A 400-pound life-size statue of former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and his wife, Tracy, was unveiled on Wednesday in the San Pedro Creek Culture Park downtown, off West Nueva.
There was a drum roll for the unveiling and then music to celebrate the county's former first couple, who are a driving force for community development. Libraries, sports venues. the performing arts, and the Spurs are part of their legacy.
Tracy Wolff spoke first and described how she works with her husband. "He listens to my thoughts on things as well, but ultimately the decisions he makes are his decisions," she said.
Judge Wolff loves the statue in the park that he supported. "I can't think of a better place in the world to spend eternity then right here in nature," he said.
In the sculpture, the couple appear holding hands for a stroll, which sculptor Armando Hinojosa said was something they often do on the River Walk.
“I think it's a very historic sculpture because … the Wolffs have been doing a lot for San Antonio," he added. "I think they deserve it, and I was honored to do it."
He said the sculpture has 45 or 50 bronze pieces welded together. Hinojosa said he did the early sculpture work at his studio in Laredo, but the final casting was done at Steven’s Art Foundry in Bulverde.
Wolff joked to the crowd it may have gotten too hot during the cast process at the foundry.
“My head fell off because it was so hot out there. Had to get a little Elmer Glue and put it back together so we could get this going here,” he said.
The statue was commissioned by the late cardiac surgeon and history enthusiast Alfonso Chiscano.
His son, Steve, served as the host for the statue unveiling. He and Henry Cisneros, a former San Antonio mayor and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, completed the fundraising effort for the statue.
