The Historic Granier Building at the Judson Candy Factory
History of the Building
Welcome to the Historic Granier (gran-air-e) Building at the Judson Candy Factory Lofts, Unit #1202!
The Judson Lofts include three buildings: The Warehouse, the Factory and the Granier. The Granier was not part of the original candy factory.
This historically designated building is over 110 years old and served as the Italian grocery store in the small Italian settlement of San Antonio. Decades back, across the street where the San Antonio Housing Authority stands were many single-family homes that housed the original Italian community of San Antonio.
The original Granieri Family visited the first residents of this building in 2009. Nine descendants of the family came for dinner and gave the original Granier Building residents a tour of the structure as it was when they grew up in the area.
The second floor, where this unit is located, was a part of a large boarding house. The family lived on the Flores side and rented small rooms to pecan workers, Tobin Map Company workers and others in the area. There was one large kitchen in the center of the building and a bathroom for the family and a separated bathroom shared by the boarders. The first floor was the grocery store and the basement was the “cooler” keeping fruits and vegetables fresh from the Market Square Farmer’s Market.
The building sat vacant for over 15 years before the sale and renovations began in 2006. The first resident of the Granier was Steve Gehrlien, who was a first cousin of the Granieris. He lived in unit 1203 and 2011.
Unit 1202 is being sold by the second owner. The ceilings were to be rocked during the renovations, but the original owner managed to talk the developer into leaving the exposed wood. If you look directly above the entrance, you will see the Steves Family stamp from their lumber company. The tiles over the kitchen sink were found in a city of San Antonio salvage sale. They are pictures of City hall and San Fernando Cathedral. The balcony railing is custom made from a company in Fredericksburg. The San Antonio office of Historic Design and Review Committee required the railing be designed to match the original design as near as possible. They are wood and are replaced as needed by the Condo Association.
The neighborhood is full of San Antonio history and continues to evolve and blossom. We hope the new residents treasure their time in this piece of San Antonio history.