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San Antonio, Texas
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San Antonio (pronounced /?sænæn'to?nio?/) is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh largest city in the United States. Located in , the city is a cultural and geographical gateway into the . San Antonio is the seat of Bexar County with a population of 1,328,984 as of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate. It was the fourth-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000-2006. Its metropolitan area has approximately two million people and is the 28th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S and third in Texas (behind Dallas and Houston).
San Antonio was named for the Portuguese St. Anthony, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691.
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San Antonio (pronounced /?sænæn'to?nio?/) is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh largest city in the United States. Located in , the city is a cultural and geographical gateway into the . San Antonio is the seat of Bexar County with a population of 1,328,984 as of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate. It was the fourth-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000-2006. Its metropolitan area has approximately two million people and is the 28th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S and third in Texas (behind Dallas and Houston).
San Antonio was named for the Portuguese St. Anthony, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. The city has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City-Base, with Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley right outside the city. Furthermore, Kelly Air Force Base (now Port San Antonio) operated out of San Antonio until 2001, when the airfield was transferred over to Lackland AFB and the remaining portions of the base became an industrial/business park. The decision to close Kelly and consolidate its resources came from the 1995 BRAC. San Antonio is also home to the South Texas Medical Center, the only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region.
Famous for its River Walk, the Alamo, Tejano culture, and home to the SeaWorld San Antonio and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. San Antonio is also home to the first museum of modern art in Texas—the McNay Art Museum, as well as one of the more successful National Basketball Association teams in league history, the San Antonio Spurs.
History
Native Americans originally lived in (near) the San Antonio River Valley, in the San Pedro Springs area, calling the vicinity "Yanaguana," meaning "refreshing waters."
In 1536, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, a shipwrecked captive of Native Americans, visited the interior of what would later be called Texas. He saw and described the river later to be named the San Antonio.
In 1691, a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries came upon the river and Native American settlement (located in the area of present-day La Villita) on June 13, the feast day of and named the place and river "San Antonio" in his honor.
In 1716, The Spanish Council of War approved a site on the San Antonio River for construction of a fortified presidio (fort). The Domingo Ramón expedition, accompanied by the trader St. Denis from Louisiana (who had come to the site two years previous) established a presidio on the river. That council also approved a request by Father Olivares to establish a Catholic Mission at the site.
In 1718, Martin de Alarcón, then Governor of Texas, reinforced the presidio and the ten soldiers and their families were recognized officially as the beginning of the villa. Alarcón named the presidio San Antonio de Béjar in honor of the Duke of Béjar, in Spain, the viceroy's brother, who died what was considered a hero's death defending Budapest from the Ottoman Empire in 1686.
That same year, the Mission of San Francisco de Solano was moved from the Rio Grande to merge with Mission San Antonio de Padua. Father Olivares renamed his merged mission Mission San Antonio de Valero. The presidio, the villa and the mission comprised the municipality named San Antonio de los Llanos (of the Plains) by Governor Alarcón. One year later, in 1719, Mission San Antonio moved to its second site on the east bank near the present day St. Joseph's Church on Commerce. (The names are in dispute because there are no such saints and only a Pope can name saints.)
In 1721, The Marquis de Aguayo moved the presidio San Antonio de Béjar to its present site on the Plaza de Armas, where permanent quarters were constructed for the soldiers. In 1726 the official settlement population was 200, including 45 military and their families.
The Mission San Antonio was moved to its third and final site on Alamo Plaza in 1724 because of hurricane flooding at the previous location.
At eleven o'clock on the morning of March 9, 1731, sixteen families (56 people) from the Canary Islands, often referred to as the "Canary Islanders," arrived at the Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar in the Province of Texas. By royal decree of the King of Spain, they founded La Villa de San Fernando and established the first civil government in Texas. The Marquis of Casafuerte, Viceroy of Spain, (King of Spain) bestowed upon each Canary Island family titles of nobility. Many descendants of these first settlers still reside in San Antonio.
The Battle of the Alamo took place in 1836, and eventually the town would grow to encompass the mission where the battle took place, a mile to the east. This was where 189 defenders, both Mexicans and settlers, were besieged in the old mission against 4,000 Mexican troops led by Antonio López de Santa Anna for 13 days. The defenders were all killed in the final assault on the garrison. Some recent evidence suggests there might have been a few prisoners, Colonel Davy Crockett perhaps among them, that were executed after the battle had ended. The cry "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying point of the Texas Revolution. Texas independence was finally attained at the subsequent Battle of San Jacinto the following April.
