Business brought me to San Antonio, Texas this week. Even so, I still had a few moments to poke around the usual tourist spots. My luggage wanted to visit a little longer so it took a free vacation courtesy of American Airlines. Hopefully we’ll be reunited this weekend.
Remember the Alamo
I first stopped at The Alamo, arguably the most famous site associated with the Texas Revolution. In fact it’s probably the most memorable event in all of Texas history. Here the Mexican army killed nearly every Texan defender either in battle or by execution during a lopsided 1836 battle.
“Remember the Alamo” became the battle cry that rallied Texan troops. Subsequently they defeated the Mexican army quite decisively at the Battle of San Jacinto a few weeks later. This gave rise to a new sovereign nation, the Republic of Texas. Ten years later Texas became part of the United States.
I’ve been to The Alamo several times over the years. What I find striking is that the Alamo is really small. Seemingly I need to relearn this point every time I visit. This former Roman Catholic Mission, such a recognizably iconic structure so burned into the collective memories of multiple generations of American school children, is probably smaller than the local parish church in your neighborhood. Texas is larger than life and the events of the Alamo are larger than life. So, psychologically I suppose, I transpose this to mean that the building should match its mythology.
That’s not intended to diminish The Alamo’s historical importance. Clearly it is significant. However it’s difficult to put oneself in a time when the fortified garrison stood by itself as a lone sentinel on a wide, open plain. Today it stands straight in the middle of downtown San Antonio. That comes complete with a ring of tall buildings and abundant city noises. It also faces an unfortunate strip of businesses that barely rise above a carnival sideshow. Barkers call out incessantly to tourists drawn there by the nearby historic site.
Riverwalk
Then I ambled down to the Riverwalk. No, it doesn’t have the significance of the Alamo but it does represent a triumph of urban planning. Rather than piping their small downtown river underground out of sight like many other cities did, San Antonio decided consciously to make it a part of the landscape. They tamed the San Antonio River starting in the 1920’s with pedestrian walkways along both banks. San Antonio embraced what others considered a problem and turned it into a goldmine.
The river meanders below street level, with numerous shops and restaurants along its banks. It allows visitors to avoid crowded city streets as they wander along at their own pace. As a bonus the path oftentimes provides a shady respite from the hot Texas sun. No wonder it has become one of the most frequently visited spots in the state. It also infuses huge amounts of business into the downtown area.
Tower of the Americas
The Tower of the Americas crowns HemisFair Park. It’s a rare visible reminder of the World’s Fair that occupied the site in 1968. Apparently the government grabbed much of the area by eminent domain, calling it urban renewal. Perhaps the local residents forced to move from their homes had a different definition of “blighted area”. Nonetheless the HemisFair with its Tower of the Americas claimed the site.
The tower itself rises 750 feet (229 m) above downtown. I’ve been on plenty of towers before including the Stratosphere in Las Vegas which is considerably taller, so I passed up the opportunity. I was content to simply walk around the park before getting back to work.
At this point I offer Corollary 1 of my second travel tip: if you wish to go through the trouble of bringing a camera along with you, make sure you pack a card reader too. Unfortunately I left mine behind and I am only able to post this account now, several days after the fact.
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