The scene in City Council chambers Thursday evening was another disappointing moment in San Antonio civic life. Rowdy members of the activist group This is Texas Freedom Force and others opposed to the proposed relocation of the Alamo Cenotaph shouted protests, waved placards, and disrupted the meeting again and again. Several required eviction by San Antonio police officers.
The broader discussion of the redevelopment of the Alamo Plaza and the most debated elements of the plan was drowned out by the noisy mob.
Amid law enforcement concerns about their personal security, members of the long-serving Alamo Citizen Advisory Committee cast their votes to support the project without attaching their individual names to them.
They feared to do otherwise.
City officials and others wanted these citizen leaders, many of whom have volunteered years of their time and energy to this project, to safely exit the Municipal Plaza building after the hearing without incident. Given the threats circulating on social media and other attempts at intimidation, such security concerns were and are valid.
Such confrontational crowd behavior in San Antonio over the course of the Alamo Plaza redesign debate has driven off many of the more serious voices and their diverse views on the pros and cons of the far-reaching plan. It’s also projected an image outside the city that gives pause to others in Texas and beyond who will be asked to invest in the project.
San Antonio risks looking like a city where every effort to build and better it is opposed, delayed, or even blocked by a handful of loud serial protesters. Add to that a City government and City charter now threatened by angry firefighter union officials looking for leverage in a new labor contract.
No one will get “their way” with the Alamo Plaza project. Compromise is the only path to change. Elements of the proposed interpretive plan design should be subjected to serious professional scrutiny and debate. Unfortunately, such a thoughtful process has fallen hostage to mob behavior.
I had firsthand experience Thursday of what keeps so many engaged citizens from attending such meetings. Members of the public and media were kept waiting 30 minutes in the South Texas heat as extra security measures slowed the opening of doors and the influx of audience members. As I stood chatting with other journalists, Fidel “Two Bears” Castillo, who says he is the spiritual leader of the local Indigenous Tribal Nations of Texas, approached me in an aggressive manner.
“You’re Rivard?” he demanded, holding his smart phone close to record the incident as we stood face to face, only inches separating us. “They” were going to get me, he said, adding a few F bombs and that I was helpless to stop them.
“Get out of my face,” I said.
“You can’t f—–g make me,” Castillo said. A brief staredown ended with him walking away.
I’ve faced far worse in my reporting life than Two Bears, a familiar gadfly at public hearings of all kinds. I wasn’t intimidated, and didn’t feel the need to report Castillo’s threat to the San Antonio bike patrol officers on hand in Main Plaza to keep the peace. Later, I wondered – in this age of active shooters – if that was a mistake. Who among us can tell the difference between a madman and a harmless blowhard?
Nearby, Bryan Preston, the communications director for the Texas General Land Office, the state partner in the project, was being interviewed on camera by reporters from KENS5-TV and Spectrum News when another gadfly, Maria Torres, who identifies herself as the tribal chief of the Pacuache Tilijaya Coahuiltecan Tribe of Texas, burst into camera view and started shouting insults at Preston.
Such incidents undermine the efforts of local indigenous leaders to have their voices heard.
Preston, like others in his line of work, is accustomed to such confrontation. He also is a member of the six-person Alamo Management Committee that will next vote on the project.
Others, however, who care passionately about this city and the Alamo refuse to subject themselves to such treatment. While I saw a few members of the San Antonio Conservation Society and Brackenridge Park Conservancy on hand, these so-called “public hearings” attract fewer and fewer civically engaged citizens. They are dominated by anti-government groups and individuals, some of whom behave in unstable ways and are generally incoherent in their public remarks.
On Thursday, This Is Texas Freedom Force Vice President Brandon Burkhart, familiar in his black cowboy hat and ever-present service dog, was the first to interrupt proceedings and be evicted. Burkhart is fond of walking his dog, which resembles a large mastiff, through audiences at public hearings, which clearly intimidates some people.
City Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1), with Assistant City Manager Lori Houston at his side, led the meeting as a tri-chair of the citizens committee. He appealed in vain for decorum. Both Treviño and Houston have been the targets of social media threats for their leadership in the project.
Other disruptions and evictions followed. The police, it should be noted, were unfailingly polite as they ushered out shouting individuals.
After the meeting, Preston was walking out the front doors with Forrest Byas, a member of the citizen committee, a veteran, and a descendant of Alamo defender Andrew Kent, one of the so-called “Immortal 32.” Burkhart and his followers were waiting with boos and insults, shouting “Judas” and “traitor” at Byas, and asking how much he was paid for his support to move the Cenotaph, where his ancestor’s name is the first on the western face of the monument.
“It was absolutely hostile,” Preston said. “I walked past them, and they called me a traitor, too. I’m a fifth-generation Texan and a veteran, so that’s a serious charge, but I didn’t engage them.”
Byas, he said, decided to turn back to leave the building by a rear door, safe from the mob.
San Antonio is better than this. We do not want to be a city where people have to leave by the back door. The city we are and the city we aspire to be should be a city of open doors and open minds, driven by strong vision, noble aspiration, and goodwill, not by people whose only trick is disorderly conduct.
Sadly, higher purpose civics can no longer be found at most public meetings.
While i do not condone the actions of these groups they are far from the only ones to user these tactics. These tactics of disruption, shouting down, placards and intimidation is used by the left. I just hope your opinion is the same when the left do the same. There is no place for over the top civil disruption from any side.
It absolutely is, and I will find an opportinuty to write again on the topic. -RR
What were the threats on social media and who left them.
I am truly confused as to what you’re referring to. Why is this an issue for “the left” and “the right”?
I disagree with the fervor of the anti-move protestors. I don’t see how moving it would be disrespectful or how this issue relates to the wider political movement that you refer to.
The reply attributed to Paul Gescheidle (above) was NOT submitted by him. I just spoke to him and someone placed his name on the reply. Rivard Report should check the email address used to submit this reply and find out who is misprepreseting Mr. Gescheidle’s views.
Keri, we are aware of the situation. Thank you.
Keri, thanks for pointing out that someone has been using my identity to make slanderess comments about Texas Freedom Force. I absolutely stand by my brothers in arms and I reject anyone saying that I am not with them in this fight. Together we will will and we will finally convince the Council to move the Cenotaph where it belongs—down by Medina lake. Thank you to the Rivard Report for protecting us from impersonators doing impersonations and stealing our identities. I don’t always agree with Rivard but they did the right thing this time.
AIM SAYS THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE , its looking like they do not have card membership of any real tribe , she used to claim Cherokee, this is what aimctx said on it ……Admin ·
7 hrs
I am familiar with both individuals named in this article…one a self proclaimed spiritual leader the other a tribal chief….and neither represents the native community here in San Antonio. Sorry to say but I sincerely believe this Fidel “Two Bears” Castillo, who claims to be a spiritual leader of his Indigenous Tribal Nation of Texas, wouldn’t know spiritually if it bit him in the ass..and as for Marie Torres…well first time I laid eyes on her yrs ago she was getting kicked out of a pow wow…screaming at top of her lungs that they couldn’t do that cause she was Cherokee…somehow now she is tribal chief of the Pacuache Tilyaya Coahuiltecan Tribe of Texas and no longer Cherokee…oh..by the way…word is that tribe consist of 3 people…including her????????…The community could simply continue to ignore them like it has for yrs…but when they start giving the non native community in San Antonio the impression that they speak for all of us in their hateful way…then it is time to step up and let other voices be heard..so AIMCTX has taken the steps to arrange a meeting with local non native community leaders to insure those voices are indeed heard..We will be inviting respected NDN community leaders to attend…because AIMCTX knows full well we don’t speak for all…hopefully we can simply be the bridge to open honest dialogue…
Oh, AIM. Really? Be careful. Red in San Antonio does not always mean Red. Be very careful. Lots of feathers may fly, but that does not mean these feathers land in any place of significance for native peoples.
