San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-23
START W0RK0N
AUDITORIUM IN
NEXT 50 DAYS
Administration Moves to
Make City's Dream
a Reality.
USE HOME LABOR
Preference Will Be Given
Local Material, Prices
Being Equal.
USE HOME LABOR

Work on San Antonios municipal
auditorium, for which bonds were
voted in 1919 and for which the
people of the city have been clamoring
Tor five years, is to begin within three
or four months. 1t is hoped that work
may begin within 30 days.
This was decided Saturday at
conference between Mayor John w.
I'obin and the city commissioners.
The commission was unanimous, it
is understood, in deciding to so ahead
with what money is available, feeling
assured that the 100000 voted for
this purpose last December will be
on hand when needed. This 100000
at present is tied up because of the
contest now in the courts in which
opponents to the recent bond election
are seeking to have the election de-
clared void.
The city has on hand at the present
time more than S465, 900 of the origin
4 al $500, 900 voted in 1919 for the con-
struction of an auditorium. The diff
ference has been spent in purchasing
site and filling in a part of the
auditorium land reclaimed by chang
| ing the course of the San Antonio
/ river on Romano street.
Auditorium to Seat 5000.
With the amount already on hand
Mayor Tobin and the commissioners
believe, an auditorium of sufficient
/ size to meet the needs Of the city for
some time to come can almost be
1 completed. If the December bond is
sue is defeated in the courts Mayor
4 Tobin believes that an additional
amount sufficient to complete the au-
ditorium will be voted by the people
when the time comes.
The mayor and commissioners are
now engaged in looking over various
plans for the new structure. Mayor
Tobin believes that the auditorium
should have seating capacity of at
least 5000 persons, that it should be
| of the latest type Of construction and
should have perfect acoustic proper
| ties. For this reason great care will
be exercised in selecting an archi-
tect.
Steps toward building the auditor
ium were taken By the previous adj
ministration but nothing was done
| when additional bonds for this pur
pose were voted down by the taxpay-
ers. The Black administration, how
ever. had tentatively selected a local
architect to submit plans for the
auditorium and a tentative plans was
drawn. These plans, however, have
never been definitely accepted.
Will Use Local Labor. Materials.
1t is understood that the mayor
and commissioners will consider these
plans as well as plans from other
karchitects before definitely declaring
fhe matter. If these plans are suit
able il is believed they will be accept
cd. otherwise they will be rejected and
other architects asked TO submit
plans.
Mayor Tobin has already stated
that he expects to employ local labor
as much as possible in the construc-
ton of the auditorium and TO use
material from San Antonio dealers
wherever possible. 1t is believed that
the unemployment situation is one of
the reasons which moved the mayor
and commissioners to decide to start
work on the auditorium. Mayor
Tobin only recently declared that
there are hundreds of men out of en-
plcyment in the city and it is known
that he has been seeking means to
relieve the situation. The founda-
ton work on the auditorium would
furnish employment for scores of UNI
skilled laborers while the actual
structure itself would give employ
ment TO skilled laborers.
Delay Cause of Criticism.
Failure to build the auditorium
probably has caused more comment
and been the subject of more politi-
cal speeches than any other one thing
in the history of the city. The Bell
administration refrained from build
hing it and from doing other improve
ment work in the hope that building
priees would decline. They failed to
drop, however, and when the Black
administration took office it was
Found that the 100000 was not suf-
ficient to build an auditorium to
meet the needs of the city.
Mayor Tobin's plan it is believed
will accomplish the desired result and
San Antonio at the present time seems
actually about TO realize her ambition
for municipal auditorium. The
city in the past has suffered greatly
from the lack Of an auditorium, hav-
|inr missed many large conventions