SKYRIDE PAVILION HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL DOCUMENTATION San Marcos, Texas

Transcription

1 SKYRIDE PAVILION HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL DOCUMENTATION San Marcos, Texas Location: 921 Aquarena Springs Drive San Marcos Hays County Texas The former Aquarena Springs Skyride Pavilion is located at latitude: , longitude: The coordinate was taken at the structure s main entry on May 24, 2011, using a GPS mapping grade unit accurate to +/- 3 meters after differential correction. The coordinate s datum is NAD The Skyride Pavilion s location has no restriction on its release to the public. The location is shown in Figure 1. Present Owner: Present Occupant: Present Use: Significance: Texas State University - San Marcos San Marcos, Texas Aquarena Center Vacant/Not in use The Aquarena Springs Skyride Pavilion, built in 1963, is significant for its architecture that features a morning glory roof structure, designed and fabricated by Texas muralist, sculptor, architect, and inventor James Buchanan Buck Winn, Jr. The organically shaped structures were fabricated of a framework of steel reinforcing rods welded around a steel pipe column, onto which a substance that Winn termed glop or gunk was applied, forming a translucent membrane.

2 (Page 2) Figure 1. Location Map. Source: USGS San Marcos North, TX 7.5 Series Quadrangle Map, 1995.

3 (Page 3) PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1. Date(s) of erection: Designer: Architect(s): James Buchanan Buck Winn, Jr.; Fred Biegler, Von Roll Engineering; Frank Bryant, Engineer. 3. Original and subsequent owners, uses: a. Ownership: Aquarena Springs, ; Southwest Texas State University/Texas State University-San Marcos, 1994-present. b. Use: amusement park ride, ; not in use, 1994-present. c. To be demolished in 2012 as part of a project by Texas State University to restore the site of the Aquarena Springs theme park to its natural appearance. 4. Builder, contractor, suppliers: Von Roll Engineering; Stokes Construction Company (foundations), Ted Breihan Electric; Hamilton Glass Company 5. Original plans and construction: The Sky Ride Pavilion retains its original appearance, minus the gondolas and queue control systems for the sky ride. 6. Alterations and additions: Although the pavilion itself is unaltered, the gondolas for the sky ride itself have been removed. B. Historical Context Aquarena Springs ( ) Aquarena Springs was an amusement park in San Marcos, Texas, located on Spring Lake at the headwaters of the San Marcos River. The brainchild of Arthur Birch Rogers, the park did not adopt its well-known form until 1950, when Rogers son Paul opened it as the amusement park his father had envisioned. Originally consisting of only a glass-bottomed boat tour launching from the south shore of Spring Lake, the park slowly added additional attractions, eventually expanding across the lake to the north shore. Despite its popularity in the midtwentieth century, the park suffered from declining visitation and was eventually bought by Southwest Texas State University (later Texas State University) for use as an educational and research center. In 1926, Arthur Birch (AB) Rogers purchased 126 acres of land surrounding the headwater springs of the San Marcos River with the intention of building a firstclass resort and tourist destination. The first part of the plan was complete in 1929, when the Rogers Spring Lake Resort Hotel opened on the banks of the