Like many municipalities in the American Southwest, San Antonio experiences steady population growth. The city's population has nearly doubled in 35 years, from just over 650,000 in the 1970 census to an estimated 1.2 million in 2005 through both steady population growth and land annexation (considerably enlarging the physical area of the city).
The Alamo is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound. It is maintained as a shrine and museum located in the heart of downtown, and is surrounded by many hotels and tourist attractions. It is clearly San Antonio's best known landmark, and is featured in its flag and seal and in the city's nickname, "The Alamo City." Across the street from the Alamo is the world famous Crockett Hotel, named after the legendary pioneer Davy Crockett.
Geography
San Antonio is located near 29.5°N 98.5°W. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2000 the city had a total area of 412.07 square miles (1,067.3 km²) — 407.56 square miles (1,055.6 km2) of land and 4.51 square miles (11.7 km2) of water. The city sits on the Balcones Escarpment.
The primary source of drinking water for the city is the Edwards Aquifer. Impounded in 1962 and 1969, respectively, Victor Braunig Lake and Calaveras Lake were among the first reservoirs in the country built to use recycled treated wastewater for power plant cooling, reducing the amount of groundwater needed for electrical generation.
Downtown
Because of its status as a historic urban center, the architecture and layout of San Antonio are more traditionally urban than other cities in Texas, such as Dallas and Austin, which have developed in the last half century.
Downtown is encircled by three numerical freeways, I-35, I-37, and I-10. Together the three highways create a rectangular route around the downtown area of San Antonio: I-35 to the north and west, I-37 to the east, and I-10 to the south.
Downtown is home to many districts including the Alamo District, Alamodome District, Central Business District, Convention Center District, Historic Civic District, Houston Street District, King William Historic District, Lavaca District, La Villita District, Market Square District, North Downtown, River North District, San Antonio CO-OP district, River Bend District, South Flores Warehouse District, SoSo (South of Southtown), Southtown, Eastbourough, and the University District.
The Central Business District is home to Rivercenter Mall, anchored by a Macy's, an IMAX theater, and formerly Dillard's. The five-level Art Deco Dillard's, at the corner of Alamo and Commerce streets, opened in 1887 as Joske's. Joske's flagship store was in floor space until Dillard's bought the Joske's chain in 1987. In August 2008, Dillard's moved out of the historic building as a part of a redevelopment plan for Rivercenter Mall.
Many people travel to visit the historic district, which houses the famous Alamo. Attractions such as the river walk are home to many of the festivities throughout the year including (Night In Old San Antonio) which celebrates Fiesta, Cinco de Mayo, and numerous parades such as celebrations for their home NBA team the Spurs, Christmas parades and much more.
Neighborhoods
Culture
Climate
San Antonio's weather is alternately dry or humid depending on prevailing winds, turning hot in the summer, mild to cool winters subject to descending northern cold fronts in the winter with cool to cold nights, and comfortably warm and rainy in the spring and fall. San Antonio receives about a dozen sub-freezing nights each year, occasionally (about once every couple winters) seeing some sort of wintry precipitation (i.e. sleet/freezing rain), but accumulation and snow itself is not very common. Many winters may pass without any freezing precipitation at all. According to the National Weather Service, there have been 31 instances of snowfall (a trace or more) in the city in the past 122 years, for an average of about once every 4 years. However a decade or more may pass between snowfalls. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx/html/cli/snow/snowtable.htm#Sat
In San Antonio, July and August tie for the average warmest months with an average high of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 °C). The highest temperature ever to be recorded was 111 °F (43.8 °C) on September 5, 2000. The average coolest month is January. The lowest recorded temperature ever was 0 °F (-17.7 °C) on January 31, 1949. May, June, and October have quite a bit of precipitation. For the last 135 years, the average annual precipitation has been 29.05 inches (73.79 cm), with a maximum of 52.28 inches (132.79 cm) and a minimum of 10.11 inches (25.68 cm) in one year.
Demographics
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 1,144,646, ranking it the ninth-most populated city in the country. Due to San Antonio's low density rate and lack of significant population surrounding the city limits, the metropolitan area ranked just 30th in the U.S. with a population of 1,592,383.
