<\/p>\n
The desk first owned by F.W. McAllister, bought at Stowers Furniture while it was still on Commerce Street. Judging from the price, it probably was one of the store\u2019s higher-end pieces.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Taddy McAllister<\/p>\n
A handwritten inscription from F.W. McAllister, hidden for more than a century, records a desk as a gift from his wife Lena in 1894. It was bought at Stowers Furniture; McAllister may have known the owner from his work with the Retail Merchants Association.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Taddy McAllister<\/p>\n
The post office and federal building on Alamo Plaza was completed in 1937. It was built on the site of the 1907 Elks Club building, first in San Antonio to be built of reinforced concrete and demolished in 1932 to make way for its replacement.<\/p>\n
UTSA Special Collections<\/p>\n
The Clower (later Stowers) Building is shown here under construction circa 1909. When it was completed early the next year, it was the tallest building in San Antonio. It housed the Clower Installment Co. store until 1912, when Stowers Furniture moved in. The building was imploded in 1982.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Maria Watson Pfeiffer<\/p>\n
Shown here in 1910 on an islet in the Guadalupe River, Willard Simpson acted as structural engineer for the Elks Club, built in 1907. Just out of college, Simpson introduced reinforced concrete to San Antonio, combining flint rock and granite with plaster.<\/p>\n
UTSA Special Collections<\/p>\n
Columns about\u00a0Clower\u2019s and Stowers Furniture stores \u00a0(Aug. 15) and a mention of the Stowers Ranch (same original owner, George A. Stowers) that became part of Shavano Park (Aug. 22) both brought back reader memories that include a husband\u2019s sweet souvenir, downtown demolition, a wartime favor for a country singer and a legendary racehorse.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter reading your column about the\u00a0Clowers and the Stowers,\u201d wrote Taddy McAllister, \u201cI couldn’t resist sending you this picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the 2018 death of her mother, civic leader Edith\u00a0McAllister, \u201cI was cleaning things out. Mother had a little desk in the hall, and when I pulled out one of the drawers to dump some pencil stubs and stuff into the wastebasket, there on the bottom of the drawer was this writing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The handwritten note reads, \u201cBought Dec. 13, 1894 from Stowers Furniture Co. My Christmas present from my better half \u2013 F.W. McAllister, San Antonio, Tex. 322 S. Flores Street.\u201d Also recorded: \u00a0\u201cThis desk cost $16.50.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was about three years after George A.\u00a0Stowers started his store here. Judging from the price, this was probably a very nice desk. In 1894, according to Stowers\u2019 newspaper advertisements, you could buy an antique bedroom chair for 59 cents, a dining-room chair for a dollar and a solid-oak wardrobe for $10.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Frank William\u00a0McAllister (1856-1907) was a grocer, insurance agent and manager of the local Retail Merchants Association. He and his wife Lena \u2013 the \u201cbetter half\u201d of the inscription \u2013 were the parents of Walter W. McAllister Sr., known as \u201cMayor Mac\u201d during his five terms (1961-1971) as mayor of San Antonio.<\/p>\n
Quotes from a \u201clongtime friend\u201d in\u00a0F.W. McAllister\u2019s obituary in the San Antonio Light, Oct. 3, 1907, praise \u201chis courteous, gentle manners (and) pleasant personality.\u201d McAllister also was said to be \u201cin touch with the chief business interests of the city and did all in his power to influence their growth and importance.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time of the desk purchase,\u00a0Stowers Furniture was on Commerce Street \u2013 the premises that preceded the company\u2019s early 20th-century high rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n