Miraflores

Miraflores. . The Land Along The San Antonio River below its headwaters was filled with springs that provided water for agriculture and livestock until the early 1900s when city development reached this area. In 1921 the old dairy farm at the corner of River Avenue (Broadway) and Cow Street (Hildebrand) was purchased by Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, a refugee from the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Urrutia hoped to build a sanitarium modeled after his Sanatorio Urrutia in Coyoacán, Mexico, but instead created Miraflores, a private garden filled with sculpture and fountains., The riverside garden was the site of many family gatherings and receptions for visiting dignitaries. Dr. Urrutia sold the Broadway frontage of Miraflores to USAA for its headquarters in 1953, and the company later purchased and preserved the sculpture garden. Subsequently owned by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and the University of the Incarnate Word, Miraflores was acquired by the City of San Antonio in 2005 and incorporated into Brackenridge Park., Captions , Left: Dr. Aureliano Urrutia left Mexico in 1914 and joined many other refugees from the Mexican Revolution in San Antonio. He built a successful medical practice and enjoyed a long career. Urrutia, seen here in 1959 at Miraflores, died in 1975 at the age of 104. , Courtesy: Express-News Collection, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections., Middle Left: Miraflores was the site of many celebrations and community gatherings as seen in this photograph from the 1930s. Entertainers performed on terraces set among the garden's many water features. , Source: Pinacoteca del Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, San Antonin; Artes Graficas, 1940., Middle Right: Miraflores is noted for its decorative features that include tiled benches, sculptural works, and faux bois pieces by renowned artist Dionicio Rodríguez. One of the garden's benches is seen here as it appeared in the 1930s. , Courtesy: University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections, Right: The elaborately tiled River Avenue (Broadway) entrance to Miraflores, seen here about 1945, was moved to the west along Hildebrand in the middle 1950s. It was relocated again in 1998 to the San Antonio Museum of Art as part of its Nelson Rockefeller Latin American art collection. , Source: Pinacoteca del Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, San Antonio; Artes Graficas, 1940. , Courtesy: San Antonio Museum of Art.