San Antonio, Texas: The Alamo City

San Antonio has to be one of the most visited cities in Texas. It's the go-to vacation spot when you don't have a lot of money but you want to get out of town. There's tons to do, lots of hotel options at various price points. It's great!

Well, we went and it did not disappoint. 

San Antonio was founded in 1718 as a Spanish mission and colonial outpost. By 1731, it was the first organized civil settlement in what is current day Texas. Up until 1821, it was part of the Spanish empire. Between 1821 and 1836, it was part of the Mexican empire. From 1836 to 1845 it was part of the Republic of Texas. Then, in 1845, Texas became part of the United States.

In San Antonio, you can still find the Spanish Governor's Palace. It started as a one room structure to house the captain of the presidio. 

It was in this room in 1749 that the captain would live and do his work. Over time, additional rooms were added by subsequent captains. It then became the home of the Spanish Governor. In 1930, the structure was purchased by the city and a reconstruction was done, addition additional rooms, to portray how upper class Spanish families would have lived.

Over the entrance to the Palace is the coat of arms of King Ferdinand VI of Spain. The Plaza de Armas in front of the Spanish Governor's Palace would have been the parade ground for the soldiers stationed there.  It was initially enclosed on three sides by thick adobe. During the Mexican rebellion in 1813, captured rebels were jailed in the palace and then executed on the Plaza. During the years of the republic, the military aspect of the plaza waned and it became more of a commercial market. A stone courthouse called the "Bat Cave" was built there in 1850's but was eventually demolished in 1889.

San Antonio City Hall (built in 1892, now sits on those grounds.

San Fernando Cathedral was founded in 1731 by a group of 16 families that came from the Canary Islands at the invitation of King Philip of Spain. The church itself was built by the soldiers of the presidio between 1738 and 1750. The walls of that building form the sanctuary thus making this the oldest Cathedral in the state of Texas.

In the entrance on the far left is this sarcophagus that contains the ashes of the heroes of the Alamo.

The inside of the church. Off to the left (the man's head is blocking the view) is a baptismal font that was a gift in 1759 from King Charles III of Spain. The church was named for Ferdinand III of Castile. James Bowie was married in this church and it was here that Santa Anna raised the flag of "no quarter" that began the siege of the Alamo.

Speaking of, this is the Mission San Antonio de Valero which was built in 1758. It was originally a Catholic mission. The priests built the mission near the San Antonio river for a water source. In 1793, the mission was secularized and abandoned. By 1803, soldiers were housed here and by 1835, the small Texian Army was within the fort. 

General Sam Houston ordered that the fort be abandoned but William Barrett Travis refused, crying "Victory or Death".  

Inside the Alamo. The siege lasted 13 days before the Mexican Army under Santa Anna led them into a false sense of security only to surprise them on March 6th. The Texians were overwhelmed and there were no survivors, aside from women and children that were hiding in the chapel.

This is inside the sacristy.  In 2020, the white wash in this room started peeling and they were able to see what the room originally looked like in 1772 while still a mission. 

The Long Barrack on the south side of the fortress.

The infirmary. I read that Jim Bowie was in his cot sick when the attack came. I wonder if he was in here. I also read he'd been shot in the head several times. Sheesh!

Looking down the hall from the infirmary. Through the door in the center are several other rooms. Inside they have people dressed of the times that give you an idea of what it was like.

The Alamo well. This well was dug in the 1700's and provided water for the people of the mission. It also provided water for the defenders of the Alamo in 1836.

Part of the courtyard of the Alamo. It's changed a bit. The city is building an actual museum. That building on the right is now the gift shop.

This is Casa Navarro, the residence of Jose Antonio Navarro. He was one of two native Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. His complex has several buildings. 

This one was the main living area.  The second room connected to the back of the house (see photo below).

The back of the house and courtyard. The house was built of adobe brick between 1832 and 1835.

The well on the property from which water was pumped from underground.. The white structure in front of the house and behind the well is the cistern where rain water was collected.

A second building on the property is the kitchen. It was separate from the main living area. Just outside the door of the kitchen is a garden. The kitchen was two rooms. One for cooking and one for eating.

This last building was a mercantile building. They had a grocery store.

This photo was taken in 1930 in front of the mercantile building. The man standing in front of La Blanca Grocery is Jose Antonio Navarro's grandson.

Almost next to the Alamo is The Menger Hotel built in 1859 by William & Mary Menger. They started with a boarding house and a brewery. The boarding house became so popular, they built a two story hotel.

The lobby of the original building. In 1881, the hotel was sold to J. Kaupmann. He is credited with adding electricity and the additional third story.

This photo of the same lobby was taken in 1920. It looks exactly the same today. It's very elegant. The entrance to this lobby has been closed due to the construction of the new museum for the Alamo but you can still get there.

