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The
"Lady of Justice" Fountain
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 8, 2008 |
Thanks
to the diligence of our courthouse editor Terry
Jeanson, we’re able to share with our readers a noteworthy
blurb of restoration
/ preservation from Texas’
favorite city.
From Mr.
Jeanson’s e-mail:
I saw an announcement in the paper yesterday and couldn't pass up
the opportunity to attend the unveiling of the new Lady Justice fountain
at the Bexar
County Courthouse.
City and county officials, along with some judges (one was a Texas
Supreme Court judge) assembled in front of the courthouse
to dedicate the fountain and unveil the statue. The placement is in
front of the north side entrance and the public was seated in chairs
in the middle of Dolorosa Street. |
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"I
can't believe it's not butter." The normally soft sandstone-red
courthouse is bathed in a rich yellow glow of energy-saving light.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 7, 2008
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The
Statue before the Unveiling
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 7, 2008 |
As I'm sure [courthouse
aficionados] are aware, the original construction of the courthouse
included a courtyard on the east side. The courtyard was filled-in
with offices in 1927. The original fountain was moved a few blocks
east up Market Street and sat there until 1997 when it was knocked
over by vandals, destroying Lady Justice and seriously damaging the
water dishes and the base of the fountain. The fountain has now been
repaired and restored and a new brass Lady Justice statue (Themis)
sits on top. The new statue was designed by sculptor Gilbert Barrera,
son of Roy Barrera, Sr., a prominent San Antonio attorney.
According to today's paper (December 8, 2008), the new statue is Aphrodite,
not Themis. I stopped by the San Antonio Conservation Society and
got some information about the old statue. It looked nothing like
the current Lady Justice, but the current figure was inspired by the
previous one.
“Referred to (in old newspaper articles) as "Venus on the half-shell"
and "a haggard Grecian nymph," the former statue was a representation
of the Roman goddess Venus (Greek goddess Aphrodite) standing on a
scallop shell with two tiny Cupid figures at her legs, her arm arching
over her head, surrounded by a fluttering drapery. Considered to be
an eyesore, many were glad when it was moved in 1927 to the park at
the San Antonio Water Department's downtown pumping station on Market
St. near the Hertzberg Museum.”
According to a December 1997 article in the San Antonio Express, vandals
toppled the top part of the statue, shattering the figure of Venus
"into small pieces that were not only impossible to reassemble, but
were virtually unrecognizable." The three goddesses on the bottom
of the fountain were not damaged. The fountain seems to be made of
cast iron or "pot metal." |
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The
new statue and the original fountain
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 8, 2008 |
So except for
the new Lady Justice / Themis / Aphrodite statue, the rest of the
fountain is original. It's a beautiful addition to the courthouse
square.
Judge Wolff also bragged about the new lighting that shows off the
courthouse's
entire facade. Before anyone complained, he was quick to note that
the lighting was energy saving (only uses as much power as two clothes
dryers) and that the fountain water was recycled from courthouse
air conditioning condensation.
- Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 |
| "A
new lighting system bathes the facade of the Bexar County courthouse
in a yellow-orange glow." - Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 photo |
The
new Lady Justice / Themis / Aphrodite statue
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 8, 2008 |
| "A
collage of the three figures around the fountain base, one holding
a garland of flowers, one holding an urn and the third holding a cornucopia."
- Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 photo |
| The
San Fernando Cathedral (also on the city's Main Plaza) lit up for
Christmas. Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2008 |
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