San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country - Page 2

harbinger320 · #21 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 5:02 AM**

for a metro of over a million - san an-tone has got to be one of the ugliest places in the country.

the skyline sux as does the rest of the sprawly, 70's-built city and the land around it. ok you got the riverwalk but come on... that's all?

is there any other way to say it? unimpressive in every way. 2 or 3 decent looking towers from a city of near 2 mil? most suburbs in the US have a better assortment of towers.

i know it's not the heart of your downtown but this could just as well be Fargo

Boquillas · #22 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 6:09 AM**

What are you talking about? The building at the center of that photo was built in the 1800s-- the building to the far right (the San Fernando Cathedral)was begun in the 1600s! and variously rebuilt in every century since then. Most of the scrapers in the town are from either the '20s or the '80s and '90s. And there are about 50 midrises at varying distances from 5 to 15 miles from downtown. Yes it sprawls- it was a huge Air Force city for most of the last century, with Kelly, Lackland, Brooks and Randolph AFBs comprising a ring around the city, thinning out the growing population and paving the way, unfortunately, for a bunch of other sprawly developments. But the beauty of SA's downtown is in the details. The Emily Morgan, the Tower Life, countless other architectural gems that Fargo and I daresay many other cities would be happy to have, but don't. Sure, we need a denseer DT, and some more talls would be nice, but we aren't like every other city in the country, and we don't aim to be.

KevinFromTexas · #23 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 8:15 AM**

^ Well said. While I wish the city outside of downtown and the central areas wasn't sprawled out, their downtown more than makes up for it. San Antonio's downtown is one of the most unique in North America. I don't care what anyone says, I love it.

I know San Antonio asks for it sometimes, but why must so many people be down on the city? I think it's a very underrated American gem. Anyone who discredits it is really missing out on a great city.

sirkingwilliam · #24 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 9:39 AM**

I'm just wondering if Harbinger has ever been to San Antonio, in person. If not, his entire post is distasteful.

dharper6 · #25 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 12:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

^ Well said. While I wish the city outside of downtown and the central areas wasn't sprawled out, their downtown more than makes up for it. San Antonio's downtown is one of the most unique in North America. I don't care what anyone says, I love it.

I know San Antonio asks for it sometimes, but why must so many people be down on the city? I think it's a very underrated American gem. Anyone who discredits it is really missing out on a great city.

My business frequently hosts confererences in San Antonio, so we bring in people from all over the country. The reaction to downtown San Antonio is 100 percent positive from the visitors. The typical reaction is "wow, this can't be the U.S." and "this place is incredible " and "I feel like I'm in Mexico or Spain". True, the sprawl is typical U.S. but the downtown is beautiful.

Where is this Harbinger person from, anyway? Constructive criticism is great but this person just seems to have a chip on his or her shoulder. My theory is that such persons are simply jealous and feel that their job is to bring down places that are more interesting than where they're from.

Expat · #26 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 1:43 PM**

Harbinger has made similar remarks about St. Louis and other cities. I wouldn't pay attention to it. Great pics!

sirkingwilliam · #27 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 1:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expat

Harbinger has made similar remarks about St. Louis and other cities. I wouldn't pay attention to it. Great pics!

Well that explains it, he's a crazy person who's escaped the looney bin.

john_mclark · #28 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 3:56 PM**

SA's sprawl is hilly not flat sprawl like DFW of Houston

pwright1 · #29 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 4:42 PM**

Beautiful pics of a beautiful city. And hill country is amazing. Thanks again.

harbinger320 · #30 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 5:57 PM**

it's an internet forum open to opinion. some people can't handle opinions so maybe you shouldn't post your pics? no i say post em and let the ideas flow.

if San Anta is so great and charming post those pics (street level i guess?) cuz the skyline is pathetic and so is the (taller, drab, tan) architecture.

And yes, 90% of the buildings in these pics look like Fargo 1986. don't kill the messenger

sirkingwilliam · #31 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 6:03 PM**

So your wonderful opinion of San Antonio comes via pictures on the internet? So when you speak about it you really have no up close personal experience with said city, do you? So why act like you do? Just judge the pictures posted don't make statements about a city as if you've experienced it first hand. I don't think this was a thread focusing on the skyline, it was a thread focusing on downtown. Seeing as how you've made similar distasteful comments to other cities it would seem you have nothing better to do in your life than troll forums. With that said, I will ignore you from now on and I'd hope no one else would try to feed the bear.

John R · #32 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 10:52 PM**

I have not run into Lance on any of my rides through the Hill Country. Because I live up in Fort Worth, I actually only make it to the Hill Country to ride about two times per year. In October, I do the Leakey Death Ride. The springtime trip is for the Easter Hill Country Tour, and this year, I had to work on Good Friday for a deadline on Monday, so I didn't make the ride. I had the next weekend off and I heard from my cycling buddies that the wildflower display was exceptional this year, so the next weekend, I went down for a day trip. That is when I took the photographs that I have posted.

The San Antonio trip was also on the spur of the moment. I have been working a lot of hours this spring and summer, so we had another deadline which allowed me to take a weekend off. Since I was free, I decided to go to check out the Drury Plaza Hotel. I thought it would be nice to share the photos from the two trips with all of you.

