San Antonio (pronounced /ˌsænænˈtoʊnioʊ/) was named for the Portuguese The Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Portuguese is their native language and Roman Catholicism is their predominant nominal religion St. Anthony Fernando Martins de Bulhões, venerated as Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy, whose feast day The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as that saint's feast day. The system arose from the very early Christian custom of annual commemoration of martyrs on the dates of their deaths, or birth into heaven, and is thus is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691 Year 1691 was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). Located in the northern part of South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of, or beginning at, San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The and the American Southwest The Southwestern United States is defined as the states that lie west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37, 38, 39, or 40 degree north line. A 97.33 degree west line could qualify as the separation of the American Southwest from the American South. The Southwest historically began at the far, San Antonio is the epicenter of Tejano American English, Spanish, American Spanish, Ladino culture and Texas Texas ( /ˈtɛksəs/ ) is a state in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. It is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, with an area of 268,820 square miles (696 tourism. Famous for Spanish missions San Antonio Missions National Historical Park . preserves four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas. These outposts were established by Catholic religious orders to spread Christianity among the local natives. These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th,, the Alamo The Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas. The compound, which originally comprised a sanctuary and surrounding buildings, was built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century for the education of local Native Americans after their, the River Walk The San Antonio River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath downtown San Antonio, Texas. Lined by bars, shops and restaurants, the River Walk is an important part of the city's urban fabric and a tourist attraction in its own right, the Tower of the Americas Tower of the Americas is a 750-foot observation tower with a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. Tower of the Americas, designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford, was built as the theme structure of the 1968 World's Fair, HemisFair '68, and host to Seaworld SeaWorld San Antonio is a 250-acre marine-life theme park located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned by Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. and the world's largest marine-life theme park. It is a member of both the Alliance of Marine and Six Flags Fiesta Texas Six Flags Fiesta Texas is a seasonally operated theme park located on approximately 200 acres of land near the northwest intersection of Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 in San Antonio, Texas. Six Flags Fiesta Texas is the major entertainment component of USAA's La Cantera, a 1,600-acre (6.5 km²) master-planned development in northwest San Antonio theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the National Basketball Association and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo in San Antonio, Texas, USA is one of the largest livestock shows and rodeos in the country. Started in 1950, the annual event takes place over two-weeks in February. The rodeo's permanent home was the Joe & Harry Freeman Coliseum until 2003 when its primary events moved into the AT&T Center, one of the largest in the country.

San Antonio is the second largest city in the state A U.S. state is any one of 50 subnational entities of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. However, state citizenship is very flexible, and no government approval is required to of Texas Texas ( /ˈtɛksəs/ ) is a state in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. It is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, with an area of 268,820 square miles (696 and the seventh largest city in the United States The following is a list of the most populous incorporated places in the United States. As defined by the United States Census Bureau, an incorporated place includes a variety of designations, including a city, town, village, borough, and municipality.[a] Some census-designated places may also be included in the Census Bureau's listing of. The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there is a low density rate and sparsely populated areas outside of the city. It was the fourth-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000-2006^[2] and the fifth-fastest-growing from 2007 to 2008.^[3] Its metropolitan area Greater San Antonio is an eight-county metropolitan area in the South-Central region of Texas, within and surrounding the city of San Antonio. The names Metro San Antonio and San Antonio Metro are sometimes used when referring to the MSA. As of July 1, 2008 the metropolitan area's population stood at 2,031,445, up from a reported 1,711,703 in 2000 has a population of 2,031,445 based on the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, making it the 28th-largest The United States Census Bureau has defined 363 Metropolitan Statistical Areas for the United States of America. The Census Bureau defines a Metropolitan Statistical Area as one or more adjacent counties or county equivalents that have at least one urban core area of at least 50,000 population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of metropolitan area in the U.S and third in Texas (behind Dallas Dallas is the third largest city in the state of Texas after Houston and San Antonio and the ninth-largest in the United States. As of July 1, 2009, CNN Money reported Dallas edged past San Diego (pop. 1,279,329) back into the 8th spot, with a population of 1,279,910 and Houston Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles (1,600 km²). Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area—). The city is the seat A county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there. Parts of the Canadian Maritimes also use the term shire town. In England, Wales and Ireland, the term of Bexar County Bexar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of July 1, 2008, The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population at 1,622,884, the 20th most populous county in the nation. Its county seat is San Antonio. In Spanish, "Béxar" is pronounced [ˈbehaɾ]; however, in English it is pronounced /ˈbɛr/ "bear" with a population of 1,622,899 as of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate.