Subsequent population estimates indicate continued growth in the area. The July 1, 2007, population estimate for the city was 1,328,984 making it the second-most populous city and the third-most populous metro area in Texas, as well as the seventh-most populous city in the U.S. The 2007 U.S. Census estimate for the eight-county (Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, and Wilson Counties) San Antonio metropolitan statistical area (MSA) placed its population at 1,990,675, making it the third-most populous metro area in Texas and the 28th-most populous metro area in the U.S. San Antonio's MSA is bordered to the northeast by the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area (MSA), and the two metros together combine to form a region of almost 3.6 million people.
There are 405,474 households, and 280,993 families residing in San Antonio. The population density is 2,808.5 people per square mile (1,084.4 km2).
There are 433,122 housing units at an average density of 1,062.7 per square mile (410.3 km2). According to U.S. Census data from 2006, the racial composition of San Antonio is White 31.83%, 6.7% African American, 2.1% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 22.5% Other, and 2.1% from two or more races. 61.9% of the population identify themselves as being of Hispanic origin (they may be of any race).
The age of the city's population is spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. In San Antonio, 48% of the population are males, and 52% of the population are females. For every 100 females there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $36,214, and the median income for a family is $53,100. Males have a median income of $30,061 versus $24,444 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,487. 17.3% of the population and 14.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.3% of those under the age of 18 and 13.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
At the 2007 U.S. Census estimates, the city's population was:
- 29.3% White
- 61.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race (primarily Mexican or Mexican-American)
- 7.1% Black or African American
- 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native
- 2.4% Asian
- 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
- 25.4% some other race
- 2.5% two or more races
Economy
San Antonio has a diversified economy with four primary focuses: financial services, health care, national defense, and tourism. Located northwest of the city center is the South Texas Medical Center, the largest medical research and care provider in South Texas, which is a conglomerate of numerous major hospitals, clinics, and research and higher educational institutions. The center is "chief catalyst" for a $14 billion biomedical industry. It employs over 27,000 persons with a combined total budget of $2.8 billion. San Antonio is the only city in the United States hosting three Level I Trauma Centers within the city limits (2 military, 1 civilian).
The city is also home to one of the largest military concentrations in the United States. Fort Sam Houston on the city's northeast side hosts Brooke Army Medical Center, focus of the U.S. Army's medical command and training functions. Lackland Air Force Base on the city's west side is one of the world's largest training complexes. While it is known for hosting the U.S. Air Force's basic military training, it also hosts follow-on technical training for many other Air Force specialties, as well as other operations. Randolph Air Force Base on the far northeastern outskirts is the headquarters of the Air Education and Training Command, headquarters for Air Force personnel management and also hosts pilot and navigator training. Additionally, Brooks City-Base on the city's south side and Port San Antonio (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) adjoining Lackland still have significant military presences as well as defense contractor businesses. The defense industry in San Antonio employs over 89,000 and provides a $5.25 billion impact to the city's economy.
Twenty million tourists visit the city and its attractions every year, contributing substantially to the city's economy. The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center alone hosts more than 300 events each year with over 750,000 convention delegates from around the world. Tourism employs 94,000 citizens and makes an economic impact of over $8.7 billion in the local economy as revealed in the Economic Impact Study conducted every two years by the San Antonio Tourism Council and the research team of Dr. Richard Butler and Dr. Mary Stefl of Trinity University. Tourism also brings new annual revenues to the City of San Antonio and other governmental entities with the hotel & motel tax, sales taxes and other revenues from hospitality agreements and contracts. This number exceeded over $160 million in the 2004 study.
San Antonio is home to five Fortune 500 companies: Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro Petroleum Corp, Clear Channel Communications, USAA, and NuStar Energy.
Attractions
San Antonio is a popular tourist destination. The jewel of the city is the River Walk, which meanders through the downtown area. Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater, this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio. Also based along the River Walk is the newly restored Aztec On The River, the only surviving exotic-themed movie palace in Texas.
The Alamo, located nearby, is Texas' top tourist attraction, while the River Walk is the second most visited attraction. SeaWorld, located 16 miles west of the city, is the number 3 attraction.
