Fact Sheet
|
For information contact: Heather Murray or Dave George
sales@buckhornmuseum.com
Phone: (210) 247-4000
Fax: (210) 247-4020
Buckhorn Saloon & Museum at a Glance
Awards
• 2002 “Best Attraction” prestigious award backed solidly by a satisfaction-or-your-moneyback
guarantee. (Downtown Alliance/San Antonio)
• 2002 “Best Caterer,” exclusive caterer to the Buckhorn, Don Strange of Texas, Inc. creates
superb events that are customized in every detail from menu to entertainment. (Greater
Hotel/Motel Association)
• 2001 “Best Off-Site Venue” for convention functions, the 6,500 square foot convention area
is decorated in rustic Texas style. This room and the adjacent Buckhorn will accommodate
groups as large as 1,900. (Greater Hotel/Motel Association)
Historical Facts
• Albert Friedrich opened the Buckhorn Saloon on Dolorosa Street in downtown San Antonio
in 1881.
• Friedrich, an avid hunter and outdoorsman, decorated his Saloon with his own trophies. He
complemented his collection with the pelts, horns and mounts that trappers, hunters, cowboys
and cattlemen would trade for a beer or a shot of whiskey.
• Some of the largest cattle deals in the Southwest were made at the Buckhorn. By 1890, ten
million Texas longhorn cattle had been driven up the cattle trails to Kansas.
Buckhorn Saloon & Museum at a Glance Page 2
• In 1896, the Buckhorn was moved to the corner of Houston and Soledad Streets.
• “Meet Me in St. Louis”, the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Centennial, had more than 12 million
visitors. The Buckhorn’s 78-point world record whitetail deer antlers were on display and
were insured for $5,000.00.
• Pancho Villa discussed plans for the Mexican Revolution of 1910 at the Buckhorn.
• In 1922, when Prohibition was putting most Saloons out of business, the Buckhorn moved to
the corner of Houston and South Flores Streets and continued to thrive. Friedrich made up
for the loss in revenue from liquor sales by selling lunches and by creating a curio store that
sold tens of thousands of unique souvenirs. For many years the armadillo baskets and
rattlesnake ties and watch fobs were the most popular items.
• In 1956 the Lone Star Brewery purchased the Buckhorn collection. Harry Jersig, President of
the brewery and a friend of the Friedrich’s, continued to add to the collection and had a
special building erected on the Lone Star grounds to house the collection.
• In 1968, when the World’s Fair was held in San Antonio, the Lone Star Brewery built the
Lone Star Pavilion and the “Hall of Texas History” wax museum.
• In honor of the collection, the Lone Star Brewery began brewing Buckhorn beer in 1972.
• The Lone Star Brewing Company was sold to Olympia Brewing Company in 1977. The
Buckhorn Collection changed hands five times between 1977 and 1997, when the Stroh’s
Brewing Company decided to divest itself of the collection.
• In 1997, Friedrich’s granddaughter, Mary Friedrich Rogers, and her husband, Wallace,
purchased the world famous Buckhorn collection.
• Twisthorn Holdings and the Buckhorn Museum and Saloon Limited partnership entered into
a long-term lease agreement with the Rogers to manage and expand the Buckhorn operations.
The Buckhorn Exhibits
• Alamo Architects, a San Antonio based firm, recreated the turn-of-the-century Buckhorn.
• Bruce Shackelford, an exhibit consultant known for his work on the Witte Museum’s
‘Thundering Hooves’ exhibit, designed the exhibits and halls that separate the collection
according to species and the regions where they originate.
• John Stein, author of numerous wildlife publications and the foremost expert on whitetail
deer, assisted with the design and layout of the collection. He is Curator of the collection.
• The “Hall of Fins” was added to the Buckhorn collection in 1964 and includes fish from the
Seven Seas, the Gulf and the streams and lakes of Texas. Included in this collection are a
Buckhorn Saloon & Museum at a Glance Page 3
1,056 pound black Marlin, sea turtles, sharks, alligator gar, a palm-sized piranha and rare sea
shells.
• The “Birds of Prey,” which includes hundreds of species of indigenous birds, was added to
the collection in 1973.
• The “Asiatic Hall” features such species as the Tamarou, wild boar, tigers, axis deer and
nilgai.
• Dik-dik, greater kudu, eland, waterbuck, hartebeest, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, rhinoceros
and hippopotamus can all be seen in the “African Hall.” The lion diorama, featuring the king
of the forest with his mate, is particularly popular with tourists. Locals who have grown up
with the Buckhorn will recognize the gorilla that was referred to in the early years when
patrons would “meet at the gorilla” at the Buckhorn.
• The “Hall of the Irish Elk” features one of the rarest items in the entire collection – a set of
horns from an Irish elk that has been extinct for 3,000 years. The skull was found in the peat
bogs of Ireland. There is also one of the last pairs of Passenger Pigeons in the world.
• The “North American Hall” includes the American moose, caribou, elk, pronghorn antelope
and the Mexican Black Bull. Two of the most striking species are the massive Polar and
Kodiak bears.
• The “Texas Room” features two spectacular dioramas, one of Spring, the other of Fall in
Texas. Each showcases the wildlife and landscape that can be seen throughout Texas.
• The “Cowboy Artists of America” have a hall which features art from their collection in
Kerrville, Texas.
