A look at how Jefferson Village, the first shopping center in San Antonio, has changed over the last 70 years
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Mary Morales first visited Jefferson Village in 1979 to apply for a position as a stylist with Vee’s Hair and Spa. Four decades later, she owns the salon and preserves the remnants of the mall’s storied past.
When Jefferson Village opened in 1948, the mall one block from Jefferson High School was the first of its kind in San Antonio and possibly the nation, an L-shaped wonder with tall Art Deco signage and fresh Austin stone and greenery Glaze tile.
Today, Vee’s is all that remains of the center’s original 10 stores. The towering Jefferson Village sign is just a memory. The anchorages that once housed Sommers Drugs and Piggly Wiggly are now converted event centers. And in the stores in between that once sold baked goods, clothes, and hardware, are now makeshift dance and fitness studios, a Dollar General, and FOR LEASE signs.
Which might explain why longtime Jefferson Villager doesn’t miss a beat when asked what keeps this old retail center alive.
Jefferson Village as seen on September 24, 2021. One of the mall’s tenants, Vee’s Hair Salon, can trace its history back to the mall’s opening in 1948.
Jerry Lara / Photographer
“I do,” she said with a chuckle, then added, “It’s the neighborhood that makes it special. (And) I guess the story of the neighborhood. Because generation after generation is coming back. “
Jefferson Village, as seen in a 1954 Monticello yearbook from Thomas Jefferson High School. Jefferson Village opened in 1948.
Thomas Jefferson High School
What is really keeping Jefferson Village alive after 70 years? The answer may lie in its namesake, the historic district, where young and old fuel the old shopping center with their memories and their pocket money.
“(It’s) knowing the story of what was going on in the neighborhood back then and what is happening now. We’re trying to keep it alive, “said Ted Guerra, past president and current board member of the Jefferson Neighborhood Association.
Guerra moved to the Jefferson area about 20 years ago. He said the mall on Donaldson Avenue and Manor Drive is still standing thanks to shoppers and shopkeepers who refuse to make Jefferson Village disappear or become another home for a Starbucks or other big-name retailer.
“Not that we are against revitalization,” said Guerra. “It’s (just) almost like that, what do we want in our neighborhood? Because we drive up and down these streets when we come home from work, drive our kids to school, whatever it is. “
Jefferson Village has been part of the neighborhood since November 15, 1948 when Red River Dave McEnery and his western show opened a nightly opening of literal dancing in the streets.
Jefferson Village as seen September 24, 2021.
Jerry Lara / Photographer
The $ 3 million mall, built by Woodlawn Park developer EL Fite, opened with 10 stores: Hom-Ond Supermarket, Village Sporting Goods, Winn’s Variety Store, Naomi’s Gifts, Bowman’s Beauty Salon (later Vee’s), Village Bakers, Wilson’s Jewelry, Shepperd- Fraser Company, Blue Bonnet Shoe Shop, and Sommers Drugs.
Like the nearby school that inspired its name, Jefferson Village made national headlines in its early years.
In 1949, the mall took first place in a national development competition sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. Jefferson Village has also been named the country’s first commercial “strip” according to a 2002 Near Northwest Community Plan and 2009 Jefferson Neighborhood Conservation District documents, both of which were filed with the City of San Antonio.
Bob Cantu has called the Jefferson area home since the mid-1950s. Like most senior residents of Jefferson Village, Cantu best remembers the soda fountain at Sommers Drugs. Though in his youth he would hang around reading comics mostly in the summers while Jefferson students went for a cherry coke or other soft drink.
“I have fond memories of coming here as a kid,” Cantu said while visiting Vee for a haircut. “It was varied. There were many people from the neighborhood who did business here. So people felt comfortable coming here and doing business. “
Bowman’s Beauty Salon was renamed Vee’s after the original manager, Vee McMasters, who was billed as “Miss Vee, Nationally Known Hairdresser” when the salon opened in 1948.
McMasters took over Bowman’s in the early 1960s and likely changed the salon’s name to reflect who was in charge, Morales said. who became the full owner of the salon in 2015.
Morales remembers how much Jefferson Village has changed, and not always for the better. Sometime in the 1980s, Vee’s was the only tenant other than a Tupperware warehouse.
But Morales also has fond memories of Jefferson Village. She eventually met her future husband at Vee’s in 1991 when he showed up for a haircut instead of his mother’s date.
As for the future of Jefferson Village, Morales said she sees more young adults returning to the neighborhood. And they support their neighborhood businesses in the process.
It actually takes a village.
Express News researcher Misty Harris contributed to this report.
rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz
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