The San Antonio River Walk bisects historic San Antonio. Many of the city’s most historic structures are located adjacent to the River Walk that extends along both sides of the San Antonio River as it winds its way through the downtown.

It’s the river that drew the earliest inhabitants, the Payaya, to the San Antonio area. The river’s water was not only a necessity for life, but formed an important part of the Payaya bands’ spiritual life. Similarly, the river attracted the earliest Spanish in the 17^th and 18^th centuries to the region and eventually led to the founding of San Antonio de Bexar in 1722. After Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821, San Antonio became a regional capital as the population of the community rose to few thousand inhabitants. But, it was not until the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845 that European immigration began to change the look and dynamics of downtown San Antonio. By the mid-1850’s, German was a common language heard on the streets of this old Spanish city.

Downtown San Antonio and the riverfront area saw significant growth following the Civil War. The community expanded as new construction and modes of transportation warranted expanded streets and highways. Many commercial establishments turned their backs on the river as they catered to an increasingly automobile–oriented clientele. The river itself was an underutilized resource, prone to periodic flooding. Early attempts to address this issue resulted in various plans and the construction of dams, cut-offs and other flood control measures.

It was left to local San Antonio architect Robert H.H. Hugman in 1929 to assign a new value to the river with the creation of a pedestrian-oriented “Riverwalk” that encouraged merchants and hotels to open their business to customers drawn to the San Antonio River as it meandered its way through the heart of the city. Federal dollars during the New Deal programs of the depression combined with local monies to bring Hugman’s vision to reality. In March, 1941, the Works Progress Administration, which employed Hugman and was responsible for much of the initial project, officially transferred ownership of the River Walk to the City of San Antonio.

The vibrancy of the River Walk today is a direct result of these early efforts to recognize the historic importance of the San Antonio River to the economic and cultural health of San Antonio.

Credits and Sources:

“San Antonio Downtown and River Walk Historic District”, National Park Service, Department of the Interior (2016).