I might add that BIA sanctioned tribal affiliation cards are pretty scarce in San Antonio…. even among the ” native community” referred to above. (and no, recognition by the city or state does not count). This is a pickle indeed?!
I am the tribal chief of the Pacuqche Tilijaya Coahuiltecan Tribe of Texas. Be warned: If you move the cenotaph, I will cast the ancient curses of poxes and sores upon you and your descendants.
Papaya Mochilipi Tonsilitis Cacahuate! (That’s the curse. You have been cursed.)
I think that anyone who disrupts a meeting is not better than a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum. Those TexS Freedom Force buffoons need to grow up—-especially the one that wear suspenders, skin head boots, and funny hats. He looks like a leprechaun. How can you expect us to take him seriously?
Rearranging the furniture is not getting rid of it. Protesting the relocation is silly and does not in any way denigrate the commemoration of the defenders. The redesign of the Alamo compound is essential if the stories of its real significance are told.
I agree, Mr. Shafer. The Cenotaph will be no less a memorial for relocation. When I last took the grandkids to see it, I felt that it was not in a place of prominence. It is, after all, a cenotaph, which by definition is not a grave marker. The present location doesn’t do it justice as a memorial.
Stuffing it in the corner is not less memorial? How about the fact that it is dangerous to move it in the first place? They couldn’t even move the Travis monument without breaking that one.
Moving it gives it a space of it’s own. Right now it competes for attention with The Alamo itself. If we move it, it can attract the attention it deserves in its own context. I’m not worried about breakage.
I’m not sure anybody actually stands in Alamo Plaza and gets confused as to whether it is the Cenotaph or the Alamo shrine itself that deserves attention. I would even suggest that the cenotaph has a useful anchoring role in a narrow processional space when entering the plaza from the south.
However, in schemes that involve enclosing the northern half of Alamo Plaza into a “Valero Plaza,” whether by glass walls or iron gates, the cenotaph does indeed become an overly dominant object within that enclosed space, and those wall-and-gate schemes then attempt to mitigate that inappropriate dominance by evicting the cenotaph. I would argue that it is the misbegotten wall-and-gate concept that needs to be removed, not the cenotaph, and dropping the walls and gates, the issue of cenotaph removal or relocation becomes moot.
Mr. Shafer,
I am pretty sure you are not from San Antonio. You fail to understand the significance of this monument for those who, apparently, feel they must resort to confrontation in order to hear above the dull din of historians. The Alamo, and by extension this monument, are not stuck in the past. There are those who exist in the contemporary world who have an active, vibrant, relationship with this structure, a commemoration of the dead. I could care less what happens to the Alamo. It is just a place where people lost a battle to me. But, even I understand the impulse of these people who have bonded during their lives with this monument. At a time when SA is being systematically dismantled, touchstones to memory, especially of the dead, become even more significant for many of us. Comparing the act of moving the dead (even if in symbol) to moving furniture is pretty simplistic in relation to the complexity of this particular intertwinement of the past, present, and future. Shall we move the headstones of your ancestors around to tell a better story?
Significance schmignificance. It’s a cement and stone inanimate object that can be just as significant 500 feet to the left or the right of where it stands right now. Nobody is talking about how much of an eyesore this monument is. It’s out of place and ugly. The only thing that’s appealing about it is that it provides shade for the tourists. It’s time to give it a spit-shine and move that hunk of junk.
Completely agree with Bob. That’s why we stopped going to the public forums. We went to a few in the beginning until the one at the Witte attended by the people who shouted out ignorant angry irrelevant comments and disrupted the meeting. Nothing productive occurred and we knew that they were going to attend every other meeting and do the same thing. So we stopped going. We did go to the Express News forum at Alamo Beer and were pleasantly surprised at the valuable information shared (especially from the fellow on the citizen committee who represents another group of indigenous people, I forget his name.) And the lack of shouting out. If all the forums had been attended by such thoughtful people, oh what a plan we’d have…
“No one will get “their way” with the Alamo Plaza project. Compromise is the only path to change.”