San Antonio has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston. Its approximate location is 29°26'56.69"N 98°26'56.04"W, Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force operated by the Air Education and Training Command . It is located in the western area of San Antonio, Texas, USA. It was named after Brigadier General Frank Lackland, Randolph Air Force Base Randolph Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located in Universal City, Texas, near San Antonio. Randolph AFB was dedicated in June 20, 1930, as a flying training base and continues in that mission today. It is named after Captain William Millican Randolph, a native of Austin who was on the base naming committee at the time of, and Brooks City-Base Brooks City-Base is a former United States Air Force base located 7 miles southeast of San Antonio, Texas, with Camp Bullis Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a 27,990 acres United States Army training camp located in northwest San Antonio, Texas. It, and Camp Stanley, make up the Leon Springs Military Reservation. Camp Bullis is used primarily as maneuvering grounds for U.S. Army, Air Force and Marines combat units. It is also utilized as a field training and Camp Stanley outside the city. Kelly Air Force Base Kelly Field Annex (IATA: SKF, ICAO: KSKF, FAA LID: SKF) is a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas. In 2001, the runway and land west of the runway became "Kelly Field Annex" and control of it was transferred to the adjacent Lackland Air Force Base operated out of San Antonio until 2001, when the airfield was transferred over to Lackland AFB and the remaining portions of the base became Port San Antonio Port San Antonio is a multi-purpose facility in San Antonio, Texas established to serve as an international airport and industrial hub with two railroads and close access to three interstate highways. Established at the former site of Kelly Air Force Base, the 1,900-acre facility is centrally located between the coasts of the United States and, an industrial/business park. San Antonio is home to five Fortune 500 companies and to the South Texas Medical Center The South Texas Medical Center is a "regional leading" research and educational center in San Antonio, Texas, the only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region.

History

Native Americans Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact political communities. There has originally lived near the San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas near San Antonio and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about ten miles from San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is 240 miles long and crosses five counties: Bexar, Goliad, Karnes, Refugio, and Valley, in the San Pedro Springs San Pedro Springs is the name of a cluster of springs in Bexar County, Texas, U.S.A. These springs provide water for San Pedro Creek, which flows into the San Antonio River area, calling the vicinity "Yanaguana," meaning "refreshing waters."

In 1536,Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, a shipwrecked captive of Native Americans, visited the interior of what would later be called Texas. He saw and described the river later to be named the San Antonio.^[4]

In 1691, a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus , meaning "act of sending" or mitto, mittere, literally meaning "to send" or "to dispatch",[citation needed] the came upon the river and Native American settlement (located in the area of present-day La Villita) on June 13, the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padova, Italy and named the place and river "San Antonio" in his honor.

In 1716, The Spanish Council of War approved a site on the San Antonio River for construction of a presidio A Presidio was a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America during the 16th century to protect against pirates, or a base held by Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries in Italy, mostly on the Tuscan coast . They would also protect from attacks of the Native Americans. Presidios were located in the southern United States as well: (fort). The Domingo Ramón Domingo Jesús Ramón Menargues is a retired long-distance runner from Spain, known for winning the bronze medal in the men's 3,000m Steeplechase event at the 1982 European Championships in Athens, Greece. He represented his native country in two Summer Olympics (1980 and 1984). Ramón set his personal best (8:15.74) in the event on 1980-07-21 at expedition, accompanied by the trader St. Denis from Louisiana The State of Louisiana ( /luːˌiːziːˈænə/ or /ˌluːziːˈænə/ (help·info), French: État de Louisiane, pronounced [lwizjan] (help·info)) is a state located in the southern region (Deep South) of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, (who had come to the site two years previous) established a presidio on the river. That council also approved a request by Father Olivares to establish a Catholic Mission at the site.

In 1718, Martin de Alarcón, then Governor of Texas, reinforced the presidio and the ten soldiers and their families were recognized officially as the beginning of the villa. Alarcón named the presidio San Antonio de Béjar in honor of the Duke A duke is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy. The title comes from the Latin Dux Bellorum, which had the sense of "military commander" and was employed by both the Germanic peoples themselves and by the Roman authors covering them to refer to their war leaders of Béjar, in Spain, the viceroy's brother, who died what was considered a hero's death defending Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2008, Budapest had 1,702,297 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. The Budapest Commuter Area (or from the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey (see the other names of the Ottoman State), was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 (as an imperial monarchy) or July 24, 1923 (de jure, as a state.) It was succeeded by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on in 1686.

