The Battle of the Alamo hasn't ended

Before I move onto the next post, I feel that I would be remiss if I did not continue just a bit with the last post.  While it focused on what is known today as Alamo Hall I thought it would be appropriate to briefly mention the actual Alamo and Alamo grounds and the current battle going on there today. 

Alamo chapel doors

The Alamo is always associated with the battle to the death that took place in March 1936, but its history began long before that and has continued right up to the current day.  Originally founded as Mission San Antonio de Valero in 1718 near the San Pedro Springs it would move a year later and then again in 1722 to its present day site. 

A concrete version of the acequia that brought water to the Mission from the San Antonio River

The history of the Alamo and the surrounding grounds is much too complex to even briefly summarize here and there are plenty of good sources to consult regarding the many events that these walls have witnessed.  The Battle of the Alamo was to the death, but in subsequent years there have been many locally earth shaking battles over these walls and the surrounding grounds. Preservation has been at the heart of each battle, but now it is the question of who will manage the Alamo complex in the future that is stirring the waters. 

East entrance of Alamo Gift Shop

The State of Texas took control from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas who had saved it from destruction in 1903. Now the Texas General Land Office is conducting a national search for a new management company to run the Alamo.  Personal opinion:  that strikes absolute terror in my heart! What concerns me is if an outside management company will truly understand what they are managing.  The chapel has serious structural issues that must be addressed and the debate is raging about the entire area known as Alamo Plaza and its preservation, just to name a few of the issues a management company will immediately face.  The property is not just something that a management company can manage.

If you would like to read more I'm attaching a link to an article in the San Antonio Express News published on Sunday, March 16, 2015 and an editorial published on Thursday, March 18, 2015 if you want to read further. 

A new era is dawning at the Alamo
Yes to an Alamo amendment

DRT Meeting Hall

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas used this building as their meeting hall from the time it was constructed in 1939 until 2012. The Daughters had lost their custodianship of the Alamo property following allegations of mismanagement and were asked to remove their property from the grounds of the Alamo.

Today it is known as Alamo Hall and is the only facility for public and private events within the walls of the Alamo grounds. This patio is located on the right side of the building as seen in the first photo and is a lovely setting for an event.  There was quite an uproar when it was decided that alcohol could be served in the Alamo Hall!

Work had been done on the Alamo grounds in 1934 under the Texas Relief Commission which had been established in 1933 by Governor M.A. (Ma) Ferguson; funding for the project was through the use of Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funds.  A marker confirming this work is on the wall facing Crocket Street that connects the DRT meeting hall and their Library. I was puzzled about it because I knew for sure the building had been built in 1939.  My mystery was solved when I asked the local historian who writes a column in the San Antonio Express News about it.  The marker was relocated there from another lower wall that was present in the 1930's.  Even though it is out of place on the wall of the DRT meeting hall I was pleased that someone had the forethought to preserve it.

Lewis Fisher writes in Saving San Antonio The Precarious Preservation of a Heritage that the City had agreed to donate Fire Station No. 2 to the DRT in the fall of 1936 as part of a plan to preserve the Alamo and surrounding grounds.  The old fire station was to be torn down as part of the federally funded work being done on the Alamo grounds.  It should be noted that much controversy had surrounded the proposed plans for the Alamo and it is much too detailed to discuss here.  A member of the Centennial Advisory Committee, Ernest Altgelt, suggested to the DRT that they use the building for "some useful service" as it was a good strong building. The new auditorium would be constructed from the foundation and remains of the old fire station.

An article in the March 2, 1939 San Antonio Express News states that remodeling of the old central fire station on the grounds of the Alamo was underway and was expected to last for 3 months. The meeting hall would seat 300 people.  The plan was to reconstruct the abandoned fire station into an assembly hall for “San Antonio patriotic organizations”.  The structure was to cost $15,811 and this article notes that it would be one of the last projects in the area around the Alamo. It also identifies the work as being done through the WPA.

A picture and article in the San Antonio Light published sometime in 1939 states that work had been completed on the DRT meeting hall.