Name: Michele and Fabien Jacob
Michele and Fabien Jacob (with artist Mat Kubo, center)
Occupation: Michele: Artist and architecture student, one of the city organizers for Pecha Kucha SAT and Dean of Awesome SA; Fabien: Sommelier at Bohanan's and avid cyclist
Neighborhood: Dignowity Hill
Why did you choose that neighborhood:
We were attracted to the diversity, architecture, history and community that the East Side had to offer.
Michele had moved back to San Antonio after living in NYC for many years. She attended art school there and always planned on returning until she met her husband here. After taking an architecture class and meeting UTSA professor Sue Ann Pemberton (a neighbor), President of San Antonio Conservation Society and Hemisfair, she and Fabien knew this was the neighborhood for them. The project in her class brought her to a site visit to the historic Hays Street Bridge prior to its recent restoration. [Check out a photo slideshow of the bridge here.] The beauty of the historic, national and Jewish cemeteries was also attractive.
Eastside cemetery. Credit: Juan Garcia
The greenspaces of the near East Side too were a plus, too: Lockwood, Dignowity Park and Pittman-Sullivan all feature proximity to Downtown, and access via bike lanes and bus routes. The neighborhood is within walking distance to Hemisfair Park, Southtown, and the museum reach, which can take you to Broadway, San Antonio Museum of Art, VFW 76 (a very cool bar and VFW hall in an old mansion), The Brooklynite and Pearl. The public art projects by Bill FitzGibbons on Commerce is something they enjoy daily heading back to the East side from downtown as well as the recent Vortex mural collaboration by Alex Rubio, Blue Star Arts Museum Mosaic program and San Anto.
Vortex Mural
Say your close friend and family member was visiting San Antonio for the first time, where would you be sure to take them and why?
We would start off with breakfast at J & I Cafe on Mesquite and Houston streets. It is a family-owned business of more than 20 years. We would take a walk over to the Hays street bridge (future home of Alamo Brewery) and depending on what is going on there, plan our day. There are free concerts often, some of which have been spearheaded by Resonant Intervals’s Lance Higdon, an avant garde music artist. There are live performances, pop-up DJs, yoga on the bridge by Mobile Om (Vinyasa with a view) with the backdrop of the downtown. The views are beautiful.
Tucker's Kozy Korner/Attaboy owner Chris Cullum has the best fried chicken and East Side greens. There is jazz by his father, legendary Jim Cullum, and other nights feature Midtown Jazz, DJ JJ Lopez and Cortez with the Soul Spot, EastSide Social Dance Party and Sunday Gospel Brunch. The community feel and history of Tucker's makes it one of our favorite neighborhood places with Cullum’s dedication to the neighborhood and history of jazz in San Antonio.
The Carver Center is nearby for community events with new programing developed by Philip Castillo offering affordable community classes and concerts throughout the year. SAGE annual jazz festival is nearby too and Dreamweek’s MLK celebration at Pittman Sullivan Park are also great events to attend throughout the year.
We love our community and diversity of the neighborhood. We truly feel it is the best neighborhood in San Antonio because of this and we hope to stay.
