SPREAD SOME LOVE TO THE ICONIC BIG PIG! You’ve probably ran, walk, or driven by it many many times on South St. Mary’s Street, or perhaps you remember it in all of its glory at the old Pig Stand on Broadway? If this pig could talk! The KWA is raising funds for the restoration and preservation of the Big Pig. The old piggy is in need of structural maintenance including window repair, painting, and general upkeep, as well as a possible relocation move. YOUR GENEROUS DONATION helps preserve the history of the Big Pig while ensuring its story continues into the future.
The King William Association’s (KWA) mission is to promote the health and welfare of the King William neighborhood by preserving the historic and residential nature of the neighborhood and by fostering educational, recreational, and cultural activities. This year the KWA are celebrating their mission statement with the acronym P.I.G. (Preserves Informs Grants) and recognizing an iconic piece of programmatic artwork and longtime San Antonio treasure the Big Pig, which was donated to the KWA in 2007.
BIG PIG HISTORY:: The Big Pig was created in 1935 by Mexican mason Anastacio Gaytan for the Pig Stand Coffee Shop restaurants. The Pig Stand restaurants were Texas’ nationally franchised chain in the 1920s and 1930s and were credited with introducing the drive-through window. The Pig Stand also invented fried onion rings and Texas Toast in the 1920s, followed by chicken-fried steak in the 1940s.
At 14-feet tall, made of cement and steel, the Big Pig lived at the Pig Stand #29 on Broadway and I-35 and served as a carhop shelter during the diner’s early drive-in days. By 1989, the Big Pig “escaped his pen” and was located at the Humbert O’Con Tavern on E. White & Roosevelt across from the Mission Drive-In Theater and remained there until 1995. The Big Pig was then moved to 1604 S. Presa. In 1996, a verbal agreement and handshake between the Pig Stand owner, then KWA board president, and a S. Presa lot landowner agreed to let the Big Pig live at 807 S. Presa, its current home and former Pig Stand #24. The Big Pig was restored by local artist Carlos Cortes, whose family has created faux bois decorative sculptures in San Antonio for decades. When the Pig Stand filed for bankruptcy in the mid 2000s, the Big Pig was donated to the KWA.
