Alamo Stadium Murals: a WPA Project
During the 20k+ walk on Sunday, the Texas Trail Roundup takes you by Alamo Stadium at 110 Tuleta, across the street from Trinity University. If you have a spare moment, check out the murals at the west entrance. The federal Work Progress Administration (WPA)...
An un-CONVENT-ual Art School on the River
The Texas Trail Roundup does not take you by the Southwest School of Art -- the old Ursuline Academy -- but if you have a bit of extra time on Friday, it would make for a pleasant side visit. Their Copper Kitchen Cafe is a lovely place for lunch and the striking...
The World’s Ugliest Statue, Right Here on Market Street
You may have a limited window to see what may be the world's ugliest statue, currently located across from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Market Street. San Antonio is in the midst of approving a master plan for Alamo Plaza, which is expected to result in...
Beginner’s Guide to Salsa (the eating kind, not the dancing kind)
At every Tex-Mex restaurant in San Antonio you'll be greeted with a basket of tortilla chips (pronounce it: tour-TEE-ah) and a bowl of salsa. Salsa just means "sauce" in Spanish. Every country has their own: piri-piri in Peru, chimichurri in Argentina and mojo in...
Native People of the Yanaguana: the Coahuiltecans
The natural springs and river valley of our region have attracted human visitation and settlement for thousands of years. Prehistoric artifacts dating back at least 11,000 years have been found in Brackenridge Park, at San Antonio Springs and in the Olmos Basin. . The...
We Love Our Henry B So Much We Named the Convention Center After Him
Henry B. González is just known as Henry B in San Antonio -- and the nation. He was a force of nature. Born in 1916, he was the son of Mexican immigrants -- his father was a mayor in Durango -- who fled the 1911 Mexican Revolution. Henry B served on our city council,...
Vision Zero: Safe Streets & Sidewalks
In September, 2015, San Antonio joined the international "Vision Zero" movement, dedicated to eliminating pedestrian fatalities on our streets and sidewalks. Proponents of the plan say these deaths are preventable accidents that can be systematically addressed with...
Imagine Plaza de las Islas 300 Year Ago . . .
Friday's friendship walks will take you through downtown San Antonio. Imagine what it looked like almost 300 years ago when the plans for the city were first laid! In 1573 the King of Spain, Philip II, decreed an extensive set of rules for the building of towns and...
Need groceries? Go to Your H.E.B.
Need groceries while you are at the Holiday Inn-Downtown, our event hotel? Go to your H.E.B. at 516 S. Flores, only a 5 minute walk. Turn right after leaving the hotel and walk down West Cesar Chavez one block to S. Flores and turn right. It's there on the corner....
This River Here: The Yanaguana
For much of their duration, all of our walks during the Texas Trail Roundup will follow the course of the San Antonio River. Our river starts in a spring about four miles north of downtown (The "Blue Hole", located on the campus of the University of the Incarnate...
Don’t Forget to Shuck the Tamale
They still call it the "great tamale incident." In !976, President Gerald Ford, at a reception at the Alamo, grabbed a tamale off a plate and started eating it, shuck and all. An alert hostess from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas saw was was about to go down...
How Do You Pronounce Bexar? (And Why Should You Care?)
San Antonio is in Bexar County, one of the 254 counties in the state of Texas, You can trace the name to Villa de San Fernando de Béxar, the first civil government established by the Spanish in what was then the province of Texas. Our city was created in 1731 when 55...
The Oldest Amusement Park in the USA
Sunday's walk will take you past Kiddie Park, opened in 1925 and (it claims) the oldest children's amusement park in the country. Many of the original rides are still operational but don't worry: it was completely refurbished in 2009. The jewel in the crown is the...
You Can’t Leave SA Until You’ve Had a Breakfast Taco
Everyone in San Antonio has a favorite place for breakfast tacos, but, quite frankly, there's no such thing as a bad breakfast taco in San Antonio. (Now Austin -- that's another story. They boast that theirs are the best, but what do they know about tacos?) Two famous...
Hang Out with the Ghosts of the Rough Riders at the Menger Bar
Friday's friendship walk will take you past the Alamo, but make sure you poke your head into the bar at the Menger Hotel, right next door. Built in 1859, it is an exact replica of the bar at the House of Lords in London. It's probably most famous as the place where,...