Amen Bob – cut and print! All these rabble-rousers achieve is making San Antonio look even more backwards, unruly and irrational. It’s the national disease afflicting our country at present – everyone’s an “expert,” everyone’s the voice of “lucidity,” everyone’s entitled to a full on homily on the steps of the Supreme Court! Enough already. What difference does it make if your ninth great-grandfather allegedly fought in the Alamo – it doesn’t automatically make you a city planner or remotely qualified to interpret the logistics and minutiae of intricate urban design and relentless civic amelioration.
Great report and very accurate. That Advisory Committee had so much information and reports available for the past two years and they came together with good accurate information. They did a great job with factual information . Your article is excellent. Thank you
I am sorry. My husband is not well. He types things and then denies typing them. It’s very sad. It’s one of the reasons why I’m quitting my job at Whataburger and will be dedicating myself to his recovery. Please ignore him.
While I applaud much of the new Alamo Plan and agree that civil discourse was sadly lacking in the public meetings I’m still confused by the statement, “Compromise is the only path to change.” The very definition of compromise is an agreement made by each side making concessions. Would someone please share exactly what concessions were made by the Alamo design/Management team? I have yet to see one thing that is different from the plan shared almost 2 years ago. (Still don’t know if the plexiglass walls will or will not be incorporated into the final plan….)
I do want to see the Alamo (entire footprint of the mission) restored and preserved but am still scratching my head at the unilateral decision making throughout this process.
The plexiglass walls have been gone for a while now actually. The plan was changed to accomodate parade concerns as well. The unresponsiveness you’re seeing isn’t there as far as I can see.
Respectfully, the designers have not finalized plans for the barriers/walls which will be installed.. whether plexiglass, iron, foliage or other materials.. that all remains to be seen…
The unresponsiveness that some of us see is in the apparent disregard for the positions already taken by the mayor, Judge Wolff, and Councilman Trevino in supporting the city’s continued management of Alamo Plaza as a civic open space for San Antonio. The unresponsiveness might also relate to the disregard for attractive alternate plans that have received a good deal of support when presented in this publication. More unresponsiveness might be in simply not acknowledging different ideas and concerns that are substantive and that have been presented, from issues with the glass walls until the present, by so many and for so long now. What Missy says is basic: and although the tall glass walls may be gone, the plan to close off the plaza to the people of San Antonio when it fits the plans of the GLO remains, with some kind of barriers involved. The long-term management of Alamo Plaza will mean more overall to the people who live in San Antonio and are accustomed to the reality and the historic relevance of this open historic plaza in their city, which ought to be presented as the natural extension of the Alamo grounds that it is. Are we really considering commemorating this Tricentennial year that has brought so much history and culture of the city to light by giving up Alamo Plaza?
Hallowed Ground should not be used for city open space.Locals tend to take historic sights for granted and often seem disrespectful to out of town visitors.
Hang in there Bob. Keep up the good analysis and work.
I guess people are sick and tired of not being heard. While I don’t have any relatives that fought in the Alamo (that I know of), a city planner doesn’t trump my opinion, or anyone else’s.
It’s not just moving a “monument” as you so in dismissively labeled it. It is an empty tomb in remembrance of war heroes, whose bodies cannot be collected.
With all these “reports” and polls, I have never once been asked my opinion on it to be counted. How about if it is so important for these people to move the Spirit of Sacrifice, then put it on the ballot and let the PEOPLE speak. Let’s see the real numbers.
The Alamo Heroes are entombed in San Fernando Cathedral actually, they were collected.
Quite open to dispute!!!
Strange the archdiocese would not allow the Smithsonian to do a DNA on the so called remains of the defenders of The Alamo.
This behavior is a reflection of how people are reacting across the country. How did we get here? How can we change? What will it take to return to civility & respect?
