Can Alamo Plaza be a better block?

Posted on 08/11/12

Location

Alamo Plaza

849 East Commerce Street

San Antonio, TX, 78205

A community-led redesign effort will land at Alamo Plaza on Aug. 17 and Aug. 18, with mock-up improvements including a gate at the location of the original entrance to Mission San Antonio de Valero.

The event this week is part public celebration and partly a Better Blocks demonstration project aimed to re-imagine public spaces to make them more attractive for locals and tourists alike. Participants can enjoy live music, art, food and see the mock-up improvements to the plaza, built by better block volunteers. Read more at Team Better Block's blog here.

At Alamo Plaza, volunteers have already built tables and seating for more than 200 people from re-purposed materials, such as donated pallets and wood from dead pecan trees that were removed from public lands by the City's Parks and Recreation department.

Following an idea suggested by the Sons of the Republic of Texas, volunteers constructed a mock-up front gate that will be placed at the location of the original entrance to the Alamo grounds, to demonstrate what it would look like if the northern wall of the compound was restored (Scroll down for a slideshow of the preparations).

The event will also be a launching pad for a mobile app that will use QR Code Readers to provide information about historic spots around the area.

Lori Houston from the San Antonio Center City Development Office says the event will also help during the reinterpreting process as the city tries to figure out how to spend the $1 million in bond funds allocated to Alamo Plaza as part of the bond package approved by voters earlier in 2012.

The first San Antonio better block demonstration project took place in March 2012 at the corner of Jones and Broadway during Siclovia, and was focused around cycling and pedestrian activity. There, artists created temporary "Pop-Up Shops" including a cafe and art gallery to suggest what the area could become.

The Center City Development Office hired Team Better Blocks to conduct three demonstration projects, including the ones at Jones and Broadway and Alamo Plaza for a scant budget of $50,000. Many of the 62 partners have made in-kind donations.

A third event will be held at the Plaza de Armas building this fall, according to Houston. (See Downtown Blog for more.)

The event will run from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday Aug. 17 and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 18. (For an event poster, click here.)