The decrepitude of the missions was not the only problem. In the early 20th century, San Antonio was burgeoning. New structures were being constructed. Streets (Alamo, Commerce, Dolorosa/Market, Soledad and North Flores) were being widened to accommodate the increased traffic. This meant that the old adobes were being obliterated and the facades of more recent buildings on the South side of Commerce and the east side of the Dullnig Building on Alamo Street were being removed to allow for widening. And the City had yet to successfully address the problem of flash floods that inundated the town.

    Historical records showed that the floods of 1724, 1819, 1865, 1899, 1913, and 1921 were particularly destructive. Engineering reports by F. Schleichet, F. Giraud, and V. Considerant in 1865 recommended the removal of in-channel dams, enlarging the bridges, and not allowing the construction of buildings in known flood channels. W.E. Simpson, in his report of 1911, suggested a diversion channel that would carry storm water away from the downtown horseshoe bend. In 1920, the Boston engineering firm Metcalf and Eddy delivered a comprehensive engineering study on flood prevention to the City of San Antonio. Among its many recommendations were constructing a flood retention dam in the Olmos basin and a bypass flood channel from Travis Street to Dolorosa. Right in the path of this bypass channel stood the Old Market House, designed by John Fries, who also designed the well-known facade we recognize as the Alamo. 

     Into this story of a growing San Antonio comes Emily Edwards. Emily was born October 7, 1888, to Lillian Brockway and Frank Mudge Edwards, the third of five children. Her mother died when she was seven years old. From age ten to thirteen, she and her three sisters boarded at the Ursuline Academy where her artistic talent was encouraged. Subsequently, she studied at the San Antonio Female Institute for two years and studied drawing with Pompeo Coppini. In 1905, she moved to Chicago and stayed with her aunt in Jane Adams' Hull House to study at the Art Institute. In her second year,