Sunken Garden Theater Turns Quarry History Into a Performance Space

Sunken Garden Theater is another San Antonio public space built from an old working landscape. The open-air theater sits next to Brackenridge Park and was carved into an old limestone quarry in the 1930s.

Ray Lambert is credited with transforming the quarry setting. The theater was dedicated in 1930, with Texas Centennial and Works Progress Administration additions in 1937.

The back wall is bare quarry rock, which helps give the venue its sound and feel. It is quarry, park, public works, and live performance layered into one place.