San Antonio photographer, filmmaker and director Mark Roddenberry sat down with
KENS 5 to talk about his documentary film on the history of San Antonio.
The movie tells the story of the creation of San Antonio's skyline and the great architects
behind it. Looking through the lens of a camera, Roddenberry transforms downtown
San Antonio once again to the early 1900s, when architects were in a race for the sky.
KENS 5: What inspired you to want to film a documentary on San Antonio?
Roddenberry: I became a big fan of Atlee Ayres about two years ago. My agent and I
were looking at spaces here in downtown San Antonio and we found a space in a
wonderful building that's a block away from the Alamo. The building's name had been
changed. Formally it had been known as the Atlee B. Ayres Building.
The building was built in 1911, and one of the reasons it had been named in his honor
was because he had had his office on the sixth floor of the building for over 20 years. I
found myself so utterly taken by the beauty of the building.
KENS 5: Why do you find Ayres' work so compelling?
Roddenberry: Not only are the buildings he's built absolutely magnificent in every way,
but he too is a shining example of what one would define as a pillar of his community.
He was generous in every way.
He had two sons, Atlee Jr. and Robert. Robert would go on to also become an architect.
In 1925, they formed the partnership Ayres & Ayres. Robert was personally responsible
for the design of the tallest and surely one of the most beautiful structures in the San
Antonio skyline, the Tower Life Building.
KENS 5: Describe how architecture can take a person back in time?
Roddenberry: Not only did Atlee Ayres design some 500 structures, he also
held numerous titles ranging from the president of the Fiesta Commission
from 1911 to 1917 to that of the state architect of Texas. He and two other
architects were personally responsible for passing legislation that would
require architects to be licensed by the state.
To give you a feel for the time period, in 1903 there where only 12 cars in
San Antonio. Atlee Ayres owned car number eight. One can only imagine
how taken people must have been with this new invention.
KENS 5: Does the movie bring you back in time?
Roddenberry: During the time we spent creating our shot list, we spent
some time shooting still images of several of the actors riding around down-
town in a 1930 Ford convertible. I've never seen people react the way they
did to seeing that car.
For more information on the documentary, check out Roddenberry's website:
http://www.raceforthesky.com/
