The headquarters for one of the city's largest newspapers, the Express News Building benefits from its obtuse-angled corner site. Green exploited this location by placing the setback, twelve-story, semi-octagonal tower at the points of the angle, emphasizing the entrance to the five-story, limestone-clad building. The detailing, especially the eagles emerging from the piers flanking the main doorway, recalls Green's design for the San Antonio Public Library (
SA43), but here the character is much more Art Deco, especially in the zigzag-patterned spandrel panels. Sculptor Pompeo Coppini created the more naturalistic figurative stone bas-relief above the entrance, which features panels representing Labor, Education, Enlightenment, Truth, and Justice. The octagonal entrance lobby is an elaborate combination of marble and mosaics.
San Antonio Express News Building
1930, Herbert S. Green. Ave. E at 3rd St.