Alamo revitalization group cites little respect for site

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Alamo revitalization group cites little respect for site

By SCOTT HUDDLESTON

San Antonio Express-News

March 13, 2011, 4:18PM

SAN ANTONIO — For more than 100 years, people have grumbled that Alamo Plaza is a disgrace to the memory of those who died in battle, and to mission inhabitants whose remains are buried there.

Change has come slowly to the city-owned plaza. Even a 17-year-old proposal to close it to motor traffic has been all but ignored.

Now, during the 175th anniversary of the siege and battle, a group is pushing for major changes through an "Alamo Plaza Restoration Project," including removal of traffic; a detailed reconstruction of the 1836 compound's main gate and south and west walls; relocation of the 1930s Cenotaph to a nearby site; and increased emphasis on the role of Tejanos who fought for independence from Mexico.

The most ambitious elements of the project are relocation of early 1900s buildings on the plaza's west side to support re-creation of the Alamo's west wall, and conversion of the 1930s federal building on the north end to a "major world class multimedia center and museum."

Jack Cowan, president of the Texas History Center at Alamo Plaza Inc., a nonprofit group leading the restoration campaign, said the Alamo still is under siege.

The plaza, where much of the 1836 compound stood, is used for parades, political rallies and other irreverent events, and lined on one side with splashy businesses and signage, he said.

"The Alamo is the No. 1 historic site in Texas, and San Antonio treats it like a stepchild. It doesn't get any of the respect it deserves," said Cowan, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution who lives in San Antonio.

Even before the Daughters of the Republic of Texas were custodians of the state-owned Alamo grounds, Clara Driscoll declared in a 1900 newspaper commentary that the Alamo was "hemmed in" by businesses.

"Listen to what strangers say upon seeing the Alamo amid such surroundings: 'Is that the Alamo?'" Driscoll wrote. "All the unsightly obstructions that hide it away should be torn down and the space utilized for a park."

Similar comments are heard in the plaza, where some 3 million people pass through each year while visiting the state-owned Alamo grounds.

Troy Johnson recently snapped photos of the Alamo Cenotaph, standing in the middle of the compound that some 200 Texians and Tejanos died defending on March 6, 1836. Johnson, a longtime Texan who lives in Austin, said he can see why opinions are varied on what the plaza should look like.

"I'm not interested in Tomb Rider or the (Ripley's) Haunted Adventure. But they have a right to be there," he said, eyeing businesses occupying the former site of the Alamo's command headquarters.

Johnson, a bicyclist, said the plaza might be a more respectful area if visitors didn't hear or see the constant, slow-moving flow of cars, buses, trucks and other vehicles.

To some, a visit to the Alamo fails to live up to expectations. The painted sunsets associated with the battle site in portraits and movie stills are obscured by the downtown skyline.

Monte Martinez, an independent certified tour guide who gives a 15-minute account of the siege and battle in the plaza each evening, said about one-third of visitors who voice opinions don't like the traffic. About two-thirds object to the business attractions and shops.

Travelers who come from throughout the world generally praise San Antonio as a beautiful, clean, friendly city, he said. Most history lovers understand that development has encroached on the chapel and Long Barrack.

Others complain after touring the structures and returning to the plaza.

"They'll say, 'Where's the fort? I expected to see the fort!'" Martinez said. "As a guide, I try to help them understand that the Alamo is not the (chapel), but the plaza itself. It is the fort, where men walked, thought and fought."

Amy Jo Baker, a retired history teacher, supports relocating the T-shirt shops and novelty storefronts to another area, "so we could focus on the history there, not sensationalism or commercialism."

Baker said she'd like to see the plaza become a historical learning laboratory.

"The Alamo is not just the chapel or the Long Barrack. We should also treat the plaza with reverence and respect," she said. "It could be so much more than what it is."

Others have suggested putting the plaza at grade, free of curbs, with pavement markings showing the outline of the 1836 Alamo, and signage at points of interest, such as the site of Jim Bowie's death room in the Low Barrack, and the spot where Davy Crockett's Tennessee volunteers manned palisades by the chapel.

Local historical author Gayle Spencer said she's more worried about visual sign clutter in the plaza than the businesses. The city has stepped up enforcement of sign restrictions, but should adopt more restrictive rules on neon signage, lighting and portable signage, she said.

