The Tower Life Building is a landmark and historic building in Downtown

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, USA. Construction of the tower began in 1927 and the building rises and has 31 floors. The building, which opened in 1929, was originally named the Smith-Young Tower and is the central component of a partially completed development called the Bowen Island Skyscrapers. The eight sided, neo-gothic brick and Ludowici green terra-cotta tower (complete with gargoyles) was designed by noted local architectural firm Ayres & Ayres ( Atlee & Robert M. Ayres). While the exterior uses traditional materials such as brick, the internal structure is reinforced concrete on the lower floors, and steel frame on the upper floors. The building also housed San Antonio's first

Sears, Roebuck and Company Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

store in its lowest 6 levels. The other completed building in the development is the former Plaza Hotel (also designed by Ayres & Ayres), which opened in 1927. The property became the local outlet of Hilton Hotels in 1956 and was converted into the Granada Apartments in 1966. Subsequent structures in the development were never built as a direct result of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In the 1940s the building was renamed the Transit Tower for the San Antonio Transit Company, which the Smith Brothers purchased in 1943. In 1953 a television transmission tower was added to the structure. Renovations in 2010 removed the obsolete television mast in favor of the tower's original design, a copper tophouse with a tall flagpole. The building is now named for its current owner, Tower Life Insurance Company. In 1991 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. File:San Antonio River Walk July 2017 23 (Tower Life Building).jpg, The Tower Life Building as viewed from the River Walk File:SA tower view from between.jpg, The building is seen in the background to the right, behind the San Fernando Cathedral. File:Tower Life Building, San Antonio, Texas.jpg, File:TowerLifeBuilding, night green.jpg, File:Tower Life Building from Tower of the Americas.jpg, Viewed from the top of the

Tower of the Americas The Tower of the Americas is a observation tower-restaurant located in the Hemisfair district on the southeastern portion of Downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. The tower was designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford and was bu ...

in 2003.

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* * {{San Antonio National Register of Historic Places in San Antonio Skyscraper office buildings in San Antonio Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Office buildings completed in 1929

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