The Missions of San Antonio

On Friday, we drove into the city of San Antonio to visit The Alamo and The Riverwalk. It seems that whenever you mention San Antonio to anyone, those are the two things they mention so, of course, we had to do it.

The Alamo is a huge tourist attraction and a source of pride to Texans. Since the Texans lost the battle there, I had to wonder why it is so celebrated. Well, now I know that the fellow in charge held the Mexicans at bay until Sam Houston could gather the troops sufficient to win the war later that year. (I think I have that right.) Anyway, The Alamo was originally called Mission San Antonio de Valero and it served as home to Franciscan Missionaries and their Native American converts for 70 years prior to being used as a military post in 1836. It was not really possible to get good pictures since there were people all over the place and no photography was allowed inside the building. This is the best I could do; a view of the front and of the back.

When we left there, we headed to The Riverwalk for lunch. It too was a great tourist attraction and I found out that it is a man-made canal, not a river at all. (or maybe part of it is a river but we didn't get to that part...) In fact, in January they drain it to clean it and have "mud days" and in March, they dye it Green. I gotta admit I was a little disappointed.

When we finished lunch, we headed to two missions that have been maintained and restored. "Mission Nuestra Senora de la Prisima Concepcion de Acuna" has been standing for 250 years and is one of the country's oldest original stone churches. It is a most impressive structure but unfortunately, the interior of the church is being renovated and we were not allowed to enter.

We are standing in an entrance to what was a storeroom.

Some of the original frescos found on the inside walls were restored in 1988. These were found in the missionaries living and office space.

The courtyard contains some of the original walkways. You can almost feel the people moving about as you quietly enjoy the area.

Our next stop was "Mission San Jose y San Miquel de Aquayo". All four of the missions in San Antonio are part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Mission San Jose is said to be the "Queen of Missions" because of its size. The mission was established in 1720 but building of the current structure began in 1768 and in 1777, a visiting head priest said "In point of beauty, plan and strength, there is not a presidio that can compare with it." At that time, there were 350 Indians living in 84 two-room apartments plus the missionaries living on the grounds.

This shows the "apartment" entrance with cooking stove outside. (Anita, does it look familiar? - they were very similar to those we saw at Sky City)

These long rows of apartments lined the grounds.

The outside of the church was a joy to see and photograph. The inside was very plain with few statues and nothing on the walls.

No matter where you went on the spacious grounds the church loomed in the background. To be in an area that was built over 250 years ago and has withstood the test of time is a very humbling experience for me. And I have conflicting feelings about the "converts". Literature tells me that when the Indians entered the mission they had to give up everything, including their names and in essence become Spanish. And they were the ones who built these structures; it sounds almost like they became slaves when they entered a mission. Yet, they did it willingly, so... Anyway, back to the buildings and the impressive courtyards. I loved the lighting when we were there.

This was the original entry to the grounds.

This is The Rose Window. It is a premier example of Spanish Colonial ornamentation in the U.S. but it's sculptor and it's meaning is still a mystery. It was probably named after Saint Rose of Lima, the first saint in the New World. And this is the statue directly inside the window.

I was fascinated by the architecture and the stone work on the front of this church.

I don't suppose I should have been surprised to learn that each of the symbols has a meaning. For example - the arrow like enhancements (they are suppose to look like curtains opening) on the bell tower indicate that below a magnificent scene will be revealed.
I can only imagine all the messages in the artwork over the huge wooden door.

And then, it was time to head home, past the apartments of 250 years ago and out into the modern world (where it was time for rush hour).

It was a full day and one more learning experience for us. Who knows what next week will bring. I do love our lifestyle!