That same year, the Mission of San Francisco de Solano was moved from the Rio Grande The Rio Grande is a river that forms part of the border between the United States and Mexico. At 1,885 miles (3,034 km) long, it is the fourth-longest river system in the United States. It serves as a natural boundary along the border between the American state of Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to merge with Mission San Antonio de Padua. Father Olivares renamed his merged mission Mission San Antonio de Valero. The presidio, the villa and the mission comprised the municipality named San Antonio de los Llanos (of the Plains) by Governor Alarcón. One year later, in 1719, Mission San Antonio moved to its second site on the east bank near the present day St. Joseph's Church on Commerce. (The names are in dispute because there are no such saints and only a Pope can name saints.)^[4]

In 1721, The Marquis de Aguayo moved the presidio San Antonio de Béjar to its present site on the Plaza de Armas, where permanent quarters were constructed for the soldiers. In 1726 the official settlement population was 200, including 45 military and their families.^[4]

The Mission San Antonio was moved to its third and final site on Alamo Plaza in 1724 because of hurricane flooding at the previous location.^[4]

At eleven o'clock on the morning of March 9, 1731, sixteen families (56 people) from the Canary Islands The Canary Islands (pronounced /kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz/; Spanish: Islas Canarias, pronounced [ˈislas kaˈnaɾjas]; 28°06′N 15°24′W / 28.1°N 15.4°W , often referred to as the "Canary Islanders," arrived at the Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar in the Province of Texas. By royal decree of the King of Spain, they founded La Villa de San Fernando and established the first civil government in Texas.^[5] The Marquis of Casafuerte, Viceroy of Spain, (King of Spain) bestowed upon each Canary Island family titles of nobility.^[6] Many descendants of these first settlers still reside in San Antonio.^[7]

San Antonio grew to become the largest Spanish settlement in Texas. After the failure of Spanish missions to the north of the city San Antonio became the farthest northeastern extension of the Hispanic culture of the Valley of Mexico. It was for most of its history the capital of the Spanish, later Mexican, province of Tejas. From San Antonio the Camino Real, today Nacogdoches Road in San Antonio, ran to the American border at the small frontier town of Nacogdoches. After Mexico achieved independence in 1821 American settlers, at the invitation of the Mexican government, began to settle in Texas in areas northeast of San Antonio. When Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, was a Mexican political leader who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government, first fighting against the independence from Spain, and then supporting it, rising to the ranks of general and unilaterally rescinded the Mexican constitution of 1824 violence ensued in many provinces of Mexico. In Texas the anglo settlers joined many Hispanic Texans in calling for the return to the constitution of 1824. In a series of battles the anglo Texans, who called themselves Texians, succeeded in forcing Mexican forces out of the anglo settlement area. Under the leadership of Ben Milam Benjamin Rush "Ben" Milam was a leading figure in the Texas Revolution. Milam County, Texas was named in his honor, in the Battle of Bexar, December, 1835, Texian forces captured San Antonio from forces commanded by General Martin Perfecto de Cos, Santa Anna's brother in law. This gave the forces opposing Santa Anna control of the entire province of Texas. Today Milam Park and the Cos House, commemorate this battle.

After putting down resistance in other regions of Mexico, in the spring of 1836 Santa Anna marched on San Antonio. Texian leader Sam Houston Samuel Houston was a 19th century American statesman, politician, and soldier. Born on Timber Ridge, just north of Lexington in Rockbridge County, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, Houston was a key figure in the history of Texas, including periods as President of the Republic of Texas, Senator for Texas after it joined the United States, and, believing that San Antonio could not be defended against the regular Mexican army, called for the Texian forces to abandon the city and join him. A volunteer force under William Barrett Travis, newly arrived in Texas, and including James Bowie, Davy Crockett David Stern Crockett was a celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician; referred to in popular culture as Davy Crockett and often by the popular title “King of the Wild Frontier.” He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the and his company of Tennesseans, and Juan Seguin Juan Nepomuceno Seguín was a Tejano hero of the Texas Revolution's company of Hispanic Texan volunteers, occupied the deserted fort, the Alamo, and determined to hold San Antonio against all opposition.

