and architecture of Texas State University. Visitors can explore several of the university’s most fascinating historic structures, sculptures and art, the Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall and MakerSpace, the Albert B. Alkek Library and the Alkek One MakerSpace fabrication shop. Golf carts will be available for those who are mobility impaired. Lemonade stops will be available along with cafes that the university will open for the day. MakerSpaces at both the Alkek Library and the Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall will be open for tours, which will run every 30 minutes.

More information on these spaces is available at the Heritage Association of San Marcos website. Following the Tour there will be the “Welcome To and Welcome Home Party for GJ Kinne and David Bailiff” at the Dan and Cindee Diepenhorst Champions Club from 5:30 - 9 p.m. Tickets are $45 per person and are available at the Heritage website.

On the elevated grounds between Flowers and Lampasas halls, near the Bell Tower that sits off Bobcat Trail and under the breezy shade of several oak trees can be found Texas State’s Memorial Garden. While modest in size, the garden holds a significant meaning.

Established as a long-lasting tribute and legacy to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends who have passed, the Texas State Pride and Traditions and Committee chose the location for the Memorial Garden in 2009. Several sizable stone monuments adorned with numerous plaques in memoriam of those lost are a prominent element of the site. Though not far from major university walkways, students and visitors alike find a bit of peaceful solitude when resting on the garden’s multiple benches, which are also commemorated to the memories of community members. Just north of the Memorial Garden is one of Texas State’s most impressive structures — Centennial Hall. Constructed in 1926, with additions completed in 1958, 1983, and 1997, Centennial’s Classical Revival architectural style was developed by the C.H. Page Brothers. At four stories, Centennial Hall’s mazelike layout can be a bit bewildering for first-time visitors, with its bending hallways and modernized classrooms and labs that serve a wide range of academic purposes.

Housing the departments of Communication Studies and Modern Languages, Centennial is also home to the Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, one of the world’s oldest live animal resource centers. After being in operation in the United States since the 1930s, the stock center was relocated to Texas State in 1992.

The Comal Building sits a few staircases downhill from Centennial Hall. Another one of Texas State’s buildings developed by the C.H. Page Brothers architect firm, it was designed in the Classical Revival style with Mediterranean influences and built in 1918, originally doubling as the university’s Education Building and San Marcos High School. In 1937, as a result of financial constraints caused by the Great Depression, Comal would also come to serve as the community’s elementary school until 1965.

The structure underwent multiple renovations in 1929, 1937 and throughout the 1950s. Because of its prominent position in the center of campus on one of Texas State’s busiest pedestrian malls, the Comal Building would undergo a major redesign in the 1980s to preserve its architectural heritage while still meeting modern functionality, compliance and aesthetics. The design team of this particular renovation restored the exterior by utilizing historical documentation to recapture the building’s beauty while revamping the interior to adequately serve the departments that have called Comal home. Comal’s first floor now features an enchanting grand entrance atrium with glass-fitted panels, offering students and visitors substantial space while providing for a refreshing vista.

Formerly the seat of the psychology unit, the building now serves the university’s philosophy and computer science departments.

The Heritage Association of San Marcos’ Historic Spring Tour covers some 20 iconic sites across the Texas State campus, from its oldest building — the 1903 Old Main building — to one of its newest — the 2018 Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall. Highlights include historic houses such as the Thornton International House and the Richard A. Castro Undergraduate Admissions Center. There is a wide range of academic buildings that have evolved over the years, including the Comal Building, Centennial Hall, Flowers Hall, Taylor-Murphy History Building, Alkek Library, Emmet and Miriam McCoy Hall and the Undergraduate Academic Center. The tour also features artworks including The Wittliff Collections, LBJ Statue, Bobcat Statue, Vaquero Statue, Memorial Garden, and Buck Winn’s History of Ranching and Flowers Hall murals.

Each week watch for more articles on the Tour in the San Marcos Daily Record.

Presale tickets for “Town & Gown: The Art and Architecture of Texas State University Tour” tickets are $25 through May 19, $30 day of the event. Tickets to the “Welcome To and Welcome Home Party for GJ Kinne and David Bailiff” are $45. Go to heritagesanmarcos.org for tickets, MakerSpace registration, parking information, check-in locations and tour maps. For any questions or sponsorship interest please call Bronwyn Sergi (Tour Chair) at 512-757-0730.