William Harvey Maverick, local real estate developer and son of Texas Declaration of Independence signer Samuel Augustus Maverick, built this three-story limestone home a few blocks north of the Alamo in 1893. The 23-room home was designed by noted San Antonio-based architect Alfred Giles. Giles’ influence on Texas architecture is traced most notably through his design of other wealthy residences in places like San Antonio’s King William Historic District, along with several Texas county courthouses.

By 1914, the home was sold to H.C. Carter, attorney and former President of the Texas Bar Association. Carter’s wife Aline had a deep interest in the arts and sciences, even serving as poet laureate of Texas from 1947-49. She converted the home’s original library into a chapel and added a roof observatory about 1925. The home remains in the Carter Family, and has been fully restored, complete with original family furnishings.

Guided tours are offered weekly and offers programming related to music, poetry, and astronomy.