The courtyard garden at night. I didn't even know this was here. I took a wrong turn and found this by accident. It's quite beautiful and peaceful.

In 1887, a bar was added. The story is that Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders (for the Spanish American War) from this location. His ghost is supposed to haunt the bar but we didn't see anything.

In 1943, the hotel was sold to William L. Moody Jr (of Galveston fame). He expanded the hotel to encompass the whole city block. This is the hallway to our room on the expanded side of the hotel.

In addition to adding air conditioning and elevators, Moody, in 1953, also added a pool. This is the view of that pool at night from our balcony. The hotel is very beautiful and quite comfortable.

In 1896, this Bexar County Courthouse was erected. It was the 5th courthouse for Bexar county.  What's cool about this courthouse is that inside they have a little museum called Bexar County Heritage Center. It's free and they have all kinds of historical artifacts, information, etc about Bexar County. The fountain in front of the courthouse is the Lady Justice Fountain.

This scene is the Founders Monument marking the 300th anniversary of the founding of Bexar county.

This is the O. Henry House which was built by a German settler named John Kish in 1855. William Sydney Porter aka O. Henry, lived here from 1883-1885 paying $6 a month for rent. He moved here from Austin after being accused of embezzling from the bank that he worked at.

St. Mary's Catholic Church. The parish was started in 1852 to serve the non-Hispanic/European settlers in San Antonio. In 1857, the building was completed and opened for worship for both English and German speaking parishioners. In 1921, the San Antonio flood irreparably damaged the building. The current structure was rededicated in 1924.

The Kallison Block. In 1899, Nathan Kallison opened a leather shop selling harnesses, halters and horse collars. After 1904, Nathan changed to more of a department store but for agricultural items. With the increase of his business, he bought other properties on the block, making this the Kallison Block. In 1967, the family business was closed and the building was sold.

In the early part of the 20th century there were four theaters in San Antonio: The Texas Theater, The Aztec Theater, The Empire Theater and the Majestic Theater. The Texas theater was built in 1926 and had three balconies (one for segregated seating). The theater closed in 1979. After a fight to save the landmark, the building was demolished in 1983 and all that was saved was the facade (including the box office), which was incorporated into the new building.

The box office of the Majestic Theater. It's the oldest and largest atomospheric theater. It opened in June 1929 was was the first theater to be fully air-conditioned. It was the home of the San Antonio Symphony from 1989 - 2014. Now it hosts live shows.

The Aztec Theater opened in June of 1926. It's a six story building designed by the same firm that built Graumann's Chinese Theater in LA. By 1970's the popularity was waning and it closed in 1989. It was saved from destruction by the Historical Society and is now a live music venue.

Turn Verein erected in 1891 as a gymnasium & social center for the early German settlers and their descendants. The first floor was occupied by a cafe, cloak room, reading room, billiard room and an assembly room. The second floor housed a ballroom. In 1873, the San Antonio Turn Verein hosted the first "turnfest" or gymnastic competition. The organization was started in Germany by Ludwig Jahn who hoped to increase the physical and mental strength of his people to enable them to defeat Napoleon. The building was restored in 1972 by the US Post Office but it appears abandoned today.

The US Post Office is across from the Alamo and was built in 1937 by the WPA. It's now a federal court building and in 2004 it was renamed for Hipolito Garcia, a federal judge.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church was built in 1868 by German Catholics when they were refused the the use of the Alamo Chapel. The building was completed in 1871 and the steeple was added in 1891. It sits next to what used to be Joske's department store. The parishioners had sold several of the other parish buildings to the Joske brothers but refused to sell the church. By 1945, the German population stopped using this church and it now serves a Hispanic base.

Arneson River Theater on the Riverwalk in La Villita. It was erected in 1940 through the WPA and was designed by the "Father of the Riverwalk", Robert Hugman.

The Robert Hugman Architectural Building. Robert Hugman, the "Father of the Riverwalk" was an architect that designed the Riverwalk. After the 1921 flood, the city wanted to convert the San Antonio River to a sewer system. The Conservation society stepped in and in 1929, Robert Hugman proposed the Shops of Aragon & Romula, which was a beautification and flood control plan. The design was accepted in 1938 and was built by the WPA.

In 1854 the German settlers organized an exclusive Casino Club as a social club. In 1881 The San Antonio Club was organized for literary purposes. By 1925, both clubs had merged. This building was completed in 1927 as the San Antonio Casino Club. It became a downtown San Antonio landmark. It had club rooms, dining rooms, dormitories and a ballroom. In 1942, it was known as the Gilcrease Building when it was purchased by oilman Thomas Gilcrease. The building was vacant from 1950 - 1970 when it was converted into an apartment building with a restaurant in the basement. Now it is a private residence.

