San Antonio was named for the Portuguese Saint Anthony of Padua when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. The actual founding of the city took place in 1718 by Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares. The ?River City? is famous for the Alamo and the River Walk, the two most visited tourists attractions in the entire state of Texas, along with Sea World, Six Flags Texas Fiesta and a very strong military concentration. This book follows life, government, events and people important to San Antonio history and the building of this unique city. Spanning over two centuries and two hundred photographs, this is a must have for any long-time resident or history lover of San Antonio!

Archvial photographs and text describe the history, social life and customs of San Antonio, Texas.

Everything is bigger in Texas—including ghosts—especially in San Antonio, considered one of the ten most haunted cities in the world by National Geographic. As the saying goes, “dead men tell no tales.” Or do they? From its humble beginnings as a Spanish settlement in 1691 to the bloody battle at the Alamo, San Antonio’s history is rich in haunting tales. Discover Old San Antonio’s most haunted places and uncover the history that lies waiting for those who dare enter their doorways. Take a peek inside the Menger Hotel, the “Most Haunted Hotel in Texas,” and just a block away, peer into the Emily Morgan Hotel, renovated after a decade of being vacant, was once the city’s first hospitals where many men and women lost their lives. Explore the San Fernando Cathedral, where people are buried within the walls and visitors claim to see faces mysteriously appear. Uncover the legends behind Bexar County Jail. Join authors James and Lauren Swartz and decide for yourself what truly lurks behind the Alamo City’s fabled past. Includes photos!

Illustrated photographs and narratives describe the history, restoration, and continued development of San Antonio's River Walk.

The iconic stories, moments, people, and places that define one of the oldest communities in the United States

This is the first general history of San Antonio, Texas, the seventh largest city in the nation. Its past is complex and ranges across 300 years, from the community’s origins as a tiny Spanish frontier town to its contemporary status as a vital American mega-city. Site of some of the most violent struggles between warring empires and people—historians believe San Antonio may be the most fought-over city in U.S. history—it is perhaps most celebrated for the iconic 1836 Battle of the Alamo. The city is also home to four beautifully restored Spanish missions, which in 2015 UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site and have become integral to San Antonio’s robust tourist economy along with the fabled River Walk. This study weaves together a series of environmental, social, political, and cultural pressures that have shaped life in the Alamo City over the last three centuries. Residents have long fought to protect and utilize water and other resources even as they have struggled to achieve equal rights and build a more open and democratic society. Activists from all sectors of this multicultural city have believed deeply in its promise even though they have had to push hard to secure and expand its potential. Their efforts were every bit as intense in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as they have been in the twenty-first. Written for a general audience, but with a scholarly attention to detail and nuance, San Antonio: A Tricentennial History immerses readers in the city’s fascinating and fraught past.

Flamboyant hues and a bold mixed-media style make for a stunning visual tribute to the city of San Antonio. Quotes and captions accompany over 80 full-color reproductions of paintings by W.B. Thompson, depicting the old Catholic missions, cobblestone lined Paseo del Rio, and the Governor's Palace, labeled "the most beautiful building in San Antonio" by "National Geographic."