The Battle of the Alamo took place from February 23 to March 6, 1836. Santa Anna, without waiting to bring up his heavy artillery, hurled his troops against the walls of the fort in mass assaults. These were carried out with great courage by the Mexican troops and were repelled with equal courage by the defenders of the Alamo. The defenders of the Alamo included both anglo and Hispanic Texans who fought side by side under a banner that was the flag of Mexico with the numerals "1824" superimposed. This was meant to indicate that the defenders were fighting for their rights to democratic government under the Mexican constitution of that year. It was only during the siege that the Texas Congress declared an independent Republic of Texas. After 13 days the 189 Texan defenders were overwhelmed by a final assault from the 4,000 Mexican troops led by Antonio López de Santa Anna. Those defenders who were captured were executed as rebels on the specific orders of Santa Anna. While legally entitled to do this, the deaths of these "Martyrs to Texas Independence" inspired greater resistance to Santa Anna's regime, and the cry "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying point of the Texas Revolution. Texas independence was finally attained at the subsequent Battle of San Jacinto the following April. The site of the Alamo, which was in 1836 across the San Antonio River from the city, is now an integral part of downtown. Alamo Plaza contains the Cenotaph, which covers the remains of the Heroes of the Alamo, and bears the names of all who fought there on the Texan side.

Among the Hispanic Texans, Tejanos who fought on the side of the Texas independence forces, was Juan Seguín. He was elected to the Texas senate following independence, and later served as mayor of San Antonio. He was forced out of that office at gunpoint by Anglo politicians in 1842. The next Hispanic mayor would not come until Henry Cisneros was elected in 1981.^[8]

The Alamo is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound. It is maintained as a shrine and museum located in the heart of downtown, and is surrounded by many hotels and tourist attractions. It is clearly San Antonio's best known landmark, and is featured in its flag and seal and in the city's nickname, "The Alamo City." Across the street from the Alamo is the world famous Crockett Hotel, named after the legendary pioneer Davy Crockett.

In 1845 the United States annexed Texas and included it as a state in the Union. This led to the Mexican War between the United States and Mexico which concluded with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848. Under this treaty Mexico ceded to the United States not only Texas but California, New Mexico, Arizona, and all of what is now the American Southwest. The war was devastating to San Antonio and at its end the population of the city had been reduced by almost two thirds, to only 800 inhabitants. ^[9]

Peace and economic connections to the United States restored prosperity to the city and by 1860, at the start of the Civil War, San Antonio had grown to a city of 15,000 people. This period saw a large immigration from Germany. The beautiful King William district just south of downtown was built at this time as the home to the most successful of the city's German merchants. During this period a visitor was as likely to hear German as English or Spanish, spoken on the streets of the city. The Guenther Flour Mills, Gebhardt's Chili Powder, and Mahncke Park, are just a few of the local institutions which recall San Antonio's German heritage.

During the Civil War San Antonio was not deeply involved in the secessionist cause, due in part to the fact that many of the city's residents, notably those of German or Mexican ancestry, supported the Union. After the war San Antonio prospered as a center of the cattle culture. There is an argument to be made that it was in San Antonio that the American cowboy originated since it was there that Spanish and Mexican techniques of herding cattle on horseback were transferred to anglo American cattle ranchers. It is undoubted that major cattle trails, including the Chisholm Trail began in San Antonio. It was for this reason that promoter "Bet a Million" Gates chose San Antonio to demonstrate the value of barbed wire. In 1876 he fenced off Alamo Plaza with the new invention then had cowboys drive a herd of cattle into the wire. When the wire held the cattle many of the ranchers in attendance placed orders for the new product. San Antonio was thus crucial both to the beginning and ending of the open range period in American ranching culture.

During this period San Antonio remained a frontier city. Its isolation and its diverse cultures gave it the reputation as a beautiful and exotic place. When Frederick Law Olmstead, the architect who would two years later design Central Park in New York City, visited San Antonio in 1856 he described San Antonio as having a, "jumble of races, costumes, languages, and buildings," which gave it a quality which only New Orleans could rival in, "odd and antiquated foreignness." Much of the mystique which drives today's tourist industry in San Antonio has it origins, then, in a sense of the uniqueness of the city which is over 150 years old.

In 1877 the first railroad reached San Antonio and the city was no longer on the frontier but began to enter the mainstream of American society. At the beginning of the 20th century the streets of downtown, the old Spanish and Mexican city, were widened to accommodate street cars and modern traffic. In the process many historic building were destroyed. These included the Veramendi House, the home of the prominent family into which Jim Bowie had married when he came to city. Standing on the southwest side of the intersection of Houston and Soledad Streets this building was a massive quadrangle built of adobe around a central courtyard in the typical Mexican style. When the street was widened by 20 feet the building was leveled.