The Hilton Palacio Del Rio has the distinction of being in the Guinness World Book of Records as the fastest built hotel. It was completed in a record 202 working days. The first four floors were completed sing normal construction methods but the rooms were assembled elsewhere and then placed onto the building. It opened five days early in time for the 1968 World's Fair that was held in San Antonio. It has 21 stories and 485 rooms.

The Tower Life Building was completed in 1929. At 404 feet tall, it was the tallest building in San Antonio until 1968, when the Tower of the Americas surpassed it. The building is being converted into apartments and should be ready for leasing in 2026.

All this history and that's just scratching the surface! I know there are tons more stories out there about this amazing city. I hope to go back and find them out!

College Station, Texas: Aggieland

In driving around Texas, we landed in College Station. I'd had friends that went to school in College Station but I'd never been there. In fact, I wasn't even sure where it was.

According to this map, you leave Dallas like you're going to Houston. Then around Madisonville, you hang a right. While driving there, it seemed very remote. Lots of farm land. I wasn't even sure that we were headed in the right direction but my GPS assured me that we were. Then we came out of the woods and landed in a town. A pretty big town, actually.

In 1860, The Houston and Texas Railroad came through here. Then in 1871, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas was built. It was the first college in Texas. The name was eventually changed to Texas A&M. In 1877, a post office was opened near the train depot and it was called College Station. The town took it's name from the post office. Now the town is mostly the university. Here's a view of A&M from our hotel window. It's like a small city!

Initially, the town was very remote, despite the railroad. Most of the instructors at the college lived in housing provided by the university. By 1900, the town had electricity and a population of 351. In 1938, College Station was incorporated. Today it's part of the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area as well as part of an area called the Texas Triangle (Houston/Austin/Bryan-College Station).

As I mentioned, most of the businesses in the city cater to the students and their families. That's not to say there aren't houses and other businesses there. There are. This is the Dixie Chicken. It's a bar on University Drive, which is kind of the main drag. The Dixie Chicken is the oldest bar in the "Northgate" area. It got it's name from a song by the band Little Feat. We walked by but we were not the target audience.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites also on University Drive. There are tons of hotel options here. All the chains are represented. Our hotel was packed! There was some kind of swim meet going on and some of the teams were staying at our hotel.

Driving around the A&M Campus. So all colleges have a "saying", right? UT Austin is Hook 'em Horns. A&M is "Gig 'em".  I googled that and I still have no idea what that means. 

Kyle Field named for Edwin Jackson Kyle, who was the President of the General Athletics Association. He was also a graduate, class of 1899.  In 1904, he took land that was assigned to him for agriculture and fenced it off for a field. Then, using $650 of his own money, he bought a covered grandstand that sat about 500 people. I guess the University felt that was just pitiful and in 1929, they built a new stadium. This stadium holds about 120K people. Another fun fact, the game here in 1921 between the Aggies and their arch rivals, The University of Texas, was the first game in Texas to be broadcast live.

For us, the big draw to College Station (other than the fact we'd never been there) was the George Bush Presidential Library. It's on the A&M Campus and was opened in 1997.

Documenting the live of George H. W. Bush, the library has tons of information. There are photographs of Bush 41's life. (He was the 41st president). He lied about his age so he could enlist in the Navy during WWII. He was a pilot serving on the USS San Jacinto. During one raid, his plane was shot down. He was able to escape, though his team died. After the war, he enrolled at Yale and played baseball.

George H. W. and George W. are one of only two sets of father/son presidents, the other being John and John Quincy Adams. The senior Bush moved his family to Midland Tx where he got in the oil business. They eventually moved to Houston where Bush got into politics. He served as head of the CIA under President Gerald Ford.

George H. W. Bush's Oval Office. Bush was Vice President under Ronald Reagan for 8 years. Then President for 4. His VP was Dan Quayle. In my mind, Quayle will always be remembered as the guy who misspelled potato to a kid during a spelling bee causing the kid to lose.

Bush 41 was a one-term president. He lost to Bill Clinton. While I didn't vote for him, I thought he was a class act.

He and his wife, Barbara, and their daughter Robin are interred on the grounds of the library.

The graves of the Bush's. It's a very lovely and peaceful location, away from the library.

Today College Station has about 120K people. Their biggest employer, as you might imagine, is Texas A&M University. Other big employers are the Bryan Independent School District, St. Joseph Health Care and Sanderson Farms (it's a chicken processing plant). (A silo on the way out of College Station)

The city has all your standard fast food chains as well as all the big chain restaurants. Even with all of this, it still feels a bit remote. Having said that, A&M is the largest University in the country with 74,000 students that go here, including Lyle Lovett and Johnny Manziel, so there's something about this place...

Gig em, Aggies!