Casa Navarro State Historic sits in a canyon created of skyscrapers; a tree-shaded remnant of Texas’ and San Antonio’s past.
After a year-long renovation, the house reopens on Feb. 25. Besides a new coat of paint, the house will have new interactive displays that tell the story of the once vibrant Hispanic neighborhood and Jose Antonio Navarro, an early-Texas patriot.
The son of an immigrant from Corsica, Navarro supported the independence of Texas from Mexico 20 years before the revolution. A friend of Stephen F. Austin, Navarro was one of two native Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence, and helped write the first Texas Constitution in 1836. He was an advocate for Tejano rights as a state senator and lawyer until his death in 1871 at the age of 76.
Saved from demolition in 1960, the historic site is actually three buildings. Navarro bought the property in 1832, and made it his primary residence when he sold his ranch near Seguin in 1853. The main house is L-shaped with four rooms. A small two-room adobe building housed relatives, and his law office and store were in the two-story building on the corner.
Casa Navarro is at Nuevo and Laredo streets a few blocks southeast of El Mercado and Mi Tierra Restaurant in San Antonio. For more information, go to www.visitcasanavarro.com.
This article appears in February 17 • 2012.
