Concerned Citizens

In Friday’s Express-News Scott Huddleston writes about the re-emergence of debate over whether to restore the Alamo complext to its original state or not. The debate is being put forward by The Alamo Society, a group of historians founded in 1986. It would mean tearing down a lot of Alamo Plaza and reconstructing the original grounds to as close to original state as possible. However this concept has met with a lot of criticism, including that of the San Antonio Conservation Society. The real question is what value would such a reconstruction provide over the cost of restoration and destruction of other historical structures?

When you visit the Alamo and Alamo Plaza it is hard to visualize the original mission grounds from 1836 and how it fit into the city of San Antonio at that time. The Alamo was the first of the five missions constructed by the Franciscans and Spanish in 1724. It was later abandoned until Texian Revolutionaries took up residence in the fight for liberty from Mexico. The fateful battle everyone remembers was fought in 1836 with the final assault occuring on March 6th.

After Texas won independence and then later became a state San Antonio grew around the Alamo and, at times, overtook the grounds. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas secured the site in 1905 and developed the current grounds and supporting structures. To this day they are entrusted with the care of the Alamo by the Texas legislature.

The real issue at this debate is whether the structures in Alamo Plaza detract from the historical story of the Alamo. Does a Ripley’s Believe It or Not location devalue the actions that happened in 1836? Some within the Alamo Society feel this is the case and want to restore the grounds to the original state.

However this would mean completely demolishing Alamo Plaza and all that exists within it from a historical perspective, including the cenotaph and gazebo. There are also many historical storefronts across the street from the Alamo that would need to be destroyed to make way for false reconstructions of the mission walls and structures.

In the end what would be erected is something completely false. It might help portray the true sense of that day in 1836 but it would also destroy the culture and character of Alamo Plaza. That doesn’t include the expense and disruption to downtown San Antonio. This would be done for the benefit of the tourists only since residents of San Antonio rarely visit the shrine and usually never enter Alamo Plaza except for Fiesta.