The colorful past of San Antonio started with Native Americans, then the Spanish discovered the fresh water and settled in, later the Germans made San Antonio their home, and finally, the US Military (joint Army & Air Force base) introduced this beautiful city to the rest of America.
Today “The Alamo”, is the number one tourist attraction in the huge state of Texas. It has a great story of bravery and made famous: William B. Travis, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie – all fighting to their deaths against the overwhelming odds of Santa Anna’s Mexican army. Sam Houston was a part of this story, too. “Remember The Alamo!” was the battle-cry that spurred his forces on to victory at San Jacinto. “Remember The Alamo!” is still a historic battle cry that most Americans know.
When the German community found San Antonio, they stayed and built grand homes near downtown. These have become the must-see drive or walk-though attraction of The King William Neighborhood.
In 1968 the city hosted their version of a World’s Fair, called Hemisfair’68. The fair drew millions of visitors from around the U.S. and the world, turning San Antonio into a giant theme park during its six-month run. The momentum the Hemisfair started, so long ago, has created a major tourist city, San Antonio today! The Hemisfair’s Tower of the Americas has become a symbol of the city and still has a high-end revolving restaurant on top, slowly rotating to give a birds-eye view of the city and the entire region.
This issue of ARTS&FOOD® Magazine is focused on and dedicated to The Fiesta City – San Antonio, Texas! A city so full of major influences, Spanish, German and American. If you’ve never visited San Antonio before, you must put it on your list. There is so much more than the Alamo to see and do, here. After reading this issue you will see how exciting and diverse the ART and FOOD of San Antonio is – it’s well worth the visit!
San Antonio’s story began with explorers sent by Spain to claim land for New Spain, in the 1500s. In 1691 they named the city in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua, because those coming to settle the area reached the freshwater river on his feast day, June 13. In 1718, Franciscan priests and a military captain founded the Mission San Antonio de Valero, now called The Alamo. It was built to serve as a midpoint between the missions of northern Mexico and missions to the east in Texas. At the same time, a presidio (a fortified military base to protect settlements) was built at The Alamo. Today, the Alamo has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in San Antonio.
The Alamo today.
The downtown district of San Antonio is not extremely large and a couple can see most of it on foot, or you can rent an e-Scooters to zip around, for now, these e-Scooters are everywhere!
A TO-DO-LIST of some options in San Antonio:
• take a river barge tour down the canal and the beautiful San Antonio Riverwalk.
• browse the “hunting trophies” on the walls of the Buckhorn Saloon.
• revisit tales of Texas History and some great art at the Briscoe Western Art Museum.
• browse rotating exhibits at the Southwest School of Art.
• catch a live theater production at the historic Majestic Theatre or the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
• grab a cocktail at the St. Anthony Hotel bar or The Menger Bar where Roosevelt formed the Rough Riders.
• visit the three historic blocks of Spanish / Mexican shops and restaurants known as “El Mercado”.
• have a meal in an old “San Antonio German” stone house, now The Little Rhein Steak House.
• visit La Villita Historic Arts Village for a collection of pop-up boutiques, restaurants, shops and art galleries.
• drive or walk over to the Hemisfair site for a meal in the sky at the Tower of the Americas’ Chart House.
• if a playground for kids sounds wonderful for your family, visit Yanaguana Garden, a designer kids park at the Hemisfair site.
• see Great Art of the Modern Era at the McNay Museum of Art.
• see cutting edge Contemporary Art at “Art Pace” and “Blue Star Contemporary” exhibition spaces.
• enjoy the History of Art from around the world, on view at The San Antonio Museum of Art.
• for a prehistoric Texas experience, and changing “all-Texas-all-of-the-time” exhibitions visit The Witte Museum.
The downtown area has plentiful places to dine and drink!
One of the hottest urban renewal neighborhoods the country is in San Antonio, simply called “The Pearl”. It’s the converted Pearl brewery site that is now packed full of contemporary shops, restaurants, hotels, apartments and one of the campuses for the Culinary Institute of America.
Great ART and great FOOD are spread through-out the metropolitan San Antonio area and we will try to cover the best of it, in this issue.
So grab your Spanish dancing shoes, we are taking you to San Antonio, Texas, “The Fiesta City”, to add a little salsa to your life!
Until later,
Jack Atkinson
Founder, Editor & Publisher
ARTS&FOOD® Magazine (ARTSandFOOD.com)
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