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Welcome to a Landmark
The Historic Peden Iron & Steel Building
In the spring of 1912, a fire broke out in the Peden Iron and Steel Company’s warehouses located on South Flores Street. Founded by E.A. Peden and R.P. Smith in 1894, the company wholesaled iron and steel products to the construction, railway and oil industries. Since 1909, the Houston-based firm had operated a successful branch in San Antonio—a booming city in the Southwest.
Soon after the fire, the owners purchased a parcel of land that stretched
150 feet just across the street from the damaged plant. Then Peden, a
well-known civic leader in Houston, hired one of the most famous architects
in Texas to build the new branch offices and warehouses.
Atlee B. Ayres (1874–1969), the future “state architect of Texas” would go on to design numerous public buildings, but at the time he was primarily known for his Spanish Colonial Revival residences. Many of these homes continue to grace San Antonio’s historic neighborhoods today.
When the building was completed in 1913, Ayres boasted that the company’s
new home was “one of the most modern of its kind in the country.” Peden’s
bold choice had paid off.
The branch operated at 1401 South Flores Street until the early 1930s. In all likelihood, the Depression-era economy had taken its toll on the industries served by Peden Iron and Steel.
For the remainder of the 20th century, the building proved itself an accommodating host to a wide variety of tenants—a hardware company, a General Motors parts division, a paper company, a wholesale furniture business and a Realty company.
In 2006, the Peden Iron and Steel Company Building was purchased by Dennis and Jill McDaniel, who are bringing a new level of modern living to San Antonio’s historic downtown.
Today, Ayres’ boast is once again current. Welcome to the Steel House Lofts.Historic Spaces. Modern Living.