‘Bit of the old with the new’
San Antonio’s federal courts move into $144.5 million modern setting
The halls of the federal justice system in San Antonio have moved west.
Judges, support staff and other federal employees have left the John H. Wood Jr. federal courthouse at Hemisfair park behind and settled into digs at the new federal courthouse, a 235,000-square-foot building at the southeast corner of West Nueva Street and South Santa Rosa Avenue.
The new courthouse, nearly two decades in the making, is not yet open for trials or court hearings in part because final touches are being made and the pandemic has stalled in-person hearings. But the $144.5 million courthouse has opened its doors for court business, including the filings of lawsuits and payment of fines.
The new building ushers in modern features, with touches of the past. It is much larger than the Wood building, a midcentury landmark that was originally the Confluence Theatre for Hemisfair ’68.
“We tried to do a little bit of old with the new,” said U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who has led the judiciary’s efforts for the new building for 18 years. “It’s trying to acknowledge our history and bring it into our new courthouse.”
Architects replicated the decorative O’neil Ford wood design in the old courthouse in the jury assembly room, Rodriguez said. The Ford design also was re-created in wood used inside the building’s eight courtrooms — in the swinging doors that separate the audience pews from the “well,” where the plaintiff (or prosecutor), defendant and the attorneys sit during a trial.
Additionally, dark brown leather was incorporated on walls behind the judges’ benches, similar to the leather that was used in one of the original federal district courts in San Antonio, which is now the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, next to the Alamo. That building now houses the bankruptcy court and a post office, among other offices.
The center of the new courthouse is a large atrium with natural light coming through the courthouse’s many glass windows and walls. Office space takes up most of the three floors on one side of the atrium, while courtrooms and judicial chambers are on the opposite side, on two of the floors.
No longer will jurors assemble in the old courthouse’s windowless basement, which some jokingly referred to as “the dungeon.” Instead, the jury assembly room in the new courthouse will give jurors views of San Pedro Creek and its River Walk-like walkway — once Bexar County finishes the creek project’s ongoing construction.
A stage-like platform was built on the ground floor, below the jury assembly room. Judges plan to use the platform for some ceremonies, such as naturalizations.
A vibrant mural called “Riparian Nexus,” commissioned by the Art in Architecture Program of the General Services Administration, hangs on a wall below the jury assembly area. The creation of Laredo-born artist Thomas Glassford, the abstract incorporates elements of San Antonio’s landscape, as well as traditional justice symbols in a work that depicts that justice should flow freely, according to a description of the work.
Glassford also created a long bulbous glass sculpture that hangs from the atrium ceiling and a separate metal sculpture that adorns the exterior of the courthouse’s west end. They are abstract representations of the scales of justice, Rodriguez said.
The courtrooms are outfitted with modern technology and new furnishings, and employees no longer have to worry about faulty heating and cooling systems, like they saw at the Wood courthouse.
Also, the jury deliberation rooms are “hugely improved,” Rodriguez said. In the Wood building, “12 people could hardly fit in the deliberation rooms, and there was practically no privacy for jurors going to the bathroom.”
Besides function and aesthetics, the new courthouse was also designed to address security issues evident at the Wood building.
At the Wood courthouse, inmates were visible to the public when they were brought to court because transport vehicles descended into an open sally port behind the courthouse. Sharpshooters were often posted around the courthouse for security when defendants or witnesses were brought in during high-profile criminal trials.
At the new courthouse, the sally port is enclosed by iron fence and no longer open to public view, and the U.S. Marshals Service now has holding cells that allow it to separate prisoners from inmates who are cooperating.
Additionally, the judges’ chambers are housed deep behind secured doors and hallways, not mere feet from the lobby, like they were in the Wood courthouse.
At the Wood courthouse, judges, jurors and court employees used the same corridors and elevators as inmates. At the new courthouse, “there’s no more intermingling with prisoners,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also said the grand jury area is now more hidden and secure than it was in the Wood building.
Judges moved into the courthouse in the latter half of December, along with employees of the clerk’s office and the U.S. Marshals Service. Employees of the U.S. Probation Office moved in over the weekend.
The courthouse also has executive offices because it serves as headquarters for the Western District of Texas, including the clerk, probation and pretrial services, among others.
It also includes office space for the federal public defender, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees the construction of the new building. The GSA said the builder is Brasfield & Gorrie of Birmingham, Ala., and the architects are Muñoz & Co. and Lake | Flato Architects, both of San Antonio.
Funding was pushed through Congress with efforts by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, and San Antonio’s congressional delegation, including Rep. Henry Cuellar.
“Getting this courthouse off the ground was years in the making, and to see those efforts now come full circle as they prepare to open their doors is fulfilling,” Cornyn said. “A new legacy of safety, community and justice is on the horizon for the people of San Antonio.”
Because funding limited the original design, the new courthouse does not have its own public parking. Jurors and visitors must use paid parking lots in the area.
Congress will have to decide what to name the new building. The old courthouse was named for U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr., who was killed in May 1979 in a murder-for-hire plot.
Rodriguez said a space has been set aside on the third floor to display Wood’s judicial robe and portrait and a plaque to pay tribute to the slain judge.
“We tried to give a lot of thought to the building and tried to get it all,” Rodriguez said.
“Getting this courthouse off the ground was years in the making, and to see those efforts now come full circle as they prepare to open their doors is fulfilling.” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn