Designed by locally prominent architect Leo M. J. Diehlmann and constructed in 1906, the Fairmount Hotel was originally used by commercial travelers, appropriate for its location between the city’s downtown area and the Southern Pacific Railroad passenger station. The Fairmount made international history in 1985, when it was moved four city blocks from the site of Rivercenter Mall at Bowie and Commerce Streets to a new location on South Alamo Street. The hotel is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest building ever moved on pneumatic tires. During its historic trip, which lasted four days, the building traveled on Commerce Street and crossed the bridge over the River extension.  The facade was donated to the San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation by the partners of the Fairmount Hotel Company, Mr. Thomas Wright, Ms. Virginia Van Steenberg and Mr. B. K. Johnson, in 1986. Restored and enlarged by a new addition, the building is now one of the city’s finer small hotels. By agreement between the Society and the original owner, the facade easement was not transferred to a new owner, in lieu of partial payment of the note owed the Society. More Facade Properties