San Antonio's old downtown

By Dick Tarpley / Retired Editor

San Antonio's downtown revitalization project has been tougher than Abilene's. Its old, narrow main street, Houston - up to three blocks away from today's tourist mecca, the River Walk - had been mostly vacated. Determined preservationists are reclaiming it.

Houston Street's greatest recovery, like Abilene's, has been restoration of a famed "atmospheric" theater. The 2,400-seat Majestic Theater is three times the size of Abilene's Paramount, but both boast moving clouds, twinkling stars and ornate decoration along both sides of the stage.

The Majestic opened in 1929, about a year before the Paramount. It began shortly after sound movies replaced the silents, and also attracted vaudeville stars like Jack Benny.

The Majestic reopened in 1989 as the home of the San Antonio Symphony. Its spectacular architecture, carved angels along the tall proscenium, massive balconies and impressive staircases should place it on every visitor's tour list in San Antonio.

Houston Street is making a slow, difficult comeback, but San Antonio's preservationists are determined to see it through. Alongside the Majestic, the 900-seat Empire Theater, is also being restored for use in repertory theater and for live, small shows. The Majestic hosts major Broadway and other touring theater groups as well as the symphony.

A beautiful facade has been restored on the Texas Theater a block away. There is no entrance there, but the tall renovated building behind is home to a major corporation.

Much on Houston is still vacant, however, even if the fronts are more attractive and the street carries none of the distasteful appearances that mark abandoned major downtown areas in many U.S. cities. Preservationists hope the Majestic and Empire will help bring in businesses more useful as tourist attractions, as well as new office occupancy.

San Antonio's status as the favorite tourist stop in the state, and as a growing convention city, comes mainly from the Alamo and the River Walk with its splendid restaurants, music and scenic surroundings. The hotels along the river have replaced the famous Gunter (on Houston) and St. Anthony (a block farther from the river on Travis) as the most popular places to stay.

San Antonio has other appeals besides its climate, its historic past and the exciting and exotic nature of the pretty riverwalk and its boat tours.

Unlike Abilene, however, three of its best museums are away from downtown - along the old Austin highway (Broadway) near Brackenridge Park and Zoo.

At the edge of downtown is the San Antonio Museum of Art, a converted brewery, which features some fantastic sculptures, colorful pottery and glassware from Egypt, Rome, Greece and China from the time of Christ to the 1800s. It also has excellent U.S., British, Latin-American and other paintings.

Its creative architectural reconstruction, its see-through elevators as you rise five floors and its pretty view of downtown (from an elevated walkway between two of the old brewery buildings) are as exciting as the artwork. The walkway presents a good view of the two-year-old all-red six-story San Antonio Public Library just a few blocks away along a bend in the river on the edge of downtown.

The McNay Museum is a couple of miles northeast of Brackenridge Park near Alamo Heights. This old mansion atop a hill is as much a work of art as is its prized furniture, beautiful sculptures, and great paintings, including major impressionists.

A magnificent patio, pool and statuary are visible from the encircling rooms.

Alongside Brackenridge Park lies the Witte Museum, which should be a great place for grandchildren to visit. It identifies Texas birds, animals and snakes by their songs or chirps and their presence in trees and along the ground. It divides Texas into seven areas and gives information about them in a way that generates interest and understanding.

But San Antonio's biggest challenge is in making Houston Street appealing to tourists. The Majestic Theater is a fantastic start.