San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, and City Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1) are urging Alamo Master Plan designers to remove controversial fences, gates, and other pedestrian obstructions from their development proposals.
“We oppose any type of barrier that that would limit access to Plaza at any time, other than for special events,” the three elected officials wrote in a joint opinion piece published online late Friday night.
They also are opposed to demolishing some or all of the historic buildings to make way for a new Alamo museum.
Two sets of design consultants – hired through an agreement between the City of San Antonio, Texas General Land Office, and Alamo Endowment to plan and implement the multimillion-dollar redevelopment – have called for “managed access” to the original footprint of the Spanish-colonial mission’s plaza to enable its use as an open-air portion of the adjacent museum and create a stronger sense of reverence at the plaza.
“Some suggest that the Alamo should be a more reverent space, in honor of the many indigenous peoples buried at the site, as well as the defenders of Texas liberty who gave their lives there,” the three officials wrote in the piece published by the San Antonio Express-News. “We agree.”
“However, while the complete story should be told and Texas heroes honored, the ultimate design for Alamo Plaza should not try to change its history as a civic space.
“It would be a disservice to our community to limit freedom of speech at our state’s most recognizable landmark.”
Click here to download a copy of the op-ed.
The current design team consultants – Cambridge, Massachusetts-based landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand, St. Louis-based attraction design firm PGAV Destinations, and London-based museum and heritage consultants Cultural Innovations – have been working with City and General Land Office officials since December 2017 on the Interpretive Plan design. City Council approved the conceptual master plan in May 2017.
Nirenberg, then a Council member representing District 8, supported efforts to include language in the master plan that would have solidified the plaza’s use as a public, civic place. Those efforts were rejected by that Council, but as mayor he has continued to advocate for unfettered access.
“Some cite security as a primary reason to limit access to Alamo Plaza. While sensible precautions should be included in design plans to address safety concerns, ensuring consistent pedestrian access is essential to facilitating the Alamo’s role as a public space,” the opinion piece reads.
“The Archdiocese of San Antonio transferred title of the Alamo property to the City of San Antonio in 1872 on the condition that the Alamo and the plaza remain open for public access.”
Other design proposals such as moving the Cenotaph, closing surrounding streets, and changing established parade routes, the three officials wrote, should be carefully considered. “These and the many other important decisions will be determined with continued public input and due deliberation,” they wrote.
The board of AIA San Antonio, the local chapter of American Institute of Architects, sent a letter Thursday to the mayor and City Council asking to keep the buildings, keep the streets open to vehicles, and keep the plaza open to pedestrians, among other things. While Treviño is an AIA member, he said he does not agree with the entirety of the letter. In previous meetings and plan presentations, he seemed supportive of the plan as a whole. Treviño is also a tri-chair of the Alamo Management Committee, which is charged with collecting community input on the design.
Other prominent local entities are expected to weigh in on the Alamo plan, but some – such as the Visit San Antonio board – are waiting until that plan is more fully formed.
Thank goodness!!!! And thank you, Iris! So amazing how hard you work to get us the information so quickly!
Just fire the current design team already and let Lake Flato design it. Nirenberg, Treviño, or Wolff wouldn’t dare oppose what they design. They understand where we are coming from and where we are headed as a community.
Keep that petition going everyone!!!! Let’s hit 5k this weekend! This is a small step, but the other demands of the citizens must be met, as Rick Casey’s guest suggested, fight them like it’s Santa Ana!
This is our chance to do it right, and I agree with the opinions of opposition voiced here on the Rivard Report!
AGREED! But let Nelson have his way!!!
Great news! Now if they will leave The Cenotaph alone all will be good! Repair onsite, enhance seating around the empty tomb for everyone to sit and refect and honor! #DoNotMoveTheCenotaph
I feel that the issue of the Cenotaph is so much more than “fixing” and removing. I am so tired of people “changing” our History by relocating and removing and erasing. It’s HISTORY. I gave tours at the Alamo when I was a young Mother and loved doing it.
Leave the Alamo area, in general, alone…leave the Cenotaph where it is…..just “renew” and, as my Grandmother would always say….put some new lipstick on it.
This news turns the corner on the Alamo Master Plan controversy. Maintaining the space around the Alamo open and free of barriers allows the space to remain a civic space as it has always been and as deeded by the Catholic Church. Furthermore, it permits everyone to move forward with other issues. I am very hopeful that Judge Wolff’s, Mayor Nirenber’s and Councilman Trevino’s letter will be adopted as the wise and common-sense solution for the Master Plan. In my view, the remainder of the issues are negotiable and this recommendation should receive the full support of everyone. Thanks to these community leaders for taking the lead on this very important issue.
