St. Anthony Catholic School

In early 1907, residents of the Laurel Heights area petitioned the Sisters of the Divine Providence, a French religious order, to open a neighborhood school. The order already operated four local schools and many more throughout Texas and adjoining states. In April 1907, the sisters purchased land from Eleanor Stribling. Sisters St. Stanislaus, Digna, Fidelis and Norbert conducted school in rented houses while planning for a permanent schoolhouse. Prominent local architect Frederick Gaenslen designed the classical revival building completed in 1909. Gaenslen studied at St. Mary’s college and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in Texas he had many commissions from the Catholic Church and related orders. The eight-classroom buff brick building was modeled after the St. Joseph Academy Building in Dallas. An entry portico dominates the main elevation, which also includes arched windows and pilasters. In the brick parapet, projecting gables with decorative friezes flank a raised central arched niche, which holds a statue of St. Anthony and is topped with a stone cross. Local patrons and the St. Anthony seminary supported the school in its early years, and the curriculum and facilities expanded as enrollment grew. Though it was solely an elementary school for much of its history, St. Anthony also included a high school and boarding school in prior years. Enrollment declined in the 1970s, and the sisters announced the school’s intended closing in 1985. Concerned parents and alumni organized a nonprofit group to purchase the property and continue the school. Classes resumed on schedule, and the school continues to operate a century after its founding.

St. Anthony Catholic School is a historical marker in San Antonio, Bexar County, dedicated in 2008. It is one of 239 historical markers documented in Bexar County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 542 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.4560, -98.4957 near San Antonio. The nearest cataloged historic site is Livingston--Hess House (historic place), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Partee, Hiram, House, Christ Episcopal Church, and Jay Adams House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507014596. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.