November 29, 2012 - Historic Downtown Churches (YRE)

Starting at the Holiday Inn, we visited a number of churches and other historical sites in downtown San Antonio. Some of the churches were very nice, some did not seem particularly significant or old, some were ugly and uninteresting.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

The first church was the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church (Byzantine Romanesque, 1912). It is worth taking a look inside.

Couldn't help wondering about this place

Market Square

Next we went to Market Square. This is a historic area that is fun to visit. We were lured into the Mi Tierra Bakery for coffee and pastries. Yummm!

Mi Tierra - Outside

Mi Tierra - Inside

San Francesco Di Paola

Continuing on our way, we walked through a run-down area to see San Francesco Di Paola Catholic Church (1925), the historic home of the Italian Catholic community in San Antonio. It seemed like an unnecessary detour through a marginal part of downtown to see a church that was not very impressive. I would suggest eliminating this church from the route and finding something in a nicer part of town to substitute. If I had been walking alone, this section of the walk would have made me very uncomfortable. The streets were deserted except for homeless people.

 















Eventually we came to a striking "enchilada red" building. This fantastic "Mexican Modernist" structure turned out to be the San Antonio Central Library. Had I known that the centerpiece of the building was a two-story blown glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly, I would have gone inside to see it, but the walk instructions did not even mention the Library, and I did not find out about the sculpture until I consulted Wikipedia.

Part of the Municipal Auditorium

As we proceeded, we came to the Municipal Auditorium, which is going to be fabulous when the renovations are completed. Then we passed two war memorials which we had passed yesterday.







At this point, we reached a more central part of downtown where several historic churches were located close together. First, we passed St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Gothic Revival, completed 1875) where LBJ and Lady Bird were married. St. Mark's was designed by the nation's leading church architect, Richard Upjohn, in 1859. (By the way, none of this interesting information was provided in the walk instructions.)

First Presbyterian Church

Grace Lutheran

Next, we saw First Presbyterian Church (Gothic, completed 1910). Nearby was the First Church of Christ Scientist. It was a painfully ugly building, and I am not able to find any information as to why it ought to be considered historic.  Shortly thereafter we came to Grace Lutheran Church (completed 1929).

 

Scottish Rite Cathedral (photo by Leonard Pierce)

And then there was the Scottish Rite Cathedral. The Scottish Rite Cathedral, completed in 1924, is now a museum. This massive, monolithic structure looks more like a Federal Courthouse than a church. In fact, I'm not sure it should be considered a church.

 








 

Mission San Antonio de Valero (aka "The Alamo")

Next up, the Alamo. It counts as a church because it was, in fact, a mission.

 

St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Not far away, we arrived at St. Joseph's Catholic Church (1868). It was originally the German church. It's not much from the outside because it is surrounded by commercial development, but it's quite beautiful on the inside.

 
Continuing on, we came to the Convention Center and La Villita, both of which we saw on yesterday's walk. The Little Church of La Villita (1879) is now a popular site for weddings.


St. Mary's Catholic Church was founded in the 1850's for the English speaking population. The current Romanesque building was completed in 1924.

At Main Plaza we had a second chance to see a church we saw yesterday, the San Fernando Cathedral. The initial church was built between 1738 and 1750 by settlers from the Canary Islands. In 1868 the cathedral was substantially enlarged in the Gothic style. It claims the oldest cathedral sanctuary in the U.S.

A short walk along the River Walk finished our day's walk. We went back to Mi Tierra at the Market Square for a late lunch.

Walk Route: B-

Walk Instructions: C
Providing more historical information would have greatly improved our walking experience.