You know, in all fairness, Forrest Byas was shouting from the door at the crowd outside with a smirk on his face. And he was also egging on people behind the stanchions inside city chambers. I witnessed it myself, so don’t make him out to be a martyr. As for Lori Houston, I have witnessed her throw some pretty sarcastic remarks to an already tense audience. But I will give credit to Bryan Preston, he does not engage with the people who are passionate about their position. So maybe you should tell the whole story instead of focusing on the sensational details. This 7th generation Texan and Descendent of an Alamo hero thinks that there are many great ideas in the master plan, but moving the Cenotaph is not one.
This article reduces anyone who opposes the Alamo redevelopment plan as lacking forward vision or the blocking progress and that is simply not true. The Alamo is just fine as it is now. The redevelopment of the Alamo is yet another attempt by Baby Boomers to remake everything in their own image without any consideration for those who feel differently – especially younger people who will have to live with yet another situation foisted in us by one of the most selfish and self-absorber generations ever. Trying to recreate the set of the John Wayne Alamo movie because that’s how you Remember the Alamo is ridiculous. Keeping Alamo St open to traffic and the Alamo completely accessible is the right thing to do. Recreating childhood fantasies at the cost of the Alamo is the wrong thing to do.
Read the article
Moving the Alamo Cenotaph Risks Damage to a Priceless Memorial
Carlton Soules CARLTON SOULES SEPTEMBER 1, 2018
I fail to understand either side here! Why move it, what is the motivation to spend the money??? I do believe the Alamo should be preserved as a top priority. The rest is just fluff.
On another note, there is no reason to ridicule another because you disagree with there side. That is the biggest problem I see in our country today. If we learn anything now, use the funeral of John McCain as an example of integrity. Tolerance for all. I personally feel to say “Get out of my face” is just as combative as being confronted. Your point of view as a reported is well known, thus you were targeted. I would expect so much better of you.
Maybe it’s time to let all Texans have a legit voice in what they believe should happen to the Cenotaph. This is not just about stopping the city from improving the Alamo experience, for some of us it’s about what seems to be an effort by some (organized or not) to alter or rewrite our history. It’s easier for someone who wants to to alter historical events , in the name of political correctness, if history only exists on paper or in memories rather than stone monuments. Every day , it seems we see historical monuments being removed or relocated. How hard would it be to work up plans to improve the Alamo experience without destroying or relocating this monument? OK some will say they are compromising by simply wanting to move it about a block away maybe so, but seems to me that it will be diverting visitors away from it’s message…just me… shame on me. Has the city made a effort to legitimately canvas what most Texas citizens think? After all this is not just a plan that only effects the history of the city but it’s also of interest to Texans and the nation for that matter. Now we want to label some people as extremist or agitators because they have strong beliefs in preserving history and are actively voicing that opinion under their first amendment rights? Then again it’s your right to offer an opinion also but is the city actually considering the opinions of the people about this plan or or they deciding for all because they own the property and they somehow know best or what is proper in the preservation of our history? Maybe they should spend some of the millions to be invested in this project to find out what Texans in general think before they take this step. I fully expect some hate to come my way because of this email….seems to be norm nowadays.
Believe it or not, 99% of Texans have no opinion on this matter.
They also DON’T vote!! Get involved and VOTE!
This reporter is biased and not professional. He has cosen his side and is not reporting news but his agenda. This is all propaganda and most of it is not true.
It’s an editorial.