The downtown area also features Cathedral of San Fernando, The Majestic Theatre, HemisFair Park (home of the Tower of the Americas and the Institute of Texan Cultures), La Villita, El Mercado, the Spanish Governor's Palace, and the historic Menger Hotel. On the northern side of the Alamo complex, beside the Emily Morgan Hotel, is the San Antonio Cavalry Museum, which features cavalry artifacts and exhibits and is frequented by local re-enactors.
The Fairmont Hotel, built in 1906, is in the Guinness World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever moved intact. It was placed in its new location, three blocks south of the Alamo, over four days in 1985, and cost $650,000 to move.
Other places of interest include the The Woodlawn Theatre, the San Antonio Zoo, the Japanese Tea Gardens, Kumamoto En, Brackenridge Park, the missions of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the Museo Alameda, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the McNay Art Museum, the Witte Museum, ArtPace, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Texas Transportation Museum, and Splashtown San Antonio. Visitors can also experience something of the cowboy culture year round, they can see the 40-foot (12 m) tall cowboy boots at North Star Mall.
Beyond taking in the sights and sounds of San Antonio, tourists can sample some of its world famous Tex-Mex cuisine at the many fine restaurants located throughout the city. Mexican restaurants are abundant in virtually all parts of town, and most — except for those in the Far North and some of the Uptown enclaves like Alamo Heights — are relatively inexpensive. Some outstanding examples of Tex-Mex eateries include Jacala, on West Avenue on the near Northwest side, La Hacienda de Los Barrios, on the North East side, Tommy's on Nogalitos at I-35 near downtown, and Los Barrios, on the near North side of town.
Sports
Current teams
| Sport | League | Club | Founded | Venue | League championships | Championship years |
|---|
| Basketball | NBA | San Antonio Spurs | 1967 | AT&T Center | 4 | 1999, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-07 | | Basketball | WNBA | San Antonio Silver Stars | 1997 | AT&T Center | 0 | N/A | | Hockey | AHL | San Antonio Rampage | 2002 | AT&T Center | 0 | N/A | | Baseball | TL | San Antonio Missions | 1968 | Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium | 11 | 1897, 1903, 1908, 1933, 1950, 1961, 1964, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2007 |
The city's only top-level professional sports team, and consequently the team most San Antonians follow, is the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. The Spurs have been playing in San Antonio since 1973 and have won four NBA Championships (1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007). Previously, the Spurs played at the Alamodome, which was built for football, and before that the HemisFair Arena, but the Spurs built – with public money – and moved into the SBC Center in 2002, since renamed the AT&T Center, following the merger of SBC and AT&T.
The AT&T Center is also home to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League and the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA, both owned by the Spurs. San Antonio is also home to the Double-A Minor League affiliate of the San Diego Padres, the San Antonio Missions who play at Nelson Wolff Stadium on the west side of the city. San Antonio also hosts the NCAA football Alamo Bowl each December. San Antonio also has two rugby union teams, the Alamo City Rugby Football Club, and San Antonio Rugby Football Club.
The University of Texas at San Antonio fields San Antonio's only NCAA Division I athletic teams known as the UTSA Roadrunners. The university recently voted on the addition of a football team, which has yet to materialize.
The city is also home of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, played annually in the Alamodome and televised live on NBC. The Bowl is an East versus West showdown featuring the nation's top 90 high school senior football players. The game has featured NFL stars Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Adrian Peterson, and many other college and NFL stars. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl also includes the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band, the U.S. Army National Combine, and the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, all of which take place in San Antonio during the week leading up to the game itself.
The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band features 91 of the nation's top high school senior marching musicians who perform during halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The U.S. Army National Combine features 500 of the nation's top high school underclassman football players. The U.S. Army Coaches Academy features 100 of the nation's top high school football coaches, including the coaches of each U.S. Army All-American. The Bowl and its related events are owned and produced by SportsLink, a New Jersey-based sports marketing and event management company.
The city was also a temporary home for the New Orleans Saints for the 2005 NFL season due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Saints set up practice facilities in San Antonio for the season, and played a split home schedule between the Alamodome and Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Tiger Stadium during the 2005 season. After the final game in San Antonio, the Saints committed to moving back to New Orleans for the 2006 season. City officials are said to be attempting to lure the National Football League permanently to San Antonio and have also said that a strong showing at the Alamodome for the three local Saints games was vital to showing that San Antonio can support an NFL franchise. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stated San Antonio was successful in hosting the team, and that the city would be on the short list for any future NFL expansions. The city has also hosted the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers preseason camps in the past, and they have signed a contract with the Cowboys in which the Cowboys will practice in San Antonio through 2011. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his support for the city's efforts to become home to an NFL franchise. Although it is the second largest city in the United States without an NFL team (after Los Angeles), San Antonio's smaller metropolitan population has so far contributed to its lack of landing an NFL, MLB, or NHL team.
In March 2006, the city also made an offer to build a stadium for the struggling Florida Marlins baseball franchise. However, the Marlins and Major League Baseball, while indicating San Antonio would be a viable relocation option if things did not work out in Florida, have declined the offer and appear to be focused on keeping the franchise in South Florida.
In 2005 the city approached Major League Soccer with an interest in placing a soccer franchise in the vacant Alamodome. Both the city and the league seemed to be in harmony with the council voting 9-2 in favor of the new San Antonio team, citing that it would reduce the financial burden of the stadium on the city by providing it with a permanent tenant without extra financial costs as the necessary upgrading of facilities at the dome would have to take place regardless of a team moving in or not. The following week an 8-3 vote carried the second part of the plan, which would see a major new youth soccer complex being built in the city to compete for what was described as the lucrative Texas youth soccer event market. At the time it was stated that San Antonio had only a fraction of the youth soccer facilities available in other Texan cities of Dallas, Houston and Austin. All seemed to be in place and plans on course until a media campaign against the soccer proposals exposing that the team would only be leased with the Alamodome for three years. After three years the team would have to vacate to a soccer specific stadium. After Hurricane Katrina the city set their goal of earning an NFL franchise. The prospects for the franchise were further hindered when it became a political football during the election for Mayor, which was won by Phil Hardberger who instantly distanced the city from any deal with MLS. MLS meanwhile released a statement claiming that they had planned to withdraw before the election but did not wish to comment until afterwards in order to "respect the electoral process in San Antonio." The deal died with both sides blaming each other for its demise.
Some current names in professional sports from the city of San Antonio's high school sports programs include Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Sam Hurd, New York Giants defensive back Aaron Ross, New Orleans Hornets guard Devin Brown, Minnesota Vikings 2006 second-round draft pick Cedric Griffin, Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, Houston Texans defensive end N.D. Kalu, Florida Marlins pitcher Logan Kensing, Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, Olympic gold medalist Darold Williamson, and Kansas City Chiefs Tackle Anthony Alabi.
Government
The City of San Antonio runs under a Council-Manager form of government. The city is divided into 10 council districts designed to ensure equal population distribution between all districts. Each district elects one person to sit on the City Council with the mayor elected on a city-wide basis. All members of the City Council, which includes the mayor, are elected to two-year terms and are limited to four terms in total (except for those who were in office in November, 2008 and are limited to a total of two terms). All positions are elected on non-partisan ballots as required by Texas law. Council members are paid $20 a meeting, while the Mayor earns $4,000 a year. Most council members maintain full-time employment in addition to their positions on the council. The city council currently has a female majority.
The council hires the City Manager to handle day to day operations. The council effectively functions as the city's legislative body with the City Manager acting as its Chief Executive, responsible for the management of day to day operations and execution of council legislation.
The current mayor is Phil Hardberger (an active supporter of the U.S. Democratic Party, but officially elected on a non-partisan basis). Before he took office as San Antonio's mayor, he served as Chief Justice on the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas. The current City Manager is Sheryl Sculley.
The city stretches into several national congressional districts and is represented in Congress by the following:
Growth policy
Unlike most large cities in the U.S., San Antonio is not completely surrounded by independent suburban cities, and under Texas law it exercises extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) over much of the surrounding unincorporated land, including directing growth and zoning. It pursues an aggressive annexation policy and opposes the creation of other municipalities within its ETJ. Nearly three-fourths of its current land area has been annexed since 1960. In recent years, the city has annexed several long narrow corridors along major thoroughfares in outlying areas to facilitate eventual annexation of growth developing along the routes. The city plans to annex nearly forty additional square miles by 2009.
Involuntary annexation is a controversial issue in those parts of unincorporated Bexar County affected by it. Residents, attracted to the outlying areas by lower taxes and affordable real estate values, often see annexation as a mechanism to increase property tax rates without a corresponding improvement in services such as police and fire protection, while the city regards its annexation policy as essential to its overall prosperity.
