Portland Cement Plant Ruins
4.6 (10)attraction
4.6 (10)Industrial ruins that once helped build the Texas Capitol, tucked inside an old quarry reborn as a lush tea garden.
Description
Founded in 1880 by William Loyd and George H. Kalteyer, the Alamo Portland and Roman Cement Works supplied building materials for late 19th- and early 20th-century Texas public works, including Austin's Driskill Hotel. Operations ended in 1907 once raw materials were exhausted. City Parks Commissioner Ray Lambert later reimagined the quarry near the San Antonio River, introducing stone arch bridges, walkways, and a lily pond alongside a pagoda built with prison labor.