4 (Page 4) natural shallow lake formed by the springs. Successful at first, the hotel succumbed to the financial pressures of the Great Depression and was sold in 1934 for use as a health spa and recuperative center. In 1939, the hotel returned to the Rogers family, but was used for the next twenty years as a school for troubled children. During the 1930s and 1940s, AB s son Paul tinkered with the idea of putting glass-bottom boats on Spring Lake as a tourist attraction. It was not until Paul Rogers studied various spring resorts in Florida in the late 1940s, however, that he finally hit upon a glass-bottom boat fleet that would support his vision. With a new fleet of custom-designed wood boats, Rogers finally opened Aquarena in 1950 to immediate success. Later that year, Rogers unveiled his Submarine Theater, a submersible theater designed to showcase the underwater beauty of the springs along with entertainment provided by human performers. As the popularity of the park increased, Rogers planned for expansion. Historic buildings from the surrounding area were moved onto the park grounds in the late 1950s. In 1960, the park took over the hotel once again and reopened it as the Aquarena Springs Motor Hotel a year later. Workers transformed the north shore of the lake adjacent to the hotel into a walk-through garden, anchored by a historic grist mill and remnants of a Spanish mission. The Sky Ride, added in 1963, provided both an alternative means to reach the opposite shore and a different view of the popular springs. A pirate-themed ferry boat, added in the mid-1960s, provided a second means of crossing the lake. Cashing in on the South Pacific and Polynesian craze sweeping the nation, Rogers added a volcano stage to the Submarine Theater and various Polynesian imagery throughout the park in Finally, in 1978, Rogers added a revolving sky tower to the top of the hill directly north of the springs. The Rodgers family continued to own and operate Aquarena Springs until 1985, when they sold it to a private investor. The park continued with its activities for several more years, but was eventually sold to Southwest Texas State University in Although the university kept the glass-bottom boats in operation, the other amusement park elements were closed as the university shifted the focus away from entertainment toward education and preservation of the springs ecology. Artwork of James Buchanan Buck Winn, Jr. ( ) James Buchanan Buck Winn, Jr., was a muralist, sculptor, architect, and inventor born in Texas in He studied art in St. Louis, Missouri, and Paris, France, before opening his first studio in Dallas in Primarily known for his mural work, he later branched into architecture and began experimenting with various construction techniques at his later home and studio in Wimberley, Texas. He specialized in lightweight, durable, and economical building materials. Winn s final piece of artwork was completed in 1972, and he later died in 1979 at the age of 74.

5 (Page 5) Winn attended school in his home town of Celina until he graduated high school, after which he studied art under Oscar Berninghaus at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Upon finishing college, Winn continued his studies in art and architecture at the Academie Julian in Paris, France before moving back to Texas and opening his first studio in Dallas in In Dallas, Winn became a member of the Dallas 9, a group of young influential artists garnering national critical acclaim. Through the Depression, Winn painted murals throughout Texas and neighboring states. He attracted the notice of famed muralist Eugene Savage, who hired Winn as his assistant for work at the Texas Centennial in Among Winn s work at the fair was the circular mural depicting the history of ranching and an 85-foot tall obelisk erected at Fair Park s entrance. Winn moved his family to Wimberley, Texas, in 1940, and continued his work in art and architectural sculpture. His murals included a variety of media, including wood, gold leaf, and ceramic. His 1941 mural at the Mercantile National Bank in Dallas was the first to use 12 different kinds of wood to provide contrast in the design. In 1950, Winn painted the longest mural in the world at the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio, depicting the history of ranching, and in 1953 he completed the Magic of Flight mural at Amon Carter Airport in Fort Worth, which used a record-breaking acre-plus of gold leaf. In 1959, Winn began teaching at the UT School of Architecture in Austin, where he taught for seven years. During this period, he began experimenting with building materials, including combining cement, plastic, and fiberglass into a substance nicknamed Bucks Gunk which could be applied via a special spray gun in a process he dubbed archelithics. His first building using the material was the Chapel of the Hills in Wimberley, in In 1962, he was commissioned by Aquarena Springs to create the Morning Glories comprising the south loading pavilion of the upcoming Sky Ride. The archelithics method was used elsewhere by others, including in the construction of the dome at the Houston Astrodome in He mimicked the design of the Morning Glories in 1968 as part of the Frog Fountain at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Winn s later works include a bas relief at the Hilton Hotel built especially for HemisFair 1968 in San Antonio, and the Circle House in the late 1960s. The latter combined brick walls with a fan-folded fiberglass, cement, and metal roof that won critical international acclaim at conferences in Spain and Italy in 1973 and 1974, respectively. Winn s last commissioned work was a wood mural at the Commercial National Bank in Little Rock, Arkansas in His final piece of public art was a fiberglass and string window at the Chapel of the Hills in Winn died in 1978 at the age of 73.