Education
San Antonio hosts over 100,000 students across its 31 higher-education facilities which include The University of Texas at San Antonio, and the Alamo Community College District's five colleges. UTSA is San Antonio's largest University and is one of the fastest growing university in the state of texas. Some of the private schools include St. Mary's University, Our Lady of the Lake University, University of the Incarnate Word, Trinity University, and Wayland Baptist University. The San Antonio Public Library serves all of these institutions along with the 17 school districts within San Antonio.
The city is also home to more than 30 private schools and charter schools. These schools include Antonian College Preparatory High School The Montesorri School of San Antonio,San Antonio Academy, Central Catholic Marianist High School, Holy Cross High School, Providence High School, Incarnate Word High School, Keystone School, and St. Anthony Catholic High School.
Transportation
Air
The San Antonio International Airport is located in north central San Antonio, approximately eight miles from downtown. It has two terminals and is served by 21 airlines serving 43 destinations including three in Mexico.
Mass Transit
An extensive bus and streetcar system is provided by the city's metropolitan transit system, VIA Metropolitan Transit. VIA's full fare monthly unlimited Big Pass is only $30 per month making VIA the most economical large transit authority in the nation. VIA offers 93 regular bus routes and 4 downtown streetcar routes including express service from downtown to the West, Northwest, North Central and Northeast areas of the city including UTSA, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld. Express service to the South and Far West areas of the city is scheduled to begin in early 2009. VIA also offers a special service to city events including Spurs games and city parades from its Park and Ride locations.
Rail
Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to San Antonio at San Antonio Amtrak Station, operating its Texas Eagle daily between San Antonio and Chicago's Union Station. Amtrak also operates its Sunset Limited three times a week in each direction through San Antonio between Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida (currently truncated to New Orleans due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina). The Texas Eagle section travels between San Antonio and Los Angeles as part of the Sunset Limited. The old Sunset Station is now an entertainment venue owned by VIA and neighbored by the current station and the Alamodome.
San Antonio does not have any type of local rail service. It is the largest such city in the United States.
Road
San Antonio is served by these major freeways:
- Interstate 10 – McDermott Freeway (Northwest) runs west toward El Paso, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Jose Lopez Freeway (East) runs east toward Houston, New Orleans and Jacksonville
- Interstate 35 – Pan Am Expressway (Northeast/Southwest) - runs south toward Laredo and runs north toward Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Minneapolis
- Interstate 37 - Lucian Adams Freeway (Southeast) - runs from San Antonio through its junction with U.S. Highway 281 south (Edinburg and McAllen) near Three Rivers and into Corpus Christi through its junction with U.S. Highway 77 south (Kingsville, Harlingen and Brownsville) to its southern terminus at Corpus Christi Bay.
- Interstate 410 - Connally Loop - simply called Loop 410 (four-ten) by locals is a 53-mile inner beltway around the city.
- U.S. Highway 90 - Cleto Rodriguez Freeway (West) through Uvalde and Del Rio to its western terminus at I-10 in Van Horn. Prior to I-10 East and US 90 West expressway being built US 90 traveled through the west side via West Commerce St. (westbound) and Buena Vista St. (eastbound) as well as along Old Hwy 90. On the east side it traveled along East Commerce St. to its current alignment which runs concurrent with I-10 East to Seguin.
- U.S. Highway 281 - McAllister Freeway (North) to Johnson City and Wichita Falls. Southbound, it runs concurrent with I-37, then I-410 for , then heads south to Pleasanton. Prior to I-37 and McAllister Fwy. being built US 281 traveled through the north side via San Pedro Ave. and the south side via Roosevelt Ave.
- State Highway 151 - Stotzer Freeway runs from US Hwy 90 West through Westover Hills which includes SeaWorld to its western terminus at State Loop 1604.
- State Loop 1604 – Charles W. Anderson Loop—simply called 1604 (sixteen-oh-four) by locals—is a 96-mile outer beltway around San Antonio
Other highways include:
- U.S. Highway 87 - Southbound to Victoria along Roland Avenue then Rigsby Avenue. It runs concurrent with I-10 for where it goes to San Angelo northbound.
- U.S. Highway 181 - Starts south of I-410/I-37/US 281 junction and goes to Corpus Christi via Beeville. Prior to I-37 being built US 181 traveled along Presa St. from downtown to its current alignment.