That is a fact. Most of it is not true. I was there Thursday night. I am from Waco, and I do not belong to any certain group. I just do not want to see the Cenotaph destroyed. That was the plan in the beginning. Demolish it. I was appalled at what I saw. Not at the protestors, but at the Roberto Trevino and the Alamo Advisory Board. There were police everywhere. We were searched thoroughly before coming in and had to go through a metal detector. It was unnerving. A former police officer advised me not to say anything because she could tell the police were closing in. People were not allowed to speak. No free speech in this venue. Classic socialism in action. TITFF is group of very good, patriotic people. Bringing guns or committing violence is something they would never even consider. That dog is a sweet service dog. I petted him. Just an old, fat labrador retriever. Give me a break. I didn’t see anyone using foul language either. Makes your article more interesting, I guess. RR took off my other comment because they don’t want the truth getting out. The truth is already getting out. The City Council is focused on getting a half a billion to $1.5 billion or more to play with on this project. If you get on their side, you can have a piece of the action, too. Tell the truth, Rivard. Stop labeling good people bad and bad people good. I suppose it is all right for the City Council to appease the head of BLM by taking the Travis Park Confederate statue down breaking it in the process. Then, they pose for pictures with him. The City Council is supported by the Castro brothers, La Raza, BLM, and other groups that perceive the Cenotaph to be a symbol of imperialism, white supremacy, and racism. In fact, it is tombstone to the Alamo Defenders who died there. Tell the truth why don’t you?
Ms. Andrle, could you pls post a source/info about the Cenotaph’s being destroyed being in the plan at some point? I’ve followed the news on this plan pretty closely from the beginning and I’ve never seen any proposal except that it would be – as Fox SA put it – “dismantled, repaired, and relocated.” (https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/plan-to-reimagine-the-alamo-calls-for-closing-streets-adding-glass-walls)
On another subject i just wanted you to know that the metal detector at City Hall is routine on any/every day of the week. It didn’t used to be, but that’s not the world’s we’re living in right now.
That is the first time I was ever in that building. I thought it was very strange to have a metal detector and be searched. Waco certainly does not need that. Then again, we don’t have a City Council that does not listen to the will of the people. The City Council members have been reporting threats to them and moved the place of this meeting a week beforehand to the City Hall Chambers from the other location that I believe was on a San Antonio campus. They have not produced the threats. They just said they were online. As for demolishing the Cenotaph, this is just what I heard on the internet. There are factions that would like to see it gone. They feel it is racist, a symbol of white supremacy, and a symbol of imperialism. Rosie Castro, the founder of La Raza, has a particular dislike for the Alamo. I believe you can google the Fox article where she talks about her hatred of it. People have told me that her son, the former mayor of San Antonio, wanted the Cenotaph taken down and put in storage. Regardless, if they try to dismantle it, it will be destroyed. Marble has a crystalline structure and is slightly porous with tiny air passages. I have a marble topped table outside that broke in half. Not sure how they think they can repair a crack in marble. Maybe on the outside for aesthetic reasons, but certainly not all the way through. Any attempt to move it will destroy it. Simple as that. If they want to move it 500 feet (which is ridiculous), then they are basically setting out to destroy it.
I’m ok if they pack it in a crate and store it somewhere far away. I think it is a symbol of Anglo Saxon colonialist subjugation of people of color. A monument to hate would look better if it were 500,000 miles away instead of just 500 feet. Bye bye, cenotaph. We’re not going to miss you.
If you only heard it in the internet, that’s not much evidence that it’s true.
As for security for city government – Waco’s still a small city. (I grew up not far from there and my grandfather lived there.) Unfortunately, as it grows y’all will probably end up with a metal detector sooner rather than later. I wish that weren’t the case.
I respect Rosie Castro tremendously and consider her a friend. I also respect our Council as a whole and think they’re doing a good job.
Finally, a small army of bad-ass preservation and restoration professionals is paid to work year-round, year after year, to protect the Alamo buildings and monuments. This is not their 437th rodeo. If the Cenotaph is moved and destroyed in the process, I’ll buy you a beer and apologize. I’d like to think you’d do the same if it’s moved and survives in as good a shape or better.
