Dionicio Rodriguez

Dionicio Rodriguez (1891–1955) was a Mexican-born artist and architect whose work can be seen in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas, as well as Washington, D.C. and Mexico City.

Dionicio Rodríguez died in San Antonio on December 16, 1955, and was buried in San Fernando Archdiocesan Cemetery; he had no immediate survivors.

His work is noted for its unique style of concrete construction that imitates wood, known as Faux Bois (French for false wood). Gates, benches and artificial rock formations were created by the artist to invite visitors to rest or explore the landscape.

The National Register listing of "The Sculpture of Dionicio Rodriguez in Texas," which includes Woodlawn Garden of Memories, is the result of ten years' research into the life and work of the artisan, by San Antonio historians Maria Watson Pfeiffer and Patsy Pittman Light. Woodlawn is the only known extant cemetery work in Texas by Rodriguez.

Many of his major works of art are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Rodriguez was born on April 11, 1891 in Toluca, State of Mexico, in Mexico. His family moved to Mexico City, D.F., when he was young. When he was older, he worked with his father and brother as a bricklayer. At one time he worked with Pedro Ximénez, whose wife, Beatrice, would go on to become a cement sculptor of note herself.

For the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Antonio, Texas he replicated a Japanese Torii gate at the entrance to the gardens. This piece was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005

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