Spencer said it's been hard to get San Antonians engaged on issues affecting the plaza.

"I think people have abandoned Alamo Plaza to the tourists and decided to let it be ugly," she said. "It's a shame, because the plaza is sort of the front door of the community. What people see there gives them an impression of who we are."

In 1994, an Alamo Plaza Study Committee formed by the City Council recommended closing the area to traffic, removing curbs and creating a major visitor and history center and museum. But the panel opposed removal of buildings where the west wall stood.

The committee also insisted that any replicated sections of the compound differ in materials, colors, patterns or scale from the Alamo chapel or Long Barrack, to avoid a false sense of history.

Little has occurred since then, although Mayor Julián Castro has said the plaza could benefit from upgrades in a future bond issue that "does a better job of honoring the history of the Alamo."

Proponents of the restoration project have pointed to the 1930s recreation of Mission San José, known as the Queen of the Missions, as a successful reconstruction. They've cited the 1985 relocation of the Fairmount Hotel, to make room for Rivercenter mall, as proof that large buildings can be moved if support for a project exists.

But the businesses in the plaza have no interest in leaving.

Davis Phillips, president and CEO of Phillips Entertainment, which runs Ripley's Haunted Adventure and three other plaza attractions, said businesses there "strongly disagree" with those who want them out.

The city decided more than 150 years ago to allow development in Alamo Plaza, said Phillips, a Texan. He said it's unfair to compare the plaza to Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and other U.S. battle sites, because "the heart of the city grew around the Alamo."

"Now you have private businesses and property rights that have been established here for generations," he said. "We support and respect the Alamo and its history while also offering family entertainment options in the plaza. They are not mutually exclusive."

The plaza businesses recently sent a letter to Castro in response to criticism that the storefronts are irreverent. The businesses counted more than 1.2 million visitors last year, while generating $217,087 in local sales tax proceeds for the city and other taxing entities.

Phillips, noting that 28 businesses have failed in the plaza in 25 years, said it's not feasible to allow only cafes and apartments in the plaza, as some have suggested. He said today's plaza is an "economic success," since some of the buildings there were vacant and riddled with graffiti 30 years ago.

"We can all sit around and imagine what the plaza could look like, but the market determines what's feasible. To move historic structures to make room for a replica, that's an odd argument to me," he said.

The nonprofit group advocating an overhaul of the plaza hasn't released cost estimates or a fundraising strategy. Its business manager, filmmaker Gary Foreman, said he hopes to "raise the consciousness" of San Antonians by giving the Alamo story more authenticity.

Foreman's multimedia company, Native Sun Productions, will bring what he called a "stunning" free exhibit on Crockett. Other demonstrations in Alamo Plaza, including a re-creation of the Alamo's main gate entrance, are planned in an effort to remember the Alamo with more depth, drama and accuracy, he said.

For more than 20 years, Alamo fans have longed to bring reverence to the plaza and restore its original walls, to create a sense of spatial reality for visitors.

Others have argued that the battle's hallowed ground was not limited to the compound's walls. And since today's Alamo is surrounded by tall buildings, critics say replicating the walls won't fully re-create the feeling of being there 175 years ago.

David Strahan, an architect who helped develop a streetscape design for the plaza during the 1988-91 downtown renovation known as TriParty, said he's never supported putting walls in the plaza.

"It would cost a lot of money, involve a lot of legal proceedings, and from an urban planning standpoint, I just don't see it benefiting that area," said Strahan, who tried unsuccessfully in the 1990s to have the plaza converted to a pedestrian-friendly area.

Strahan supports placing pavement markers along the Alamo's 1836 outline in the plaza, and even 15-20 feet inside storefronts on the west side.

Phillips said the plaza businesses might agree to that, or other forms of historic interpretation, "if there can be a rational discussion about it."

At the very least, Cowan said he'd like to see the Alamo's mission era highlighted through plaza signage and indoor displays.

For instance, few know that longhorns from the ranch at Mission San Antonio de Valero were driven to Louisiana to feed Spanish troops who supported the American Revolution, he said.

"History is often taught in its simplest form. When it's taught in its simplest form, it loses its importance," Cowan said.

For now, Alamo lovers agree that the busy plaza is part of "the Alamo."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7470586.html