San Antonio making the Alamo more memorable

Remembering the Alamo will soon become much easier, with plans now unfolding to renew and update the original structures of the Alamo fortress, an historic UNESCO site in San Antonio, Texas.

The comprehensive project will not only restore the original 300-year-old Alamo Church and Long Barrack, but will also re-establish the Alamo District, including the original mission site and battlefield footprint. The rallying cry “Remember the Alamo!” motivated a military response to the 1836 battle, when defenders of the fortress were overwhelmed by a much larger army of soldiers from Mexico.

The restoration project also includes plans to construct a visitor centre and museum to tell the full history of the famous confrontation. Bringing news of this work to Vancouver recently was Dee Dee Poteete, director of regional media relations for Visit San Antonio. She met Baxter Media’s western Canada editor Ted Davis to review these updates.

The Alamo Church and the Long Barrack are the sole remaining structures from the Battle of the Alamo. Work is now underway to preserve and conserve these two remaining buildings before they are lost to deterioration of the damp limestone foundation, which has caused pieces of the stone walls to flake off and crumble.

Work on these structures is just one part of the comprehensive project, which has been dubbed the Alamo Plan. In June 2023, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed into law a US$400 million-plus appropriations request contained within the Texas State Budget for the Alamo Plan. This funding is playing a crucial role in supporting the restoration and revitalization efforts.

A new Alamo Visitor Center and Museum will be built as part of the Alamo Plan and is on track for opening in 2027. Until then, exhibits of artifacts are being housed in the Alamo Exhibit at the Ralston Family Collections Center on the Alamo grounds.

The dimensions of the new Alamo District will be based on the stone wall perimeter that at one time surrounded the Alamo as a defensive structure. This former frontier fortress had acequias (irrigation canals) to bring in water, a southern gate, lodgings for soldiers and an officer’s headquarters. At present, the Alamo Church and Long Barrack are the only two original buildings that remain standing.

Since May 2021, the portion of Alamo Street that runs in front of the Alamo Church has been closed to vehicular traffic.

The future Alamo District will encompass city and state property, and will include distinct areas like Alamo Plaza, Alamo Promenade, Alamo Gardens and the upper and lower Paseo del Alamo leading to San Antonio’s popular River Walk. Certain sections of adjacent streets have already undergone or will soon undergo closure to vehicular traffic, transforming them into landscaped public spaces.

Go to www.visitsanantonio.com for more.