Reagan

I went to the Alamo very recently for the first time and it was very hard to see from the road because it was sandwiched in between huge skyscrapers. The history was almost ruined! Sure it was beautiful once you got in there, but it has become more of just a tourist attraction, a money pit. They say keep the history alive, well, it's about dead.

I

I agree. Went there last year and the family said...."that's it?!" Surely beause of the exact reasons you have cited.

Ozzy

I'm sorry.

x

Give me a break! "It's become more of ust a tourist attraction". I'm ROFLMBO!! What would you have it, a fort to protect us from Mexico? Of course it's a tourist attraction. The city grew, and fortunately it was preserved. Most people's disappointment stems from the fact that it appears small, not from the fact that it is a tourist attraction. It has an admission fee. You would have it free? Hint: those dollars dropped into the "money pit" keep that 260 year old mission in one piece. Honestly!!

Connie

Don't forget that the Alamo was a church (mission). I don't think they had big huge churches when it was built in 1718.

Of course it is enclosed by a city. The church was the city's church. Should San Antonio have moved so the Alamo could sit out by itself?

I've been several times and have never seen them charge admission. They have a small, tasteful gift store that generates funds to help keep up a building that is 284 years old!!!

OliveOyl

Not exactly sandwiched in, either, which implies squeezed, it takes up over 4 acres in downtown San Antonio. And of course the city surrounds it-it was one of the missions for the people who resided there!

Connie is correct. There is no admission charge. You can tour to your heart's content for free, and a couple million people do each year. Your opportunity to spend money and help with the preservation of this piece of history comes when you shop the mission's museum gift shop, and no one drags you in!

But maybe x is right too, perhaps we shouldn't allow tourists at all, but maintain it as a fort. After all, you never can tell when Santa Anna might return. gt;

Gretchen

I think the amazement of first timers is how small it really is. It has this larger than life image in our minds and history. And don't dare tell a Texan that it is insignificant!!!

Sancho Panza

Remember - the Yanqui side lost this battle!
Actually, what most visitors usually find so much smaller than expected is the famous facade, whihc is just one part of the Alamo. The grounds, the barracks and other buildins are also part of the whole thing.

Mr. History

Connie,

I loved your statement (with exlamation marks) about the Alamo being 284 years old.

Have you ever been to Europe??? The Alamo, and most everything else in the United States, would be considered a baby.

Mr. History

Connie

I agree it is newish compared to Europe but we are not in Europe (thank goodness).

My point, Mr. History, was that it takes money for upkeep of a structure that is old. No matter what you compare it to, a 284 year old building is old.

OliveOyl

This reminds me of the time I was running in the historic district in Savannah, and a tourist with German accent stopped to ask me for directions to the old section of Savannah. gt; It's all relative, but this is all we have for now!

Karen

HUGE skyskrapers???? That's a good one! The buidlings that are directly adjacent to the Alamo are no taller than 10 stories. Where are you from?

xxx

At the risk of being pilloried by the Texas fanatics, I thought San Antonio was one of the most over-rated places I'd ever been to, worth one visit and that was IT. The Alamo was interesting, but one viewing was enough. And while the much touted Riverwalk area was cute, in the end, you're basically taking a boat through an open-air shopping mall. Again, cute, but not much else. I suppose I'm glad to have seen it, but NOTHING there to make me want to go back!

amanda

I was in San Antonio in April and loved it. I thought the Alamo was great - not touristy at all - they've done a wonderful job at preserving it. I learned alot about our history, as well.

As to the rest of the city, it was fun, and the people were about the nicest and friendliest I've ever encountered. Really got the feeling they wanted us and our tourist dollar there. Unfortunately, that seems to be a rarity these days.

big tex

Go home and stay home, you carpetbagger!

Stay'inAlive

You must have missed the nightly disco action. Too bad for you. Those guys rock!

good guys

Let's hear it for Santa Ana and his men. Way to stick to your guns and slaughter all of those would be slave owners who wanted to violate your abolition of that ugly trade. Too bad this country was taken in by all this nonsense about the nobel souls lost that day. Ozzy Osbourne did the right thing on his visit there.

Utahtea

Amanda,

I'm with you. We were at the Alamo this April too and we enjoyed the whole experience.

Utahtea

Ann

To whomever hated San Antonio,
If all you did was the Riverwalk, then you missed out on so many things! Did you go to the missions? Did you go to any museums? Did you play golf, go to Six Flags, Sea World, eat in a restaurant, go dancing, shop, try out Schlitterbahn, or visit Gruene? Great experiences have to be sought out, they don't just "happen"- maybe you need to evaluate you vacation style efore you start criticizing a beautiful city!

Braying

What??? You didn't just love mah hometown? It weren't jess gurreat all the tahm? Wall, pilgrim, then yew better jess head back nawth (where all the trash comes from, yep) before ah blows yer haid clean off with one a my 17 guns. A leetle beet a San Antone is mighty much better than y'alls' damn Noo Yawk. We gots a river and discos and an old building, yep.