• The “Hall of Texas History Wax Museum” features vivid recreations of the important
historical events that shaped Texas history form 1532-1898.
• W.S. Porter, who wrote under the name O.Henry, was a frequent visitor to the Buckhorn and
a friend of Mrs. Friedrich’s. Many of O.Henry’s characters were modeled after the people he
met at the Buckhorn. His wax figure and memorabilia is still present at the Buckhorn,
located in the Hall of Texas History Wax Museum.
• Ad and Plinky Toepperwein, an outstanding San Antonio marksmanship team, were frequent
visitors to the Buckhorn. The Buckhorn’s “Toepperwein Gallery” houses their memorabilia
and showcases their unequalled feats. Five of their rifles and original bullet drawings of
Uncle Sam and an Indian are included in this collection.
• The Buckhorn also has rotating exhibits that may include a one million dollar spur collection,
the largest western belt buckle collection, photograph exhibits that depict the history and
mystique of the Texas cowboy, appearances by nationally known authors of books about the
Old West, an extraordinary collection of original vintage Bowie knives, and a never before
publicly displayed fossil and dinosaur collection.
Buckhorn Saloon & Museum at a Glance Page 4
Rare Collectibles
• The Buckhorn is home to more than 520 species, 1200 trophy mounts and 3,300 rare
artifacts.
• Friedrich’s father, Wenzel Friedrich, was famous for his horn and antler furniture.
Friedrich’s work was respected throughout the world and his patrons included Kaiser
Wilhelm I, Queen Victoria and the President of France.
• One of Wenzel’s most famous creations is the chair that he made out of 62 sets of Buffalo
horns and presented to Teddy Roosevelt in 1898 while he was in San Antonio recruiting
Rough Riders. This and many of his other unique pieces can still be seen at the Buckhorn.
• Friedrich’s wife also had a unique talent – rattlesnake art. Mrs. Friedrich made numerous
signs and pictures with rattlesnake rattles that she would collect from visitors to the
Buckhorn. Her most memorable work is the picture of a deer that she made with 637
rattlesnake rattles for her friend Teddy Roosevelt. That picture is still a part of the Buckhorn
collection.
• Italian artisans created the Buckhorn’s magnificent hand carved Lebanese cedar frame in
1790 for the Russian royal family. It stands over seven feet tall and was recently valued at
$250,000.
• “Old Tex”, the world’s largest mounted longhorn, has horns that span 8 feet, nine inches. It
is said that Friedrich would take the horns out of their sockets at night and lock them in a
safe.
• “Brush Popper”, the Lone Star mascot for the 1968 World’s Fair, is still an important part of
the Buckhorn collection.
• Many items in the collection are now extinct or endangered, such as the cheetah and the
Bengal tiger.
• Rare and unique sightings at the Buckhorn include a two-headed calf, a lamb with eight legs,
a female whitetail with antlers, albino species and thousands of rare oddities.
• A church made from 50,000 matchsticks is another Buckhorn original.
• A saddle belonging to Gene Autry can be found in the “Texas Room”.
• Three shrunken heads made by the Shuar tribe of the Jivaro Indians in South America.
The Buckhorn Saloon
• The Buckhorn bar was first installed in the late 1890’s. It has a walnut top and the front is
carved cherry wood. The brass foot rail is the original that has supported the heels of
cowboys and cattlemen for 120 years.
Buckhorn Saloon & Museum at a Glance Page 5
• The rich cherry wood backbar, mellowed with age, is from the original Buckhorn. Four
Italian marble columns and a large center mirror support it.
• Six overhead mirrors, originally called ‘shooters mirrors,’ are mounted over the backbar.
These mirrors were used to watch customers when the bartender had to turn his back. The
bartender also asked that all weapons be checked at the bar to deter shooters.
• In keeping with Buckhorn tradition, the barroom boasts some of the finest mounts in the
collection. Most notably, the world famous 78-point buck is prominently featured in the
center of the backbar mirror.
• Still present in the bar is the 1913 cash register that is only able to ring up a total of $6.99
(quite a handsome sum when beer sold for a nickel), a 1909 gas chandelier and a 1915
western electric player piano that plays the songs of yesteryear.
The Buckhorn Today
• The Buckhorn collection was moved from the Lone Star Brewery to the corner of Houston
and Presa Streets in December 1998. The new site affords 33,000 square feet for the
expanded Buckhorn operation that completes the authentic western experience.
• Western entertainment in the Saloon includes appearances by trick-ropers, mock gun
fighters, card cheats and cowboy singers.
• Feature films play continuously in the various Halls at the Buckhorn. Visitors are able to
witness fighting whitetail deer, sport fishing for world record game fish, and trick shooting
by Ad and Plinky Toepperwein.
• The grand Curio Shop features some of the most interesting Texas souvenirs available in San
Antonio. Even the most discriminating shopper will not be able to resist the unique
collectibles at the Buckhorn.
• The Buckhorn arcade includes many of the original nickelodeons and rare coin-operated
machines that have been a part of the collection for more than a century. Another highlight
in the arcade is a state-of-the-art shooting gallery that incorporates many of the Buckhorn’s
most popular trophies.
The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people for
more than a century, and with the continuation and expansion of the Buckhorn operation made
possible by Friedrich’s granddaughter, Mary Friedrich Rogers, and her family, it will continue to
delight patrons for generations to come. |
Copyright © 2008 Buckhorn Museum
|