They are feeling the political heat on them. If we keep up the pressure they will have to give in on all three major issues. Leaving the Cenotaph, leaving street open and not destroying the historic buildings. I emailed Trevino that given the overall hatred the community had expressed he was committing politicians suicide to keep pushing a plan that would ultimately fail
Thank you to these three!!
Leave the flagstones, they are very natural at that place do not replace them for anything else. And of course Cenotaph should stay on its place. Not smart populists politicians wanted to move it, hope it will stay!
This issue of closing off the Alamo has inflamed residents from every zip code in San Antonio. Surveys from out of city visitors , plans and designs from out of City firms can not possibly capture the intense feelings towards the Alamo, the Cenotaph, the public access or the Parade route. If it’s not “ broken don’t fix it”! Even the our State Governor Abbot, Land Commissioner Bush, and others have misread the feelings about being pushed around about how to improve the Alamo to their liking. I would be very sorry to have this ill conceived plan be the reason all who favor this be voted out of office. The Alamo as it proudly stands is the #1 visitor attraction in Texas. It’s peaceful accessibility is a far better tribute to the Heroes and our History than turning the area into a angry political uproar.
Sincerely,
Margaret Houston
San Antonio, Texas
People read the exact same words and see what they want.
This city can’t and won’t be governed by mob rule.
Mob rule? Really?
In a sense, yes.
Groups of people who yell and scream at meetings think that will get them what they want. People bringing assault weapons and long guns to demonstrations that have nothing to do with the 2nd amendment.
The This is Texas Freedom Force is planning to be at Alamo Plaza all next week.
Yea, I would say that’s bordering mob rule.
This is a great step in the right direction.
Now we need to ensure that the city remains in control of Alamo St and the road is not conveyed to the Texas General Land Office.
The Diocese is responsible for the mass grave of indigenous people they dumped there. They should be required to exhume the remains and move them to the grounds of the Cathedral where they can be placed in individual graves.
If this article is accurate, then why is Treviño stating to News Channel 4 that leaving the Cenotaph is not an option.
“City Councilman Roberto Trevino tells the San Antonio Express-News that the 1930s Cenotaph doesn’t fit on-site and obscures views. He says the city isn’t considering leaving the 60-foot (18-meter) in its current location.”
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/officials-alamo-monument-must-relocate-for-450m-plan-07-21-2018
Also, I need confirmation that Treviño is related to Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera y Garza, the founder of Laredo.
I’m just curious. Just how much public input does Mr. Trevino need to convince him that Texans want to keep the Cenotaph where it is?
How much evidence does it take to make clear that Trevino and other members of the Politburo don’t care much what the citizenry think.
All we need now is for the people at the “world class” SA Chamber of Commerce as well as the “top tier” Excuse-News to take a position in this fight. Why should anyone listen to those folks when they promised an NFL team if we would just vote the money to pay for the Alamodome. YOU LIED!
The Cenotaph’s location is inconsequential to the development of the city. However, the way we address the street level, traffic, gates, freedom of speech, will affect the fabric of our city. Focus on what is important! The consequences are lasting and very real.
Mr. Trevino is one of three chairs of the Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee. Is he speaking on behalf of the other two co-chairs and the committee as a whole? If not then there is a clear conflict. It seems to me that his leadership position dictates that his public role is as a spokesperson for the entire committee, and not as a private citizen expressing his personal views.
If there are historical buildings that they want to destroy to build a museum there, these buildings must be currently being unused. Put the museum in them, no matter how primitive they are. Even if it takes more than one of the buildings, use the historical buildings. As another commentor said, above, “After all, this is history.”
I first saw the Alamo in 1945. My family has lived in San Antonio and surrounding small cities since the 1930’s. I like Alamo Plaza’s being open, the flagstones, the Cenotaph where it is, respecting the graves around the area and leaving all in place, the vines and shade in back of the church building (Alamo). It’s nice that some of the long barracks have been rebuilt.
If this ‘alien’ (not Texan) group of designers really knows their business, why don’t they recommend putting the museum in one or several of the old buildings or rebuilt-to-actuality buildings, or get rid of the circus-like atmosphere across Alamo and put the museum in a building over there?
Also, don’t sell Chinese- or other foreign-made souvenirs on the Alamo grounds. Do you know what a come-down it was in the fifties to go into the Alamo museum (at the time) and see “Made in Japan” on all the official souvenirs? Better none at all than foreign made.
Thank you, Mayor Nirenberg and Judge Wolff for your influence on this ‘alien’ design team. Thank you, Mayor, for your email program that anyone can sign up for to get current news on San Antonio public life.