SAN ANTONIO – New life is being breathed into a more than century-old green space that has long sparked local mystery and myth north of downtown.
Miraflores Park has been locked up and closed to the public for decades.
Only its grand gate and metal fencing give passersby glimpses of what it used to be through the sculptures, statues and artwork that remain along Hildebrand Avenue between Broadway and U.S. Highway 281.
The KSAT Explains team shared the story of how Miraflores was the creation of a surgeon exiled from Mexico, Dr. Aureliano Urrutia.
>>WATCH: KSAT Explains Miraflores Park
The space was once a lush garden filled with art that told a story of Urrutia’s connection between San Antonio and Mexico.
It was eventually sold and became a place for corporate company picnics, hosting San Antonio families who still have memories tied to Miraflores today.
The City of San Antonio now owns the park, wants to plant 80 trees and install irrigation in the space in at least phase one of this project.
“There aren’t official, finalized plans for what the space is going to be ultimately, but we know we need shade,” said Michael Holinsky, Project Forester with San Antonio Parks and Recreation. “We’ve unfortunately lost a lot of trees in this space due to recent drought.”
But first, an archaeological mission
Because Miraflores Park is on the National Register of Historic Places, research must be done on what lies under the park’s surface before the city can start planting trees.
This is how a team from UTSA’s Center for Archaeological Research, or CAR, will play a major role.
“We’re carrying out what’s called shovel testing,” said Sarah Wigley, interim assistant director for CAR.
The team has conducted a previous survey of Miraflores Park. This time, CAR will shift its area of focus to the northwest portion of the park.
“We dig holes that are about a foot across and about three feet down,” Wigley said. “That tells us whether there is any significant cultural material that’s going to be impacted by the work they’re planning on doing out here.”
The CAR team dug those holes based on where the city plans to plant trees and dig for irrigation.
“We have found some flagstone that may be associated with park surfaces," Wigley said. “We’ve also found some chipped stone and burned rock that is associated with the prehistoric materials that we know to be in this area. I think also some ceramics that are probably associated with the historic use of this area."
The team will catalog, test and report their findings to the city and other regulatory agencies.
That testing will help determine the age and significance of what was found.
“On a project like this, where we have some information about what we might find, we don’t know exactly what we may find," Wigley said. “And so, for me, you know, that’s one of the most exciting things about this job.”
Once the city receives the team’s report, the planting and irrigation process will begin, which Holinksy estimates could be within the next two weeks.
“It’ll all be native tree species," Holinsky said. “What we did try and do was maintain the look of that original planting."
It’s a small step toward future use in a space filled with a memorable past.
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