I am from Waco. I am not a member of any group. Just a very concerned citizen who loves my state and its history. I was there Thursday night and was appalled at what I witnessed. Not at the protestors, but at the San Antonio City Council. I felt like I was witnessing socialism in action. They allowed no one to speak in this public meeting, and those who tried were silenced by police and escorted out. Lots of police all over the place. We were thoroughly searched going in. I think the guy that searched my wallet found more pockets than I even knew I had. A former police officer that I sat with advised me not to say anything because she could tell the police were moving in. Free speech being shut down. That surely fits. I know a few of the protestors from social media. They are not violent or obnoxious people in the least. That dog is so sweet that I petted him. He couldn’t harm a fly. He is a service dog. Good grief. TITFF does not believe in taking guns to any of these events or rallies nor will they ever, so City Council members and the Alamo Advisory Board can relax. They are good people and very patriotic. Very good people who see, as I do, a city that is not listening to the will of the people. There could be other groups that may not be so agreeable, however. I just don’t know. Petition after petition has been signed by 12,000 at last count, I believe, to stop the actions of this council and Alamo Advisory Committee. Group after group after group has pleaded with them not to do this. The City’s mind is just too focused on the half a billion to most likely 1.5 billion dollars in free money to play with. Get on their side, and you can have a piece of the action, too. Citizens voices do not matter. That’s for sure. Moving the Cenotaph will damage it. It is way too big to move, and they know that. The San Antonio City Council is supported by the Castro brothers, La Raza, Black Lives Matter, and other groups who view the Cenotaph as a symbol of imperialism, white supremacy, and racism. A lot of people believe that by “accidently” destroying it while moving it would be just the way to get rid of it. The City Council lost all credibility a year ago when it tore down the Travis Park Confederate monument at 2:00 in the morning. They spent about $250,000 (I heard) to take it down, and then they still broke it. Right now, they will not even tell anyone where it is. I was told this was to appease the leader of Black Lives Matter. Apparently some of these people have repeatedly assaulted police and been arrested, but City Council members saw fit to pose with them for photos. I believe we still live in a free country where the majority rules. The majority does not want our history erased no matter how bad or good it was. We know that we can learn from history, or at least some of us do. How about doing a better job of teaching history instead of destroying it?
I left a reply, and you took it off. I spoke the truth. Looks like you are hiding the truth. Don’t worry. You have just inspired me more to get the word out.
No one “took down” your multiple comments. Each and every mistatement of fact that you wrote is here for other readers to consider. –Rr
Wow. Quite an aggressive, sarcastic response. Is this how you support the viewpoint of others? If so, then I can understand why you were confronted rather than approached for a dialogue.
We can all see your comments Deb.
I might offer this Google Earth panoramic street level view of the Cenotaph as seen from Houston Street, one of the approach way into Alamo Plaza:
https://i.imgur.com/K1tCpYf.jpg
(Alamo Plaza from Houston Street)
It is indeed the public backside, and I am not sure how this perspective of dead, neglected space ennobles the Alamo defenders, or contributes to an urban experience that identifies this location as a World Heritage Site. This is the same Long Barracks, Alamo Cenotaph, and Woolworth Building that we all gush about, but they are here not amounting to anything but a partially blocked traffic circle. The Plan would have this in a gated enclosure, but I do not see what we are gaining there either with the limited access or removed cenotaph other than a fenced dead zone. They are not producing enough perspective studies of the key point of the plan to show us that have fully thought this out.
Dare I suggest it, but I actually want to move the cenotaph BACK closer to Houston Street and the Federal Building, with which it makes a handsome complementary pairing, and from where it can both open up the plaza for use while still landmarking the Valero Plaza immediate before it and also anchoring the total narrow space of the full Alamo Plaza. You can then re-landscape around the cenotaph so as to not leave so much dead space, while also leaving broad openings that denote a northern edge to Valero Plaza while not actually gating and barricading it.
The Cenotaph was erected when this place was still a traffic island, just about on the spot site of a former fountainesque sculpture when this was still a dusty wagon market. What ever happened to that angelic sculpture, and can it be restored to its sacred spot?
