I was thinking about Fiesta Week and machine guns ...

I liked the way the people in the 1910 era San Antonio threw themselves into Fiesta Week, they hosted a lot of parades with a lot of money as prizes. One of the first places in town to get outdoor lighting was the parade stands at Alamo Plaza. In 1917 the governor of Texas took the week off and spent it in San Antonio so that he could soak up the party atmosphere. I especially liked the fact that the festive atmosphere in the Spring of 1917 led to the Sons of St. Vitus (the burlesque parade) allowing a loaded Singer machine gun to be fired into the air.

Take a look at the google map I created - click on the parade routes, I have pictures of the floats for some of them. For some of them I added the people responsible for making the parade a success. Who knew Porter-Loring of funeral home fame was such a party animal?


View San Antonio Fiesta Parade Routes 1917 in a larger map

This ad is so pretty it had to be shared

May 8th 1910 San Antonio Light and Gazette

Houses in Highland Park

These pictures are here as a drop off point to support the google map I created to document significant houses in the neighborhood. The google map is also proxied through Hoopala so that the point locations are caught in the Augmented Reality Application Layar - search for highland in the Layar application for the iPhone or android and if you are in the neighborhood.


View Historic Highland Park San Antonio Homes in a larger map


1142 Highland Park San Antonio Texas

1702 McKinley, San Antonio Texas


James J. Jordan House
1510 Highland Boulevard
Jordan-Ivers Motor Company of San Antonio
Ford and Lincoln Dealers
1924 dealership location on corner of S. Alamo and Garden Street




Bert J. McLean House
City Editor of the San Antonio Light
Mrs. Bert J. McLean was the daughter of Mrs. A Vinz from Camp Douglas Wisconsin
a member of Highland Park Presbyterian Church
1915 Schley



H.C. Teich House
1014 Avant
He was a member of the Retail Merchants Association of Texas
In 1924 He owned a shop specializing in vulcanizing and retreading on 907 East Houston
Street
The couple had a baby boy was born on Sept 13


1026 Avant
Documented in Express News March 29, 1925 with photos






1426 Hicks
March 31 1929 Express News

Highlands Christian Church

There is a church on the corner by my house - made of limestone - the original name and build date of the church was a mystery. Nina and I got used to calling it the Beat Down Church ... the sad looking sign on the corner has it named "Clift of the Rock".. the church needs a powerwash in the worst way. I knew it had to have some kind of history because it is a substantial looking building .. limestone, stained glass, arched windows all that stuff. Thanks to the Historic Homeowners Fair sponsored by the City of San Antonio I was able to use an 1954 City Directory to lookup the the original church name - Highlands Christian Church ... Finally, I have a research hook.

October of 1951 was the groundbreaking - Roy D. Holt was the first Reverend of the church at this location.

Will N. Noonan was the architect : He built out some of the Monte Vista homes of the 1930's. He also designed a home for A.H. Wilde in 1933 , the N. stands for Nelson, he was born in 1885






April 2 1950 San Antonio Express
Riverside Baptist Church
3600 S. Presa
Plans are drawn




The Harlandale Masonic Lodge went up in 1925 and is still standing ... it was ugly to start with and has only gotten uglier ... amazing that its still around ..

Dia de los Muertos

Its Dia de los Muertos - a time when Mexican family's create alters dedicated to family members who have passed.  This year I inherited a package of love letters sent between my grandfather and grandmother in 1925.   They both grew up in 1920s San Antonio, Texas and the letters reflect a courtship in English and Spanish.  He had great grammar and a lovely script style (he graduated from Brackenridge High School),  her handwriting is not as precise (I think she left school at 7th or 8th grade) and is so pleased to have a suitor.  They were together over 50 years.

Creating Equal Access to the Global Economy

Modern Day Adelitas

Above photos are Nina's Escaramuza team. They are dancing to the song Las Adelitas and inspired by this folklorico performance: