Satoshi's Sidewalk #12: Adaptive Reuse
What was old is new again: The Pearl Brewery
I spent this past Saturday visiting in San Antonio, Texas walking around downtown and along the River Walk. The downtown area is relatively compact and the buildings are a mix of old and new-ish. I’m partial to the Texas limestone used in many of the buildings. Throw in some old buildings, good drinks, a long walk on a 72-degree day - and voila!
*Chef’s Kiss*
Our walking journey ended at the Pearl District. An adaptive reuse and mixed use development just outside of San Antonio’s downtown in the River North neighborhood. The property was purchased by Silver Ventures in 2002 and has been redeveloping the 26 acres ever since. The district contains numerous restaurants, shops, a hotel, apartments, and offices. A little bit of everything.
The Pearl District has also jump-started local redevelopment to meet demand for other uses - many of which are also mixed use. This is the best kind of redevelopment. Mixed use buildings were the norm until local governments were able to restrict land uses starting in the early 20th century with some absolutely awful US Supreme Court rulings. For a lobotomized take understanding basic economics and common sense, see Euclid v. Amber Realty.
The original brewery was opened in 1881 and operated until 2001. At one point, the Pearl Brewery was one of the largest in the nation. Typical of the day the brewery was designed for both industrial use (aka brewing the Pearl beer) and for beauty. The original architect, Augustin Maritzen, was from Chicago and was renowned for his breweries. Maritzen used local mason and local limestone to construct the building. A brewery need not be extravagant but it certainly doesn’t need to be bland. The proprietor knew this. Many in the day knew this.
If you want something to last, build it right the first time so that others may use it over and over again. Buildings today are the equivalent to cheap, plastic toys when put up against sites such as The Pearl District. Existing buildings can be adapted for different uses. This is not to say all can be adapted or that all should. Not all old buildings were built or designed to last, but the Pearl Brewery was.
This kind of low time preference in design and building is sorely lacking today. There are ways to build beautifully but the cost is still more by comparison. Buildings are designed and built with value engineering in mind. Value Engineering is the act of designing with cost in mind. If the design can be done more cost effectively (read: cheaper) than the design should be changed to reduce costs. This is nice for the developer’s P&L but not so much for the long term use. The lifespan of the building is severely limited by the materials and methods used - the epitome of high time preference action.
The fiat standard acts like an acid which is repeatedly applied in thin layers, over and over again, year after year. This fiat acid eats away at a society’s ability to think, to act, and to plan further into the future. For our interest here at Bitcoin Urbanism, the acid has eaten away at our collective knowledge to build our cities and towns in a manner which generates wealth. Instead we unwittingly consume wealth. Destroying the seed stock as we go.
This is not the way.
On a lighter side note, the Sternewirth in Hotel Emma at the Pearl District is my new favorite. I mean, the Hotel Emma is something to behold anyways. We didn’t stay there this time but will try for our next visit.
The only question is: more sats or Hotel Emma weekend stay?
