The Alamo is a historic site in San Antonio, Texas. Its original name was Mision San Antonio de Valero. The Roman Catholic Church founded the Mission in the 18th century as an education and Christianization of local Indians.Today, it is part of the San Antonio Mision´s World Heritage in San Antonio. It was the site of the historic Battle of the Alamo in 1836 and is now a museum in the Historic District of Alamo Plaza. According to tourism experts in the area, The Alamo is a must-see when visiting Texas.
Located in the Downtown heart of San Antonio, it is within walking distance, no more than three-quarters of a mile, from many hotels in the neighborhood. The place, however, can be a little disappointing for those who are not that interested in the history of the United States, The Republic of Texas or the territorial claims of the different Europeans powers of the time. Some sources explain that it is getting fewer visitors every year. For those who are into past events, though, The Alamo is the site par excellence that brings about national feelings of pride by reminding people of the legendary battle between Mexican and Texan armies during the Independence war of Texas against Mexico.
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HISTORY
Mision San Antonio de Valero was the first Spanish mission established on the banks of San Antonio River. It was founded by Friar Antonio de Olivares and Papaya Indians on May 1st, 1718 and constituted the origin of the city of San Antonio together with Presidio de San Antonio de Bejar, a fortress, and Acequia Madre de Valero, an irrigation ditch.
The initial purpose of the complex was to Christianize and later educate the Indians of the area.Around 1803, the place became a military fortress for the San Carlos de Parras Second Army Company of the Mexican army. Historians believe it was this military unit the one that called the place El Alamo.
Between February 26th, 1835 and March 6th, 1836 the Battle of the Alamo took place in the area and became one of the most famous military confrontations in the history of the United States.
SAFETY
Local people and visitors, in general, consider the area to be reasonably safe.However, as San Antonio is a big city, they advise to take the usual precautions like, for instance, not walking around late at night on the far end of the River Walk around Crowne Plaza or Tropicana. That area is not well lit and has few tourists and, according to some sites, the place reports frequent muggings.
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THINGS TO SEE AND DO
The Shrine is one of the first places to see on the site.There are rooms on the left and the displays on the right show a lot of artifacts from the epoch to see too, such a Dave Bowie’s knife & vest. The gift shop exhibits an incredible diorama that has been there for years. It’s astonishing to see the grounds as they were when the battle took place. Also, the gardens of the building are quitea sight.The location is surrounded by large, looming, hundred-year-old trees that help keep the grounds cool and quiet.
Regarding things to do, visitors will find plenty of events happening near the Alamo, even right across the street. For instance, just two blocks from the Alamo is the start of San Antonio’s famed River Walk, a bunch of below-street-level walkways that line the banks of the San Antonio River. The Walk is a year-round bustle of activity, with shops, boutiques, and restaurants.
Just across the street from the Alamo are the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum and Ripley’s Haunted Adventure. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum is devoted to all things wacky, wild and weird. Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, designed for kids, is a tour of a fictional casket company whose owners mysteriously disappeared. Both attractions are just across the street from the Alamo, on Alamo Plaza.
The San Antonio Museum of Art is an art museum in Downtown San Antonio, Texas. Located at 200 W. Jones Avenue