SAN ANTONIO — During segregation, the Negro Motorist Green Book mapped the sites where Black motorists could stay without fear of harassment or discrimination. Weary travelers weren’t welcome at most white restaurants and motels across the nation.
Eleven of those safe spaces have been highlighted in recent research by the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum in partnership with the city and Pamela Walker, assistant professor of history at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
Here are the 11 locations, most of which are no longer standing:
Oliver W. Johnson’s office
Attorney Oliver W. Johnson served San Antonio’s Black community during a time when courtrooms were segregated. One of his first offices was on the West Side, near the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Black neighborhood. In 1956, Johnson was the first African American lawyer admitted to the San Antonio Bar Association. He was a member of the Star Toms Lodge 100 chapter of Black free masons who served as pallbearers at his funeral in December 1979.
The State Theater
When the performance hall opened its doors in 1913, it was named the Majestic Theater. Sixteen years later, it was renamed the State Theater, where Black patrons had to enter through a back entrance, separate from white customers, to sit in the balcony. Refreshment stands and bathrooms were also separate. During the early 1930s, the theater had “Harlem Nights,” events that were reserved for Black audiences. Patrons paid 30 cents per ticket for a seat on the main floor or balcony. The theater closed in 1961.
Smith’s Café
During the days of segregation, Smith’s Café was a safe space for Black diners, a place that offered fine cuisine, entertainment and quality service. Tom and Julia Smith owned the eatery, at 505 E. Commerce St. Capitalizing on the café’s success, the couple opened the Monte Carlo Cave, a social club that doubled as a community gathering place by day and night club at night. Nothing remains of the site once known as one of the classy night clubs in the Southwest.
The Zumbro Center
Across the street from the Sunset Station, the three-story Zumbro Center, at 621 E. Commerce St., included a hotel, barber shop and offices.
The Mason Hotel
In the 1930s, Elton Mason opened the Mason Hotel that had a winding staircase and antique furnishing. Located on North Cherry Street, the two-story building was a haven for working class patrons and celebrity guests. In the mid-1940s, Elton Mason divorced his wife, Rachel, who took over control of the hotel.
Shirley Allen (center) walks with Texas A&M – San Antonio history professor Pamela Walker (left) at the first stop as the San Antonio African American Community Archive & Museum hosts a tour for the unveiling of Green Book Historical Markers around San Antonio on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. The book designated safe spaces for Black motorists during the Jim Crow era. A group of about 50 people went on the tour on the city’s Eastside with historians and educators who learned of locations around San Antonio marked as safe spaces for African Americans.
Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer
Carter Undertaking
In 1906, J.W. Williamson and his son George Williamson founded Williamson and Son Funeral Home, said to be the first Black mortuary in San Antonio. In 1921, O.J. Carter and S.J. Sutton bought the funeral home now operating as Carter-Taylor-Williams Mortuary.
Hicks Beauty School
Owned by Jessie Mae Hicks, the school offered day and night classes to young women and free services to those in need. A fire burned the school down in 1994.
Three Point Beauty School
Jane Pink Brown’s Three-Point Beauty Parlor opened in February 1946. His nephew, Pinkie Smith, owned the Ritz Hotel, a one-story, 24-room unit that once was on East Commerce Street. The parlor that had a barbershop and air conditioning burned down in 1973.
Eldorado Night Club
Lonnie Greer opened the Eldorado Night Club, once located at 1918 Wyoming St., in 1946. During the day, it was a grocery store. At night, it served as a club. The building was eventually demolished.
The Downbeat Chicken Shack
George “Truelove” Gilmore and Ira “Lightning” McNeil owned the diner at 402 Hedges that was once the Caddo Mattress Factory. The eatery specialized in chicken and steak, fare that appealed to local East Side residents and Black travelers seeking a place to dine.
Pamela Walker, history professor at Texas A&M – San Antonio (from left) and former student Vanessa Godsey stake a marker at a site that was once home to the Ritz Motel along East Commerce Street on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. The San Antonio African American Community Archive & Museum hosted a tour for the unveiling of Green Book Historical Markers around San Antonio that were designated safe spaces for Black motorists during the Jim Crow era. A group of about 50 people went on the tour on the city’s Eastside with historians and educators who learned of locations around San Antonio marked as safe spaces for African Americans.
Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographerThe Ritz Motel
Businessman Pinkie Smith owned the Ritz Motel, one of San Antonio’s first negro motels. The one-story, 24-room motel opened in August 1953, promoting hospitality to Black travelers and vacationers. In 1944, his first attempt to build an exclusive hotel for Blacks in a white neighborhood was denied by the city’s zoning board. Business dwindled in the ’70s, and the hotel was demolished by the late ’80s.
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