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/3c/79/ba3c7994a52aac52b493f351366668d4.jpg
(Former sculpture on the site of the future cenotaph)
https://texastrailroundup.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/chilistaneds.jpg
(Former sculpture amidst the Chili Queens)
http://www.drbronsontours.com/sitebuilder/images/stewart3-600×427.jpg
(Sacred battlefield site of curbside parking)
http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/22/62/26/4924809/5/920×920.jpg
(Cenotaph as a traffic island)
The challenge is that paradigm for this site has shifted from a courtyard to a traffic island with a grassy divider, and now it is shifting back to a plaza, and the needs of a plaza are different from the needs of a traffic island. The exact spot of the Cenotaph didn’t bubble up as a sacred well, but was fixed as being on a traffic island’s median! “Not One Inch,” yet it is already moving inches with natural plate tectonics. I do not like where they are planning to move it, and I think there are better alternatives to the current plans, but I do not think we need to deeply entrench ourselves into the status quo mediocrity and wasted dead space, which is what the approach from Houston Street into Alamo Plaza facing the backside of the Cenotaph on a traffic island currently entails.
This is what happens is a city like San Antonio that doubles cross its citizens and allows lobbyists and powerbrokers to call the shots.
The same this happen to us in the taxi industry. After the city holding our feet to the fire and being regulated for 38 years, the city and the city council with Robert Trevino and the mayor at the forefront sold out us and the city. Public safety and ground transportation regulation went out the window to accommodate Uber and Lyft.
City Hall is sell out our citizen and you expect to just set back and just take it. I hope the charter changes are approve so we can move out the City Manager that is at the head of this problems.
This is what happens when city doubles cross its citizens and allows lobbyists and powerbrokers to call the shots.
The same thing happen to us in the taxi industry. After the city held our feet to the fire and regulated us for 38 years, the city and the city council with Robert Trevino and the mayor at the forefront sold us out and the city. Public safety and ground transportation regulation went out the window to accommodate Uber and Lyft.
City Hall is sell out our citizen and you expect citizens to just set back and just take it. I hope the charter changes are approve so we can move out the City Manager that is at the head of this problems.
Mr. Rivard, a good report on what is happening in this “fight”. You may recall I spoke up at a couple of the meetings last year. And now I have changed to the quiet mode as you spoke of.
Yes we supposedly got a compromise that the “Glass Wall” was removed. But now we find out there will be only THREE ways into the area. During the day when the Alamo is open there will be only one way into the area. I do not consider that an open area or space for the people.
I would like to know how many, if any, of the Citizens Advisory Committee have ever spent any time downtown. Since this has started, I have made it part of my evening walks to see what the activity level is around the Alamo Plaza. When they start closing off the Plaza it will make a considerable reduction in the the tourism downtown.
Another factor I have noticed is the traffic on Lasoya that they intend to change to two way. Right now there are most nights two lanes of traffic trying to get south on Lasoya. It stacks up back past Crockett and sometimes all the way to Houston Street.
It would sure be interesting if the Mayor and Council spend some time downtown to see what really goes on. And not just rely on an old report by Pape Dawson that is probably only done during daytime working hours.
It seems like there could be room for compromise if people would be civil to each other starting with the City Council.
Keep up your good reports on this ugly series of events.
The anger Bob Rivard is referring to is whipped-up by a flawed system driven by the GLO, City Council, Design Team and others whose high-handed tactics, poor communications and seeming bent to do whatever it is they want to do with the Cenotaph, the Alamo and Alamo Plaza, irrespective of public input (civil or not) is , in large part, responsible for this situation. Rivard’s response is classic, blame the protestors, label them as extremists rather than consider the possibility that they are lashing-out at a process that feels rigged, unfair and arrogantly prosecuted.
CITIZENS COMMITTEE?????
What Citizens Committee??
IM A CITIZEN AND I HAVENT HEARD A WORD FROM THEM!
NEVER BEEN ASKED MY OPINION FOR THEM TO REPRESENT!
NEVER HEARD A WORD TO ME OR MY NEIGHBORHOOD OR AT OUR GROUP MEETINGS!
CUTIZENS COMMITTEE????
Nope!!!!!
PUPPET COMMITTEE!!! Hand-picked puppets.
YaSuh Boss!!
Hey, Bobby Rivard: it’s called THE NOISE OF DEMOCRACY!!!!
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