A couple of Saturday’s ago I took the day to travel to San Antonio, Texas to visit and remember the Alamo.
I had been planning to visit the Alamo since I first arrived in Texas back in August of 2017, but work schedules or weather or other events kept pushing back my plans. And, in speaking with some of my co-workers who live here in Texas, I was warned not to expect too much from a visit to the Alamo. Because, even as proud as native Texans are of the Alamo (it is referred to by them as “The Cradle of Texas Liberty”), they also recognize that its legend and history is much bigger than the actual structures and its location makes it extremely difficult to picture the battle in your mind’s eye.
That’s because the downtown area of San Antonio grew up around the fort and the Alamo is almost anachronistic in its modern-day setting. I tried to hide it in the photos I took by framing them out during the shot or cropping them out in editing the photos, but the old church and fort are surrounded, and sometimes even encroached upon by skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of downtown traffic and life.
Still, as less than what might be expected, it was an enjoyable 90 minutes spent walking around the grounds, watching some of the re-enactors, and stepping a little closer to the history of this important location and battle.
Here are some photos from that visit.
Map of the Alamo grounds. You can see where the walls used to be on the left. That area is now Alamo street with vehicle traffic and businesses, and a park directly in front of the Long Barracks. To the Northeast, you can see Houston street where a church and tall buildings now exist.
A view of the church entrance, taken from the park area in front.
An exterior shot of the Long Barrack Museum. As the name suggests, this is where those in the Alamo slept and rested.
Part of the exterior hallway of the Long Barrack Museum.
Here’s a look at the north side of the church from the area of the Mission Well.
The Mission Well, in front of the Long Barrack Museum. It has been sealed at a depth of about 6 feet and people throw coins into it.
This is the west side of the gift shop. This building was not part of the original Alamo, but was matched architecturally.
A view of the northeast corner of the church shot from the garden area.
Part of the irrigation ditch that runs through the Alamo, originally fed by the San Antonio River.
Here’s a close-up of the plaque and some of the residents of the irrigation ditch. These large Koi fish would immediately stick their heads up out of the water with their mouths opening and closing if you leaned over the railing, thinking you were going to feed them.
Here are a couple of the re-enactors regaling the crowd with stories and history of the Alamo at the Living History Encampment area.
A close-up show of one of the re-enactors as he speaks to the crowd.
Great pictures
Thanks baby!
Did you go in the basement? 🤣
I asked if I could go look for Pee Wee’s bike, but they just rolled their eyes, so I never got to go in.
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