Alamo, Menger Hotel, Teddy Roosevelt and The Riverwalk

 

Alamo, Menger Hotel, Teddy Roosevelt and The Riverwalk

The last time we visited the San Antonio area, two years ago, our exploring was cut short by a little thing called COVID.  There are a number of Missions that are still standing in the area around San Antonio, and we visited them all last time, except The Alamo.  This time we made certain to see it and also some interesting historical things close by and topped the visit off with a visit to The Riverwalk in San Antonio.

The Alamo Mission was originally known as Mision San Antonio de Valero, founded in the 18^th century by Roman Catholic missionaries.  It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo, in 1836, where James Bowie and Davy Crockett died.  It functioned as a mission from 1763 – 1790, when it was secularized and then abandoned.  In 1891, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas began efforts to preserve The Alamo and convinced the state legislature to purchase what remained of the buildings and grounds in 1905 and named the Daughters of the Republic of Texas as custodians of The Alamo.  Over the years, there has been some controversy over the ownership of The Alamo and the role the Daughters of the Republic of Texas were to play in protecting The Alamo.

Today, over 3 million people visit The Alamo each year.  I remember many years ago visiting it and seeing not only the Chapel (which is the main building that is most often shown in photos, etc., but also the Long Barracks, which contains a small museum.  When we visited, we entered through the Chapel, but could not see the Long Barracks, due to preservation work being done on that building.  I was struck both the first time I visited it, and again on this visit, how short (relatively) the walls surrounding The Alamo were.  A man in good physical condition could probably scale the walls without too much effort!

Next door to The Alamo is the Menger Hotel.  It was built in 1859 and has all the earmarks of a truly grand hotel, back in the day.  There are lovely leaded glass windows as you enter the hotel through the entryway from the outside, plenty of cushioned chairs and sofas in which to sit, as well as glassed exhibits showing various items, including an old register of the hotel.  There is a courtyard in the hotel area, surrounded by the hotel, with benches for outdoor seating and a lovely fountain in that courtyard.

In the walkway between The Alamo and the Menger Hotel stands a statue of Teddy Roosevelt, who was the 26^th President of the United States, serving from 1901 – 1909, before his distant cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, became President.   Why would his statue be in this location?

Teddy Roosevelt is connected to the Menger Hotel, because the Menger Bar is where Teddy Roosevelt would sign up for volunteers for the 1^st United States Volunteer Calvary, better known as the Rough Riders., in 1898.  They were very active during the Spanish-American War. The Bar is an exact replica of a pub in London’s House of Lords.   It is also the site of more cattle deals than any other place in Texas and is San Antonio’s longest continuously operating saloon.  The middle photo is the walkway from the Menger Hotel to the Menger Bar, and the photos on either side of it reflect Rough Rider items in glass cases.  We did step into the bar, but it was incredibly small, and was totally full when we entered, which was shortly after it opened for the day!  It was also almost pitch-black inside, so photos of the interior of the bar weren’t possible…without blinding the patrons enjoying a lunch time brew!!

After all of that history, we walked just a short distance to San Antonio’s Riverwalk, where we did enjoy watching the tour boats traveling down the Riverwalk and enjoyed a margarita with our lunch!!

Enjoy!!