Alamo aims to preserve artifacts with a new lab
When Pam Jary Rosser began working as the on-site conservator at the Alamo in 2010, co-workers joked about her “cloffice” — an office the size of a closet.
Now, she’s in an environmentally controlled lab covering about 500 square feet, with high-definition screens, storage equipment, an emergency eyewash station and plenty of counter space and cabinetry to share with Tiffany Lindley, the Alamo’s on-site archaeologist.
It’s all the more rewarding that when she comes to work she’s reminded of her “second father.” The new Curtis C. Gunn Jr. Conservation Laboratory, which Alamo officials recently dedicated, is named for a San Antonio businessman and philanthropist whose daughter has been Rosser’s longtime best friend.
“It means the world to me in my heart that I have a lab that every day, when I walk in, I see his name and I know that he’s watching over me,” said Rosser, who served with Gunn on the board of Mission Heritage Partners, formerly known as Los Compadres. The organization raises private funds to support the federally run historic Spanish missions in San Antonio.
Gunn, founder of Gunn Automotive, died in 2021. His family is one of several donors who contributed a total of $14.4 million for the 24,000-square-foot Ralston Family Collections Center, where the new lab is located. The center’s 10,000 square feet of exhibit space opened to the public in March.
Rosser and Lindley have begun using the lab to study artifacts uncovered during construction, including antique bottles; examining mortar, stone and plaster samples from Alamo walls; and removing a white film that accumulated on one of seven bronze models of the Alamo, crafted by historical artist George Nelson and commissioned by Phil Collins.
Alamo Trust Executive Director Kate Rogers said the lab will be a “beacon of preservation” where experts will apply treatments, analyze new discoveries and care for more than 4,000 artifacts in the Alamo’s possession. A colorful vest worn by David Crockett and an ornate ceremonial sword belonging to Santa Anna are among those precious items.
“At the core of preserving the rich heritage that is the identity of Texas lies that responsibility of protecting the artifacts and the collections that chronicle the story of the Alamo,” Rogers said. “We now have this stateof-the-art facility that will enable us to do even more with greater precision and greater care.”