A Walk Along the San Antonio River

Taking a boat tour along the 2.5 miles of waterway is probably the most popular way to travel San Antonio's River Walk, but walking the distance allows for lingering and soaking in the varied examples of life on this waterway.

This landscaped walkway originally ended in the lagoon between the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the Lila Cockrell Theatre of the Performing Arts.

Sometimes is was the chance for a different angle for the photo;

other times it was the shapes that we chose to emphasize.

This statue of San Antonio can be found along the riverside.

Also known as the Paseo del Rio, this stretch of beautifully landscaped, meandering waterfront has had an early history of flooding. This problem of all-too-common floods was often the subject of debates among city leaders.

In 1921, architect Robert H. H. Hugman proposed a plan to retool the river into an urban park filled with dining, shopping, quiet walking areas and living spaces, similar to what he had seen in Europe. His blueprint eventually became the forerunner of today’s popular River Walk.





River Walk is the heartbeat of the city where hotels, restaurants, night clubs, bars and shopping are the primary destination. Even early in the morning, restaurants are ready for the numerous diners.

A decision to walk the route misses the historical details of the city's growth, the buildings, and the San Antonio River, but the visual details, such as those on the 33-story Tower Life Building, revealed on a walk far outweigh the observation of these sights from a seat on a tour boat.

These faces were especially intriguing on this 1928 building.



The Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel has quite a history. Taking over for a contractor that could not complete the project, H.B. Zachry Sr., and his firm designed, completed and occupied the 500-room hotel in an unprecedented period of 202 working days, just in time for HemisFair, the Texas World's Exposition of 1968.

The first four floors were built of conventional, reinforced concrete. From the fifth floor to the 20th, modules were stacked and connected by welding of steel embedments.

The 496 rooms were placed by crane in 46 days. The hotel's room modules were pre-cast from light-weight structural concrete. Before arriving on the construction site, each room was fully decorated, including color TV, AM/FM radios, beds, carpeting, bottle openers, automatic coffee makers, ash trays, etc.



This family outing seemed quite appropriate for a walk along the river

and then a swim.