The state of Texas purchased the old convento building from Hugo and Schmeltzer in January 1905 (Colquitt 1913:64). The state had already bought the Alamo church building in 1883 (Habig 1968:72). These two properties were entrusted to the DRT for restoration and curation. In 1911 the state appropriated $5,000 for the restoration of the Alamo buildings, and work began under the direction of Oscar B. Colquitt, governor of Texas. The galleries and other woodwork were removed and, by March 1912, the roofs, sheds, and all other recently added wooden structures had been demolished, leaving only the stone walls along the west and south sides of the building standing (San Antonio Express [SAE, 3 March 1912). The old foundations of the eastern walls of the Long Barracks and some other convento buildings were traced by trenching and reconstruction of these walls began in 1913. By July 1913, the eastern walls of the present Long Barracks building stood to a height of about six feet (SAE, 1 July 1913). The army maps and drawings of 18461849 were used as the basis for the restoration of doors and windows on the western facade of the convento, probably aided by visible traces of the old openings filled with more recent stonework.

Governor Colquitt had originally intended to restore the structures to their appearance in 1836, including the second stories of several convento buildings; however, appropriations ran out before the job could be completed. All remaining masonry above the present wall top was removed around 1915 (Ables 1967: 411412).

The renovation of 1905-1915 included the construction of a low wall along the south side of Houston Street. This wall was made of loose stone, much of it probably left over from the removal of the various unwanted portions of the Hugo and Schmeltzer store. In December 1926, this wall was replaced by a higher stone and cement wall (SAE, 8 December 1926; 19 December 1926). The latter was in turn modified to some extent in the 1930s, and built to its present length around the Alamo Park as the remainder of the block was purchased by the DRT.

Two previous investigations had been undertaken within the second patio. In June 1966, the State Building Commission sponsored excavations conducted by the Witte Memorial Museum under the supervision of John Greer (1967). Of the numerous excavation units investigated in this project located between the north wall of the chapel and the north wall of the second patio, two were of particular interest to the current investigation. In the eastern half of the patio (1020 ft from the north patio wall), from 1.55.5 ft of rubble, identified by the excavators as a wall or foundation trench, was found (Greer 1967:51). Several occupation surfaces and layers of cinders were also recorded. Area B (midway between Area A and the west wall of the patio and the same distance from the north wall) revealed the same stratigraphy, including the wall foundation, as in Area A (Greer 1967:561). This unit also yielded a concentration of 1836 artifacts including gun parts, musket balls, and gun flints. Another interesting feature found during these excavations was the foundation of a large adobe room in the south, or well, patio. The alignment of this foundation did not agree with those of the surrounding buildings. Datable stratigraphy above this feature suggested it predated the present chapel (Greer 1967:91).