This is a time of year to stop and appreciate those hidden gems of the urban landscape that typically go unnoticed.
Mayor Julián Castro touted the value Thursday of respecting parks, plazas, streets and buildings that make San Antonio what humorist Will Rogers once called one of America's most distinct cities. Castro thanked about 100 preservation supporters at a news conference at the Spanish Governor's Palace for protecting local structures and public spaces.
"All of that together makes San Antonio one of the unique cities of the United States," he said.
Shanon Peterson, the city's historic preservation officer, said she wants to bring attention to historic houses, neighborhoods, and "commercial corridors that remind us of life before the shopping mall."
David Ellison a new assistant city manager assigned to preservation, spoke of downtown renewal, neighborhood revitalization and the city's preservation programs as parts of a broad approach that "adds value in a number of ways," with economic, environmental and cultural benefits.
Though much of San Antonio's history lies in the inner city, outlying areas have midcentury architecture from the 1930s to 1970, and farm and ranch structures that date as early as the 1800s, that preservationists recognize as buildings that contribute to the city's heritage.
But as with anything related to history, preservation can generate controversy. the San Antonio Conservation Society, which today will hold a seminar on midcentury design, opposes plans to raze the Institute of Texan Cultures and U.S. Courthouse in HemisFair Park.
Even Will Rogers had concerns about San Antonio's history losing out to "progress" when addressing the Old Trail Drivers Convention here in 1926. He lamented that a "filling station" was operating in Alamo Plaza.
