The UTSA Southwest Campus began in 1851, when Ursuline nuns founded San Antonio’s first school for girls along the San Antonio River. The original earth building still stands, but by the 1860s the thriving academy expanded into a limestone complex designed by architect François Giraud, with classrooms, dormitories, gardens, and a Neo-Gothic chapel. For over a century, Ursuline Academy was among the city’s leading private schools, serving students from Texas and northern Mexico.
In the 1960s, the Ursulines relocated to San Antonio’s northside, leaving the downtown campus abandoned. A devastating fire destroyed the large brick academy building, but the San Antonio Conservation Society intervened to preserve much of the historic site. In 1974, the society sold the property to the Southwest Craft Center, a new institution dedicated to the visual arts.
Over the next five decades, the Craft Center—later renamed the Southwest School of Art—led extensive restoration and renovation of the buildings, beginning with what is now Coates Chapel. Noted architects guided preservation efforts, and the site earned designation on the National Register of Historic Places and recognition as a Texas Historic Site. In 2004, it received the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The institution also expanded, purchasing nearby properties, creating new studios and galleries, and raising more than $14 million to enhance facilities, including ceramics, 3-D arts, and lecture spaces. A major trust fund was established to preserve the historic gardens and grounds.
In 2021, the Southwest School of Art formally became part of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Today, as the UTSA Southwest Campus, it provides a vibrant home for arts education, cultural programs, the School of Art and the School of Architecture and Planning, ensuring this historic site continues to serve students and the wider community.
