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History of the Irish Flats Just three blocks from the Alamo, is an area known as the Irish Flats. The residential com- munity was home to both Irish and German immigrants who came to the area between 1830 and 1860. The area they choose to settle was flat bottom land, bounded on the south by the Alamo Plaza and Houston streets; on the north by 10th Street; on the west by Avenue C (Broadway); and on the east by the ancient Acequia Madre. Irish Flat houses are considered unique, com- bining features of homes the immigrants left in Ireland, as well as German and Spanish in- fluences, giving the neighborhood a quaint, old world look. With narrow front porches, low rooflines and thatch roofs, the style identifies the Irish Flat house as the "only indigenous architectural style to have its origins in San Antonio.” (S. A. Express-News.2/3/99.) Legend has it that home building was a com- munity effort using what might be termed as soft stone, quarried near Mission Conception on the south end of San Antonio. In the 1850’s, faith communities grew in and around the neighborhood, as evidenced by St. Mary’s Catholic Church; St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and First Presbyterian Church. The homes pictured are the few remaining ex- amples of Irish Flat houses, which fell victim to commercial expansion after 1917. Early Irish Settlement dating back to late 1840’s, San Antonio, Texas. Please note that the remaining Irish Flat houses are home to private businesses, and are unavailable for tours. Sponsored by: The Harp and Shamrock Society of Texas P.O. Box 15306 San Antonio, Texas 78212 The Irish Flats Walking Tour Churches in the Flats First Presbyterian Church, 1846 St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1852 St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1858
