The city size is 407 square miles. The population is 1,144,646 people (2000), making San Antonio the 9th largest city in the U.S.A. The larger metropolitan area is 1,592,383 people (2000), making it the 29th largest Metro area in the country. A diverse city, it is almost 59% Hispanic. The city is serviced by 1 major airport, San Antonio International Airport. It is located only a few miles to the north of the downtown. Major Highways include I-10, I-35 and I-37.

The city is located in an area of rolling hills on the San Antonio River and San Pedro Creek. San Antonio is a picturesque city that is noted for its plazas, numerous parks, spacious residential districts, and many buildings of historic interest. The most famous is the Alamo. The upper course of the San Antonio River, spanned by bridges, winds through the city, making a horseshoe-shaped bend around the central business district. Along its banks in midtown is the Paseo del Rio, or River Walk, a popular walkway with shops and restaurants. Small riverboats run through the district and is one of the city’s premier activities for visitors. HemisFair Plaza, site of a world’s fair in 1968 celebrating the city’s 250th anniversary, adjoins the river.

The site of San Antonio was long inhabited by the Coahuiltec Native American people. In 1691 Spanish explorers named the San Antonio River. The city itself grew out of the Royal Presidio of San António de Béjar, a fortified settlement founded in 1718. The mission soon became nicknamed The Alamo and played an important role in the Texas Revolution (1835-1836). It has become San Antonio’s premier landmark and a shrine to Texas independence. San Antonio incorporated as a city in 1809. In 1813 during the Mexican War for Independence the city was briefly freed from Spanish rule, but was quickly reconquered by Royalist forces. It remained a center of Spanish Texas until Mexican independence in 1821, and then was the center for Mexican Texas. During the Texas Revolution, Texas troops captured the town in December 1835, but General Antonio López de Santa Anna recaptured the city with the fall of The Alamo on March 6, 1836. Reclaimed with the end of the revolution in April, San Antonio was chartered in 1837 as the seat of Bexar County. After Texas entered the Union in 1845, the city enjoyed rapid growth as the servicing and distribution center for the western movement of settlers. Until 1910 most of the new immigrants to the area were Anglos from southern states, and the city grew to about 70,000 inhabitants. The pattern changed with the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), which initiated an influx of new settlers from Mexico into the Río Grande Valley. The ambiance of the city began to change from one of a Spanish setting to one of Texas-Mexican culture. San Antonio prospered during the world wars of the first half of the 20th century through the concentration of major military bases in the area. Renewal projects were expanded in the 1960s, as Hispanics began the domination of San Antonio politics and as tourism became the most important segment of the area’s economic well-being.

Its economy historically was based on providing commercial, manufacturing, and financial services for an agricultural area extending to the south and west of the city. With plenty of attractions and pleasant weather, San Antonio has also become a convention host and tourist destination. Manufactures include refined petroleum, processed food, apparel, microprocessors and semiconductors, agricultural equipment, aerospace equipment and eyewear. San Antonio has also relied economically on a strong military presence. Located near the city are Fort Sam Houston, the headquarters of the Fifth Army and home to the huge Brooke Army Medical Center; Randolph Air Force Base, headquarters of the Air Education and Training Command; Brooks Air Force Base, home to the School of Aerospace Medicine; and Lackland Air Force Base, a major training center for recruits. Other bases have closed in the 1990s.

Institutions of higher education in San Antonio include a campus of the University of Texas, St. Mary's University of San Antonio and Trinity University. A leading cultural attraction is the San Antonio Museum of Art featuring art of the Americas from pre-Columbian to contemporary works. The Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum displays works by the postimpressionism style while the Witte Museum features hands-on exhibits of Texas history, natural science, and anthropology. The The San Antonio Symphony plays in the restored Majestic Theater.

Temperatures in July average a high of 35°C (95°F) and a low of 24°C (75°F); January averages a high of 16°C (61°F) and a low of 3°C (38°F). Precipitation is plentiful, with 31 in falling annually, much of it in summer.

All pictures are from San Antonio, using various film and digital cameras. The pictures below on this page are all from the downtown area.

The Alamo located in Alamo Plaza, W, Crocket and Alamo.
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One of the buildings on the grounds at the Alamo, located in Alamo Plaza, W, Crocket and Alamo.
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The Alamo at night, located in Alamo Plaza, W. Crocket and Alamo.
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From the Alamo Plaza at night, looking north to the Emily Morgan Hotel.
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The River Walk, looking South at Commerce St Bridge crossing the San Antonio River.
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The River Walk, from one of the many footbridges looking east at an approaching tour boat.
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The River Walk, looking at Joe's Crab Shack.
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The River Walk, from one of the many footbridges looking north near the Commerce St Bridge.
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The south leg of the River Walk, looking west.
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The River Walk, looking north from the Market St. Bridge.
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The River Walk at night looking at the Navarro Bridge and city.
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Tower of the Americas, HemisFair Park. Entrance to the park is located at Alamo and Market.
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Mission Concepcion, south of the downtown area.
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The Botanical Garden, north of the downtown area, under contsruction.
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Further information on San Antonio can be found at the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau website, or
San Antonio Official Website.