When the first railroad came to San Antonio, twenty-five years ago, it was a little Mexican town of five thousand inhabitants. The parks of the present day were mud holes and during the rainy season the streets were veritable sloughs in which the ox teams were wont to bog.

The enormous wealth in rock and soil lay dormant. Transportation by wagon across a thousand miles of prairie infested by brigands and Apache Indians was impracticable. And so the Lone Star State waited the coming of the "plush-lined, nickel-plated, whistling wash room, the coon bossed towel," as the Texas cowboy describes a passenger train.

Since that time the growth of San Antonio has been rapid and substantial. And in building this large new depot the Southern Pacific Company has demonstrated the fact that they are prepared to keep pace with the march of progress. From the little frontier

town of five thousand inhabitants in 1878, San Antonio has grown to be a city of sixtyfive thousand souls and the metropolis of a state that is an empire. There are sixteen thousand pupils in attendance at the various schools and colleges. The streets are well paved and lighted and all of the comforts and advantages of this convenient age are possible to all.

The formal opening of the new depot was a notable event. All of the citizens of San Antonio and the environs took part. The ceremonies were under the auspices of the Business Men's Club and consisted of a luncheon in the main waiting room and a public reception in the afternoon. Covers were laid for two hundred and the guests included the leading business men of the city, Major-General Fred Grant and Vice-President Markham, Manager Van Vleck and Freight Traffic Manager Jones of the Southern Pacific Company.

Mr. Hildebrand, the president of the club, was the first speaker. In the course of his remarks he said: "While many causes have led to this great change for the better, we recognize as chief among these causes the railroads." Mayor Terrell responded and was followed in turn by Vice-President Markham, who spoke of the common interest of

-Bishop Berkeley's Prophecy.

the people and the railroads. To illustrate his argument he told the story of the enterprising citizens of Columbia, Texas, who secured the first line by building a bridge across the Colorado river, and thus gained the railroad after it had been mapped to Bastrop. Mr. Messmer then read an original poem dedicated to the new Sunset depot.

At the conclusion of the ceremonies the first train rolled into the station. It was a special, having on board the Boer representatives who recently made a tour of the east, in charge of Colonel S. F. B. Morse, passenger traffic manager of the Southern Pacific, and Colonel M. D. Monserrate. Although too late for the banquet they were welcomed in true western style, taken into the station and served with refreshments.

The idea of the designers of the building was to have it in keeping with the city. It is of the Spanish Renaissance style of architecture and is modeled after the lines of the Alamo. There are two square towers on the south side and the building is surrounded upon all sides by an arched arcade. The walls are washed in light ochre, trimmed with red pressed brick. The roof is of red Spanish tile. The interior arrangement affords the traveling public every convenience. The main waiting room is patterned after a Mexican custom house with a balcony on three sides and a broad stairway on the fourth. stair is of quartered oak, as is also the balcony rail.

The

An imposing depot or train shed is in course of construction at Houston, Texas, over the station tracks of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. Elsewhere appears a full-page illustration of this structure, which is ninety-six feet wide, composed of steel trusses constructed on the principal of a three-hinge arch. The posts of main trusses are forty feet apart with intermediate rafters and horizontal and vertical trusses for sustaining intermediate members and taking care of windows between. The system was adopted principally for convenience in erection, as the yard is so crowded, that no trains may be at any time blockaded during construction. On the east side of the main shed there is a projected awning above which is a clear space, furnishing light and ventilation to the interior of the shed. There are also skylights and ventilating monitors, the entire length of the building. The frame work was erected and completed in fourteen days from the time of its delivery on the