Page 480 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

478  TEX AS

7 San Antonio

The most historic city in Texas, San Antonio is also the most
popular, both for its pivotal historic role and its natural
beauty. Once home to the Comanche, the riverside site
drew the attention of Spanish missionaries, who founded The Arneson River
Mission San Antonio de Valero in 1718. Later converted Theater
into a military outpost and renamed the Alamo, it was
the site of the most heroic episode of the Texan revolution.
Predominantly Hispanic and Mexican in character, N S T. M A R Y
San Antonio balances a thriving economy with a
careful preservation of its past. Most of the historic
sites lie within a block of the pedestrian-friendly
Riverwalk in the downtown core. WEST COMMERCE ST

N A V A R R O S T R E E T

N P R E S A S T R E E T
D O L O R O S A S T R E E T

N S T. M A R Y

. Riverwalk (Paseo del Rio)
This tree-shaded path along the San
Antonio River was built as a flood-control N P R E S A S T R E E T
project during the Depression-era New
Deal. Now a horseshoe-shaped, open-air
promenade lined with shops, Riverwalk is Arneson River
a peaceful oasis in the middle of the city. Theater S A L A M O S T R E E T

. La Villita
It was in this early 19th-century
“little village” that the Mexicans
officially surrendered to the
Republic of Texas. The quaint
village of stone and adobe
buildings now houses craft
workshops and boutique shops.

Missions National Historical Park
This 819-acre (331-ha) historical park and UNESCO World
Heritage Site, preserves four Spanish frontier missions, which,
along with the Alamo, formed the northern edge of Spain’s
North American colonies in the 18th century. Still in use as
Catholic parish churches, the former Missions San Jose, San
Juan, Espada, and Concepcion spread south from downtown
San Antonio along the 9-mile (14-km) “Mission Trail.” The finest
of the group, Mission San Jose, is known for the intricately
Mission San Jose carved stonework of the Rose Window adjacent to the sacristy.

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp490–91

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Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm