Tuesday, 25 April 2017

San Antonio River: From Dirty, Muddy Eyesore to Beautiful Riverwalk

"When I first found out I was going to San Antonio my friend told me there are two things worth seeing:  the Alamo and the Riverwalk."







In the early 1900's, the San Antonio River was a "dirty, muddy eyesore".  In 1921, the city suffered a massive flood which resulted in nine feet of water on Houston Street and 50 deaths.  The tragedy provided the impetus to clean up the river and the riverbank.  In 1937, the Texas Legislature created the San Antonio Conservation Society which in turn hired architect Robert H. H. Hugman to design a Riverwalk.  Completed in 1941, the San Antonio Riverwalk included walkways, stairways to street level, a footbridge, rock walls lining the banks, the Arneson River Theater and the restoration of La Villita. The Riverwalk was later expanded to stretch from Brackenridge Park to Mission Espada (https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/history/history-of-the-river-walk).




sanantonio-riverwalk1


No comments:

Post a Comment