Texana Thursday: Happy Tricentennial, San Antonio!

The Tower Life Building is a San Antonio landmark. The gargoyles stick out from the top two levels of the building. (Creative Commons license attribution, photo courtesy Paul Sableman)

San Antonio celebrates its birthday next week.

This upcoming Tuesday, May 1, is the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Mission San Antonio de Valero—which later became known as the Alamo. A few days later, the Presidio San Antonio de Bejar was created to protect the mission, and the community had its start.

How does one summarize the role that San Antonio has played in Texas history and folklore? It’s a daunting task because, if it’s true that every Texan has two homes—his or her own, and San Antonio—then we all have our own personal memories. Those memories might be of family, or friends, or school, or of career.

But here, we’ll remember some of the community memories. For instance, we remember the Alamo, and one of its survivors, Susanna Dickinson Hanning.

It’s fair to say that the Alamo remains the top, certainly one of the top, tourist attractions in Texas. The battle there has been portrayed in several movies. Recently there’s been discussion about how to renovate the plaza to give tourists a better sense of what actually happened in March 1836.

Or we can stay at the Menger Hotel, located across the street from the Alamo. Several U.S. presidents have stayed there, and it’s famous for being the place where Theodore Roosevelt recruited the men who formed the famous Rough Riders. Some have written about ghosts who are still there.

Touring the Paseo del Rio—better known as the Riverwalk—remains a popular activity for tourists. The tour begins at the Rivercenter Mall and meanders along the San Antonio River through the heart of downtown. Along the route one passes by one of San Antonio’s landmarks, the Tower Life Building.

San Antonio is known for its sports, most notably its basketball team. The Spurs have been a perennial power and have won several NBA titles over the years. But like other Texas cities, it loves its high school football, and many of its teams play their games in the historic Alamo Stadium.

Reflecting on all these things doesn’t tell the whole story of San Antonio. It doesn’t come close. It has to be experienced and savored, because there’s plenty of things to experience and savor. People have been doing that for 300 years. The community has formed a Tricentennial Committee to organize and lead the celebrations.

Happy anniversary to the Alamo City…and here’s to many more in the future!