SLO · #33 Posted **Jul 2, 2007, 11:14 PM**

thanks John,
thats a good reminder for a summer weekender to SA....
It really is one of the unique tourist cities of the USA, definitely worthy of a visit. The culture of Texas & Mexico is very strong, really a good town. The downtown is much maligned but is very nice and vibrant.

dharper6 · #34 Posted **Jul 3, 2007, 12:18 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by John R

I have not run into Lance on any of my rides through the Hill Country. Because I live up in Fort Worth, I actually only make it to the Hill Country to ride about two times per year. The springtime trip is for the Easter Hill Country Tour, and this year, I had to work on Good Friday for a deadline on Monday, so I didn't make the ride. I had the next weekend off and I heard from my cycling buddies that the wildflower display was exceptional this year, so the next weekend, I went down for a day trip. That is when I took the photographs that I have posted.

The San Antonio trip was also on the spur of the moment. I have been working a lot of hours this spring and summer, so we had another deadline which allowed me to take a weekend off. Since I was free, I decided to go to check out the Drury Plaza Hotel. I thought it would be nice to share the photos from the two trips with all of you.

Looks like a really nice hotel. I stayed at the Crockett in 1997 and really liked it. Don't know if it's still there or not.

John R · #35 Posted **Jul 3, 2007, 3:02 AM**

If you take a look at my picture of the Alamo, you can see the Crockett Hotel's neon sign in the background. They are still in operation.

It had been five years since I was in downtown. I had passed through the city or around on one of the loops in the meantime, so I thought it was time to visit again.

mello · #36 Posted **Jul 3, 2007, 3:12 AM**

Definitely great shots. The blue sky in the hill country was fabulous! I thought the clouds mixed with the ultra rich blue was stunning. Reminded me of the skies in New Mexico. I will say this about San Antonio: the old architecture is stunning! Maybe many other metro's of this size demolished some of their old buildings or simply didn't have as many.

Now the only thing a bit dissapointing about San Antonio is the lack of a couple nice modern buildings. When you look at Bellevue for example and compare its current towers under construction it is a bid sad. Shit even Greenville South Carolina is building condo towers!!

I haven't looked at what is uc in SA right now but hopefully they can get a residential mid/highrise boom going to give the city a nice mix of new and old.

NBTX11 · #37 Posted **Jul 3, 2007, 3:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harbinger320

for a metro of over a million - san an-tone has got to be one of the ugliest places in the country.

the skyline sux as does the rest of the sprawly, 70's-built city and the land around it. ok you got the riverwalk but come on... that's all?

is there any other way to say it? unimpressive in every way. 2 or 3 decent looking towers from a city of near 2 mil? most suburbs in the US have a better assortment of towers.

i know it's not the heart of your downtown but this could just as well be Fargo

1) Tower of the Americas - 750'
2) Marriott Rivercenter - 546'
3) Weston Centre - 444'
4) Grand Hyatt (under construction) - 427'
5) Tower Life - 404'
6) Bank of America - 387'
7) Nix - 375'
8) Towers at Park Lane - 368' (not DT)
9) Marriott Riverwalk - 350ish, I think.
10) Crown Plaza - 325'
11) Frost Bank - 300'
12) Milam - 280'
13) Drury Plaza - 278' (the bldg JohnR stayed in)

There is several more, but the point is there are a lot more than 2 or 3 towers. You may not like them and that is fine. A lot of people say the DT is drab and one color, but there are towers. Somehow, I don't think Fargo has one tower that is equal to the above list. SA has one of the most vibrant, historic, culture filled, exciting downtowns of any city in the U.S. That is a fact.

jetsetter · #38 Posted **Jul 3, 2007, 3:37 AM**

I love the Bexar County courthouse. Byzantine/Romanesque Revival structures in brick are some of my favorite.

KevinFromTexas · #39 Posted **Jul 3, 2007, 9:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mello

Definitely great shots. The blue sky in the hill country was fabulous! I thought the clouds mixed with the ultra rich blue was stunning. Reminded me of the skies in New Mexico. I will say this about San Antonio: the old architecture is stunning! Maybe many other metro's of this size demolished some of their old buildings or simply didn't have as many.

Now the only thing a bit dissapointing about San Antonio is the lack of a couple nice modern buildings. When you look at Bellevue for example and compare its current towers under construction it is a bid sad. Shit even Greenville South Carolina is building condo towers!!

I haven't looked at what is uc in SA right now but hopefully they can get a residential mid/highrise boom going to give the city a nice mix of new and old.

While San Antonio's downtown hasn't seen a lot of new highrises in the last 20 years, I will say this, I'm proud that the city has preserved its history. As you mentioned they still have a lot of old buildings that were never torn down. One thing that San Antonio excels at is reusing its old buildings. They'll restore a building to its original state and reuse it rather than tear it down for some new cheap building. As a result the downtown is very dense. It retained all its old buildings from the 20s and 30s and even further back than that, while also only building newer buildings on the vacant lots elsewhere in downtown. John's photos show a perfect example of this, dense downtown with all or most of its older buildings still intact, and not just intact, but are in mint condition and continue to be restored as the Drury Inn Plaza Hotel shows.

Great photos again, John. Thanks for posting them. I'd never pass a chance to see San Antonio.

Tom Servo · #40 Posted **Jul 3, 2007, 10:05 AM**