Fiesta Medals: the Volkssporting Connection

by RoadRunner | Apr 18, 2019 | history, San Antonio insider, tips

This article has been updated for 2019 San Antonio touts its annual Fiesta –18-28 April this year — as a “party with a purpose.” It traces its origins to 1890 with the first “Battle of the Flowers” parade, commemorating the Texians...

Sunken Garden Theater: The Other Half of the Quarry

by RoadRunner | Feb 27, 2019 | history, music, San Antonio insider, Sightseeing

Yesterday we wrote about the Japanese Tea Gardens, which were constructed in an abandoned quarry that bisected Brackenridge Park. Actually, the Gardens only took up half the quarry. The other half — the northern part — is now the Sunken Garden Theater....

Simply Beautiful: The Japanese Tea Garden

by RoadRunner | Feb 24, 2019 | food & drink, history, San Antonio insider, Sightseeing

It wasn’t always beautiful. In 1915, the new San Antonio Parks Commissioner, Ray Lambert, embraced the “modern” ideal of healthier urban environments for the wealthy and working class alike. His grand idea was to create a park near downtown by connecting a...

UNESCO World Heritage Site: What’s the Big Deal?

by RoadRunner | Feb 22, 2019 | history, San Antonio insider, Sightseeing

On July 4, 2015 the San Antonio Missions became a UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site. What’s the big deal? In 1972, various international bodies united to draw up the World Heritage Convention. It was...

Empty Tomb: The Cenotaph

by RoadRunner | Feb 14, 2019 | history, San Antonio insider, Sightseeing

From the Greek words kenos (empty) and taphos (tomb) cenotaphs are tombs or monuments erected to honor a person or persons whose remains are elsewhere or their whereabouts unknown. This one in San Antonio’s Alamo Plaza is sometimes referred to as...

A Walk through Academia: Trinity University

by RoadRunner | Feb 14, 2019 | art, history, San Antonio insider, Sightseeing

Sunday’s 23k walk will take you through the campus of Trinity University, located between Brackenridge Park and the historic Monte Vista neighborhood. Presbyterians founded Trinity in 1869 in Tehuacana, Texas (about 40 miles NE of Waco) from the remnants of...