Downtown in San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
The River in the 1900s
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 21, 2018
1. The River in the 1900s Marker
Inscription.
The River in the 1900s. . The San Antonio River became a muddy, trash filled eyesore in the early 1900s. Alarmed city leaders rallied to save the beloved waterway by clearing away mud and debris, planting grass, and pumping water into the empty channel. Civic organizations, inspired by the nationwide City Beautiful Movement, soon called for more ambitious improvements. Their vision of a lushly landscaped river was shared by local architects but was at odds with engineers who favored flood channels without vegetation. When work finally began after the massive 1921 flood, groups including the newly formed San Antonio Conservation Society successfully lobbied to preserve and enhance the river's natural beauty. Architect Robert Hugman's visionary river project, completed in 1941, became the defining feature of downtown San Antonio. , The River Walk remained a quiet linear park until HemisFair '68 attracted new hotels, shops, and restaurants. Thirty years after the fair, planning began for the San Antonio River Improvements Project to extend the River Walk beyond the downtown area, creating a thirteen-mile greenbelt from Brackenridge Park south to Mission Espada.
The San Antonio River became a muddy, trash filled eyesore in the early 1900s. Alarmed city leaders rallied to save the beloved waterway by clearing away mud and debris, planting grass, and pumping water into the empty channel. Civic organizations, inspired by the nationwide City Beautiful Movement, soon called for more ambitious improvements.
Their vision of a lushly landscaped river was shared by local architects but was at odds with engineers who favored flood channels without vegetation. When work finally began after the massive 1921 flood, groups including the newly formed San Antonio Conservation Society successfully lobbied to preserve and enhance the river's natural beauty. Architect Robert Hugman's visionary river project, completed in 1941, became the defining feature of downtown San Antonio.
The River Walk remained a quiet linear park until HemisFair '68 attracted new hotels, shops, and restaurants. Thirty years after the fair, planning began for the San Antonio River Improvements Project to extend the River Walk beyond the downtown area, creating a thirteen-mile greenbelt from Brackenridge Park south to Mission Espada.
29° 25.906′ N, 98° 29.267′ W. Marker is in San Antonio, Texas, in Bexar County. It is in Downtown. Marker can be reached from Lexington Avenue north of Avenue A, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located on the San Antonio River Walk, on the south side of the river, 1/10 mile east of the Lexington Avenue bridge. Marker is a short walk from the 107 Avenue A parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 107 Avenue A, San Antonio TX 78205, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Courtesy: Maverick Publishing Co., San Antonio, 1913
2. Marker detail: San Antonio River circa 1913
River Commissioner George Surkey defined the river channel with low stone walls and planted grass and shrubs along the banks in 1913.
'68, held in San Antonio from April 6 through October 6, 1968, was the first officially designated international exposition in the Southwestern United States. The fair, which commemorated the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio, had its beginnings in 1959, when local business leaders, inspired by merchant Jerome K. Harris, started discussing a fair to celebrate the cultural heritage shared by San Antonio and the nations of Latin America—a "Hemis-Fair," as Harris then called it. (Submitted on July 3, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Courtesy: Maria Watson Pfeiffer, San Antonio, circa 1920
3. Marker detail: High retaining walls, circa 1920
High retaining walls were built along portions of the river channel in 1920 to contain floods. This view was taken north of the Pecan Street bridge.
Photographed By Courtesy: San Antonio River Authority, circa 1988
4. Marker detail: King William Historic District, circa 1988
The River Walk was extended into the newly constructed Convention Center at the time of HemisFair '68, and was completed south of downtown through the King William Historic District in 1988.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 21, 2018
5. The River in the 1900s Marker (wide view showing related markers; this marker at far right)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 2, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 223 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 3, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