6 (Page 6) PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: 1. Architectural Character: The architectural character of the Sky Ride Pavilion is a fusion of Space-Age Organic and Texas Hill Country Rustic. Winn s Morning Glories and the sky ride gondolas have a 1960s Hollywood science fictional quality about them, while the rustic limestone foundation walls are pure Texas Folk and relate the pavilion to the nearby restaurant/gift shop and to other buildings in the park. 2. Condition of fabric: The Sky Ride Pavilion is in good condition: it is structurally sound and has been maintained. The Morning Glories have significant surface rust and pitting in the lower steel rebar where it is exposed to the air, but the fiberglass forms show no cracks or other failures. Some of the structures supporting the large central dome have been slightly warped by the weight of the dome. B. Description of Exterior: 1. Overall Dimensions: The Morning Glories are laid out in a roughly L- shape, measuring approximately 84 feet by 92 feet. The full pavilion, including the reflecting pools, measures approximately 121 feet long and 98 feet wide. 2. Foundations: The foundation of the Sky Ride Pavilion is a trowel-finished raised concrete slab. Each Morning Glory is attached to a sunken concrete pillar containing a steel reinforcing tube. 3. Walls: A wall of battered, uncoursed limestone rubble topped with concrete surrounds the structure, following the curvature of the Morning Glories. The height varies between 32 inches above the finished floor on level surfaces to between 13 and 39 inches on ramps and inclines. Some sections of wall contain bump-outs, creating planter boxes. Under the canopies is a small building with walls made of rough-cut semi-coursed limestone. 4. Structural System, framing: Each Morning Glory canopy consists of 32 lengths of #4 (one-half inch) reinforcing bar (rebar) wrapped around a sixinch diameter steel tube. The rebar flares into the flower shape approximately nine feet six inches above the finished floor. The steel support tube is attached to a flanged collar, bolted to the subterranean foundation as described above. The electrical, air, and water systems enter the base of the canopies below the finished floor. The canopies are connected at their tangent points by 9/16 th inch bolts, enhancing their structural stability.

7 (Page 7) 5. Structural System, body: The canopies and dome consist of Winn s customized gunk spread over and between the rebar structures. The canopies form a bell-shaped hollow which was once filled with water; a pipe running up the center of the bell supported a light and a fountainhead. The canopies were originally translucent, but were later painted over in a variety of blues and greens. 6. Chimneys: N/A 7. Openings: The small building has a single five panel wood door with a light in the top panel. The door frame is wood. 8. Windows: The small building has ribbon windows made of single pane glass set in a steel frame. 9. Roof: a. Roof shape, covering: Outside of the Morning Glory canopies, the roof of the pavilion takes the form of a dome measuring 19 feet in diameter. The dome consists of a steel hoop frame supporting the sprayed fiberglass dome. Some sections of the dome were once painted different colors but have since been painted a uniform color. The small building has a flat roof covered with composite roofing. b. Gussets: Triangular gussets fill in the gaps between the Morning Glory canopies, forming a complete roof along with the dome. The gussets are composed of circular sections inserted into a metal frame and covered with sprayed fiberglass. The circular sections, like the dome, were once multi-colored but have since been painted over. C. Description of Interior 1. Floor plans: The Sky Ride Pavilion has an irregular plan that generally conforms to the outline of the canopy structures. The entrance to the pavilion, on the northwest, is marked by an irregular limestone boulder. The exit is at the southeast. The gondolas approached from the northeast using the north cable, and exited the station back to the northeast using the south cable. The small building is roughly a half-octagon with a single room. 2. Stairways: The pavilion contains no stairways. 3. Elevator: None 4. Flooring: The flooring of the pavilion and small building is trowelfinished concrete, painted with aquatic scenes. Much of the paint has faded or disappeared entirely.

