Prettiest place in the city

Robert Hugman, an architect and San Antonio native, drafted the plan for the River Walk after a particularly devastating flood in 1921 that killed 50 people. Designed to not only control the river's flow through damming and the construction of flood gates, it would  also allow its banks to be developed for both commercial and beautification purposes. The result  is the prettiest place in the city. A long stretch of meandering waterways lined with big hotels, lots of restaurants and a sprinkling of specialty shops.

We parked in the same lot we used yesterday and walked through the grounds of the Alamo. As we exited onto Alamo Plaza, we stopped to visit the Alamo Cenotaph, a marble-and-granite sculpture on the plaza carved with the images and names of the 150-plus Alamo heroes who lost their lives. 

Group carvings on either side of the Cenotaph.

David "Davy" Crockett.

Jim Bowie; who has had a little work done on his nose.

We took the boat tour of the central, downtown area and then walked the northern section of the River Walk known as the Museum Reach, about 1.5 miles to the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Our River Boat captain and tour guide, Maria.

Sculpture along the RW. The five bells represent the five San Antonio Missions.

The only thing I remember about this octagon-shaped building is the it contains the offices of an insurance company.

As we came out from under a bridge, Maria pointed out this optical illusion. It appears that this building is almost two-dimensional.

The mural on the Convention Center. It took the artist 4 years to individually place the mosaic pieces.  It was completed for the Worlds Fair in l968.

The two figures in the middle represent Adam and Eve. The child in the middle is the Child of Tomorrow.

I think you just might be able to see that this is a lemon tree with fruit .

Now, on our own -

A small bronze statue of St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of the city, presented to San Antonio by Portugal at the time of the World's Fair.

This sculpture is not on the River Walk but can reviewed from the RW and most other places in the city. It is called "The Torch of Friendship". This monumental, abstract sculpture is by Mexican sculptor, Sebastian. It was a gift from the Mexican Government to the City in 2002. 65 feet tall.

This sculpture symbolizes the first Mass celebrated in San Antonio on June 13, 1691. The day before, the first Spanish expedition to march across Texas to the Louisiana border reached a stream the Indians call Yanaguana -- "Place of Restful Waters" -- which the Spaniards named the Rio de San Antonio "because it was his day" -- the feast day of the great St. Anthony of Padua.

Mallard ducks enjoying the River Walk.

A sculpture representing the San Antonio River and the five missions. I think you might be able to make out the Alamo in the center right of the picture.

The locks and dam, upstream on the Museum Reach portion of the River Walk. This is a working lock that allows boats to travel upstream and the dam maintains the level of the river.

A far as we walked; to the San Antonio Museum of Art. We did not have time to visit the museum.

Some interesting tree sculptures made from concrete.

A stepped fountain with each riser a different mosaic.

The famous bridge where Jennifer Lopez, playing Selena, was kissed in the movie, "Selena".

Every city seems to have horse-drawn carriages. This one happens to look like Cinderella's carriage.