Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    San Antonio in Vintage Postcards
    San Antonio in Vintage Postcards
    San Antonio in Vintage Postcards
    Ebook190 pages49 minutes

    San Antonio in Vintage Postcards

    By Mel Brown

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Postcards are an important element of understanding our history, for they provide future generations with a rare glimpse into the past. Since the late 1800s, photographers have traveled around the nation to places such as San Antonio to capture scenes of everyday life and preserve them in this unique form. San Antonio began as a small mission village, a wild west frontier town, and starting point for huge cattle drives northward, and quickly grew into a bustling economic and cultural center for South Texas, luring residents and tourists with its colonial missions, diverse people, prominent military bases, long-standing traditions, and festive celebrations.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateApr 3, 2000
    ISBN9781439628126
    San Antonio in Vintage Postcards
    Author

    Mel Brown

    Mel Brown is a professional aviation artist, with works hanging in the Pentagon and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He is a member of the Vintage Aviation Historical Foundation, and author of another Arcadia title, San Antonio in Vintage Postcards.

    Related to San Antonio in Vintage Postcards

    Related ebooks

    Antiques & Collectibles For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      She Has A Name

      Jan 4, 2022

      She Has A Name
      19 min read

    • Article

      80 Years On, Dominicans And Haitians Revisit Painful Memories Of Parsley Massacre'

      Oct 7, 2017

      This week marks the anniversary of the 1937 massacre, in which Dominican soldiers targeted Haitians living near the Dominican-Haitian border. A team from NPR's Latino USA gathered survivors' memories.

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Alamo Is A Rupture

      Feb 19, 2019

      The Alamo Is A Rupture
      11 min read

    • Article

      Heritage Trail

      Apr 19, 2022

      Heritage Trail
      12 min read

    • Article

      Texas: A Two-city Tour

      Jul 20, 2023

      Texas: A Two-city Tour
      5 min read

    • Article

      Home Of The Alamo

      Dec 21, 2021

      Home Of The Alamo
      12 min read

    • Article

      The Original Texans

      Nov 14, 2023

      The Original Texans
      5 min read

    • Article

      Buried histories

      Oct 4, 2022

      Buried histories
      14 min read

    • Article

      Gonzales To La Porte

      Apr 30, 2020

      Gonzales To La Porte
      3 min read

    • Article

      Remapping LA

      Feb 19, 2019

      Remapping LA
      14 min read

    • Article

      Mosaic

      Mar 24, 2020

      Mosaic
      5 min read

    • Article

      Pasó Por Aquí

      May 21, 2019

      Pasó Por Aquí
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Walk Among The Ancients

      Mar 2, 2021

      A Walk Among The Ancients
      6 min read

    • Article

      Down By the River

      Jun 30, 2022

      Down By the River
      9 min read

    • Article

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

      Feb 17, 2022

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
      8 min read

    • Article

      Nantucket Doesn’t Belong to the Preppies

      Aug 30, 2021

      Photographs by Amani Willett I caught the fast ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket, 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. As the boat plowed the waves, I was taken aback by my first view of the island. I could see it all at once, end to end, 14 miles

      12 min read

    • Article

      To Old Santa Fe

      Aug 31, 2021

      To Old Santa Fe
      2 min read

    • Article

      Black Gotham

      Jun 20, 2017

      Black Gotham
      3 min read

    • Article

      Rags To Honest Riches

      Mar 26, 2019

      Rags To Honest Riches
      3 min read

    • Article

      In Alamo Redesign, Renewed Battles Over Who Gets To Tell Stories Of Texas

      Oct 23, 2018

      It’s not often that a community gets the chance to redefine its symbols and decide who and what’s important. San Antonians are reflecting on a newly approved plan for its iconic site.

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for San Antonio in Vintage Postcards

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      San Antonio in Vintage Postcards - Mel Brown

      born.

      INTRODUCTION

      San Antonio de Bexar was founded in 1718 by a contingent of soldiers and priests in the name of the King of Spain. Situated near natural springs on the Camino Real (or King’s Highway) about half-way between Mexico City and the French Louisiana settlements along the Mississippi River, the site was selected for its strategic value to the Spanish empire. The earliest days were spent establishing a vital military and ecclesiastical center in an attempt to counter France’s colonial ambitions. This saw the construction of five Franciscan missions along the river, also named for Saint Anthony. The churches and their protective presidios fostered the growth of a community of indigenous natives and hardy immigrants that eventually became the largest city in the region. Many of the tribes first encountered welcomed the Spanish in the beginning, while others like the Lipan Apache and Comanche were combative and aggressive. The battles that arose during the formative years of San Antonio would continue for generations, thus requiring a constant and sufficient military presence. That fact would influence this city’s culture, development, and history in a unique way.

      Over the next 250 years, San Antonians would live under the flags of six separate nations and become a confluence of many cultures, including Spanish, Mexican, Anglo, German, Jewish, Chinese, Czech, Italian, etc. Its history has been varied and exotic: from a prehistoric watering hole and village, it has become a provincial capitol, legendary battleground, a cowboy and gunfighter’s haven, frontier outpost (Fort Sam Houston), modern military training mecca (four Air Force bases), and certainly one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations. Along the way, it has also been home to many famous, infamous, and not so famous individuals; some glorified in song, others in film or literature, but everyone proud to be from San Antonio, Texas. It is an eclectic town, noted for its heat, both atmospheric and culinary, while at the same time known for being mild wintered and well-seasoned in general. There have been good times and bad, booms and busts, droughts and floods, but all the while San Antonio has grown and prospered, followed fads and created others, always maintaining a charm and grace second to none.

      Many American cities have experienced this melding of varied and different peoples and events both modest and great. This city, though, has somehow managed to survive and maintain its fascinating character and history, often with difficulty and strife, but as often with zest and joy. While it is an old town, San Antonio has always welcomed and embraced change and progress. Where else can one find a two-hundred-year-old functioning aqueduct a mere stone’s throw from a laboratory dedicated to the care and feeding of astronauts? Where else can one enjoy an occasional snowfall and then the next week wonder if the air-conditioning will keep the keep the house cool enough to host a dinner party? If you know the answers to these questions, then you know San Antonio, and if you don’t know them, you should find out for yourself why this city is so special and always has been.

      Come along now and take a look at San Antonio as it was, is, and in some ways, hopefully, always will be; a special place known far and wide for many things, most especially its people and beauty, real or imagined, but most assuredly always remembered.

      One

      THE MISSIONS

      The Alamo. Originally named the Mission of San Antonio de Valero, this well-known structure was completed in 1758. It was given its more familiar name decades later by Mexican soldiers sent to protect and defend San Antonio from hostile Apaches. After many years of neglect, the old bastion was saved for posterity, largely due to the efforts of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. (Pub. by E.C. Kropp.)

      La Entrada. No, Davey Crockett was not actually pinned to these doors by a Mexican lance; that was John Wayne in his movie version of the battle. This beautiful portal and facade have witnessed many moments of drama, even though the statues of St. Dominic and St. Francis are long gone from their niches beside the entry. (Pub. by Weiner News Co.)

      Inside the Chapel. If these old walls could speak, they would tell of peaceful times when the Mission of Saint Anthony was a sanctuary for the early converts first encountered in the area. A more violent tale would follow many years later when, for a few desperate days, a small band of freedom fighters would defend the forgotten church in vain from a tyrant bent on their destruction. (Pub. by Grombach-Faisans Corp.)

      Neck-Tie Party. This curious postcard shows a scene staged in front of the Alamo as part of a fund-raising drive aimed at promoting San Antonio nationally as a thriving and prosperous city. Postmarked

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1