8 D. Site AQUARENA SKY RIDE PAVILION DOCUMENTATION (Page 8) 5. Wall and ceiling finish: The pavilion has no interior walls. The ceiling is comprised of the undersides of the Morning Glories, small gussets inserted between canopies, and the dome, all composed of the same gunk as the bodies of the canopies. The dome and gussets once had colored sections to filter sunlight, but these have since been painted over. The interior of the small building is smoothed painted stone, with some attached plywood panels. 6. Decorative interior features: The flooring has remnants of decorative painting, but the pavilion was otherwise unadorned outside of its architecture. 7. Mechanical equipment: a. HVAC: The pavilion has no HVAC. The small building once had a window air conditioning unit but it has been removed. b. Plumbing: Plumbing connections are limited to the water lines running up into the Morning Glories, a drainage system for the canopies, and the recirculation system for the reflecting pools. c. Electric: The pavilion and small building both are wired for electricity. Each of the Morning Glories has a central light on top, and flood lights are attached at various locations to assist in lighting the surrounding environment. d. Other: The cog wheel, engines, and other machinery necessary to operate the Sky Ride remains in place in the center of the pavilion, but is not functional. The ride operation panel is immediately west of the machinery, next to the gondola loading point. 1. General setting and orientation: The Sky Ride Pavilion is situated at the southwest end of the Aquarena peninsula, between Spring Lake and the wetlands estuary. Northeast lies the main building; southwest is the wetlands boardwalk, and due west is a large tent platform and two-story building. 2. Historic landscape design: Originally part of the Aquarena Springs amusement park, the Sky Ride Pavilion was designed entirely by Buck Winn. In addition to the Morning Glory canopies and the dome, the pavilion includes two large reflecting pools that the gondolas passed over, with underwater lighting and spray fountains. Vegetation is abundant, with trees on the west and south sides, and planter boxes around and within the pavilion. A large grassy lawn is northeast of the pavilion and pools, under the old sky ride cables. Outside of overgrowth of the pools, the landscaping around the pavilion appears mostly intact from the historic period.

9 (Page 9) 3. Other features: The pavilion also includes a small flat-roofed stone building with ribbon windows at the roofline and a simple hollow core wood door. The building is approximately six feet high, and may have been an equipment/electrical room. PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Early Views: Richard Kidd, Hays County Historical Commission; Estate of James Buchannan Buck Winn, Jr. B. Current Views: All current color and 4"x 5" photos were taken by Ecological Communications Corporation in June C. Architectural Drawings: Copies of some architectural drawings are held by Aquarena Center and Texas State University San Marcos D. Bibliography Please see HABS No. TX-3550 for a complete bibliography. PART IV. PROJECT INFORMATION A. Federal Agency: United States Department of Housing and Urban Development B. Names and Affiliations of Those Preparing Documentation: Ecological Communications Corporation, Austin, Texas. Thomas Eisenhour, Project Manager, Historical Architect, and Photographer Kurt Korfmacher, Architectural Historian Lara Newcomer, Historian Kathryn St. Clair, Architectural Historian C. Date Documentation Prepared: June 2011

10 (Page 10) Figure 1. The Sky Ride Pavilion, facing southwest. Figure 2. Morning Glories shading the entrance, facing northwest.

11 (Page 11) Figure 3. Underside of the Morning Glories and the central dome facing northwest. Figure 4. Close-up of a gusset infill between canopies, showing decorative circles.

12 (Page 12) Figure 5. Morning Glory base, showing electrical and plumbing lines. Figure 6. Sky Ride Pavilion from above, facing north.

13 (Page 13) Figure 7. Detail of the dome and canopy lights, facing northeast. Figure 8. Mechanical building, facing west.

14 (Page 14) Figure 9. Sky Ride machinery, facing east. Figure 10. Operator s control station, facing north.

15 (Page 15) Figure 11. Curving stone walls and planters, facing north. Figure 12. A limestone boulder marks the entrance to the Sky Ride Pavilion, facing south.

16 (Page 16) Figure 13. Spillway of the upper reflecting pool, facing south. Figure 14. Exit ramp with curving wall, facing southwest. The concrete patch shows the location of the turnstile.

17 (Page 17) Figure 15. Informational sign with historical imagery. Figure 16. A Morning Glory after installation displaying its original translucence, circa 1963.

18 (Page 18) Figure 17. Shaping the rebar ribs of a Morning Glory at the on-site construction tent, early Figure 18. The form used to create the Morning Glories, early The historic hotel is visible in the background.

19 (Page 19) Figure 19. Preparing a completed Morning Glory for transport to the pavilion, early Figure 20. A crane prepares to lower a Morning Glory into position, early The rails for the Sky Ride are visible in the lower left corner.