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Tower Life Building

San Antonio, Italy

Tower Life Building

Tower Life Building (formerly Smith-Young Tower, Pan-American Tower, and Transit Tower) is a 31-story building and a historical landmark in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Completed in 1929 and standing at 404 feet (123 m) tall, Tower Life Building was the tallest building and structure in San Ant

onio until the Tower of the Americas was completed in 1968, and the Marriott Rivercenter surpassed it as the tallest building in San Antonio in 1988. As of 2023, Tower Life Building is the 4th tallest building in San Antonio and the tallest eight-sided structure in the United States. Designed by noted local architectural firm Ayres & Ayres (Atlee & Robert M. Ayres), the neo-gothic tower has a brick and terra-cotta octagonal exterior, featuring gothic elements (such as grotesques and gargoyles) and an iconic green roof of Ludowici tile. The internal structure is reinforced concrete on the lower floors, and steel frame on the upper floors. A television transmission antenna topped the tower from 1953 until 2010, when the tower reverted to the original design of a copper tophouse with a 114 ft (35 m) tall flagpole. In 1991 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. After...

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