- State Highway 16 - From Freer, it runs concurrent with I-410 for along southwest San Antonio, over to Bandera Road to Bandera.
- State Loop 345 - Fredericksburg Road is the Business Loop for I-10 West/US-87 North.
- State Loop 368 - Broadway and Austin Highway is the Business Loop for I-35 North.
- State Loop 353 - Nogalitos Street and New Laredo Highway is the Business Loop for I-35 South.
- State Loop 13 - Is the city's inner loop on the south side serving Lackland AFB, Port San Antonio, South Park Mall and Brooks CityBase traveling along Military Dr. on the south side and WW White Rd. on the east side. The northern arc of the loop is now I-410.
Notable natives and residents
Media and entertainment
Print
San Antonio has one major newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News, which has served the area since 1865. Robert Rivard, who currently serves as the paper's executive vice president and editor, was named Managing Editor in 1994 and then Editor in 1997. The Express-News currently circulates as the largest newspaper service in South Texas. The Hearst Corporation, which owned a second newspaper, the San Antonio Light, purchased the Express-News from News Corp. in 1992 and shut down the Light after failing to find a buyer. Hearst, using the Express-News brand, also produces Conexion, a weekly magazine written by an entirely Hispanic staff with a Hispanic spin on weekly events. The San Antonio Current is the free "alternative" paper published weekly with local political issues, art and music news, restaurant listings and reviews, and listings of events and nightlife around town. In addition, the San Antonio Business Journal covers general business news. La Prensa, a bilingual publication, also has a long history in San Antonio. The San Antonio River Walk Current covers general San Antonio news.
Television
While the city is one of the ten largest in the United States, its television market is only the 37th in the United States, according to the marketing research firm ACNielsen. This is primarily due to the relatively low population-density of the outlying areas and the close proximity of Austin, which truncates the potential market area. The San Antonio market has 65% cable TV penetration.
Radio
- See also: Broadcast media in San Antonio
FM: 28 AM: 20
About 50 radio stations can be heard in the San Antonio area — 30 of them are actually located in San Antonio. The first radio station to broadcast in South Texas was KTSA AM-550 in 1922. Some of KTSA AM-550's better known local talk show hosts include Jack Riccardi, Trey Ware, Rush Limbaugh and Ricci Ware. Another significant station is WOAI AM-1200 (the flagship of Clear Channel Worldwide), which is the radio home of the San Antonio Spurs.
There are two National Public Radio stations in San Antonio, both belong to Texas Public Radio (www.TPR.org); KSTX 89.1 FM is NPR news/talk and KPAC 88.3 is a 24-hour classical music station. KSTX also broadcasts "Riverwalk Jazz", featuring Jim Cullum Jazz Band at The Landing, a fixture on the River Walk since 1963. KRTU 91.7 is a non-commercial radio station based out of Trinity University. Unlike other college radio stations throughout the U.S. the station plays jazz 17 hours a day and college rock/indie rock at night. College Alternative station KSYM, 90.1 FM, is owned by the Alamo Community College District and operated by San Antonio College students and like KRTU it plays the Third Coast music network during the day and alternative music at night.
Most Latin stations in the area play Regional Mexican, Tejano or Contemporary Pop. But on January 12, 2006, Univision-owned KCOR-FM "La Kalle 95.1" changed its format from Hispanic-Rhythmic Contemporary Hits to Spanish Oldies, now named "Recuerdo 95.1". However, Univision announced on November 10, 2006, that it flipped KLTO Tejano 97.7's format to Reggaeton in an attempt to reintroduce the format to San Antonio again. KLTO was acquired earlier in the year and operated as a simulcast of KXTN Tejano 107.5. San Antonio has quickly diversified in recent years, with the influx of non-Tejano Latinos, mostly from the East Coast, who are serving in the city's various military bases, as well as immigrants from Mexico. Therefore, just like in the rest of the country, radio station conglomerates have been changing formats in San Antonio to reflect shifting demographics.
Sister cities
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
- Guadalajara, Mexico
- Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Kumamoto, Japan
- Kwangju, South Korea
- Monterrey, Mexico
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- New Delhi, India
See also
List of Registered Historic Places in Bexar County, Texas
External links
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- Information on San Antonio's biggest party
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