Like many municipalities in the American Southwest, San Antonio experiences steady population growth. The city's population has nearly doubled in 35 years, from just over 650,000 in the 1970 census to an estimated 1.2 million in 2005 through both steady population growth and land annexation (considerably enlarging the physical area of the city).

Geography

San Antonio is located near 29.5°N 98.5°W. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2000 the city had a total area of 412.07 square miles (1,067.3 km²) — 407.56 square miles (1,055.6 km²) of land and 4.51 square miles (11.7 km²) of water. The city sits on the Balcones Escarpment.

The primary source of drinking water for the city is the Edwards Aquifer. Impounded in 1962 and 1969, respectively, Victor Braunig Lake and Calaveras Lake were among the first reservoirs in the country built to use recycled treated wastewater for power plant cooling, reducing the amount of groundwater needed for electrical generation.

Neighborhoods

Culture

Climate

San Antonio's weather is alternately dry or humid depending on prevailing winds, turning hot in the summer, mild to cool winters subject to descending northern cold fronts in the winter with cool to cold nights, and comfortably warm and rainy in the spring and fall. San Antonio receives about a dozen sub-freezing nights each year, occasionally (about once every couple winters) seeing some sort of wintry precipitation (i.e. sleet/freezing rain), but accumulation and snow itself is not very common. Many winters may pass without any freezing precipitation at all. According to the National Weather Service, there have been 31 instances of snowfall (a trace or more) in the city in the past 122 years, for an average of about once every 4 years. However a decade or more may pass between snowfalls. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx/html/cli/snow/snowtable.htm#Sat In San Antonio, July and August tie for the average warmest months with an average high of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 °C). The highest temperature ever to be recorded was 111 °F (43.8 °C) on September 5, 2000.^[10] The average coolest month is January. The lowest recorded temperature ever was 0 °F (-17.7 °C) on January 31, 1949. May, June, and October have quite a bit of precipitation. For the last 135 years, the average annual precipitation has been 29.05 inches (73.79 cm), with a maximum of 52.28 inches (132.79 cm) and a minimum of 10.11 inches (25.68 cm) in one year.^[11]

Demographics

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 1,144,646,^[16] ranking it the ninth-most populated city in the country. Due to San Antonio's low density rate and lack of significant population surrounding the city limits, the metropolitan area ranked just 30th in the U.S. with a population of 1,592,383.^[17]

Subsequent population estimates indicate continued growth in the area. The July 1, 2007, population estimate for the city was 1,328,984,^[18] making it the second-most populous city and the third-most populous metro area in Texas, as well as the seventh-most populous city in the U.S. The 2008 U.S. Census estimate for the eight-county (Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, and Wilson Counties) San Antonio metropolitan statistical area (MSA) placed its population at 2,031,445,^[19] making it the third-most populous metro area in Texas and the 28th-most populous metro area in the U.S. San Antonio's MSA is bordered to the northeast by the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area (MSA), and the two metros together combine to form a region of almost 3.7 million people.

There are 405,474 households, and 280,993 families residing in San Antonio. The population density is 2,808.5 people per square mile (1,084.4 km²). There are 433,122 housing units at an average density of 1,062.7 per square mile (410.3 km²).

The age of the city's population is spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. In San Antonio, 48% of the population are males, and 52% of the population are females. For every 100 females there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $36,214, and the median income for a family is $53,100. Males have a median income of $30,061 versus $24,444 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,487. 17.3% of the population and 14.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.3% of those under the age of 18 and 13.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

At the 2005-2007 American Community Survey Estimates, the city's population was: [3]

• 66.5% White (29.3% non-Hispanic White)
• 7.1%% Black or African American
• 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native
• 2.4% Asian
• 0.2% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• 25.4% some other race
• 2.5% two or more races
• 61.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race (most of them Mexican Americans).

Economy

San Antonio has a diversified economy with four primary focuses: financial services, government, health care, and tourism. Located northwest of the city center is the South Texas Medical Center, the largest medical research and care provider in South Texas, which is a conglomerate of numerous major hospitals, clinics, and research and higher educational institutions. The center is "chief catalyst" for a $14 billion biomedical industry.^[20] It employs over 27,000 persons with a combined total budget of $2.8 billion.^[21] San Antonio is the only city in the United States hosting three Level I Trauma Centers within the city limits (2 military, 1 civilian).

The city is also home to one of the largest military concentrations in the United States. Fort Sam Houston on the city's northeast side hosts Brooke Army Medical Center, focus of the U.S. Army's medical command and training functions. Lackland Air Force Base on the city's west side is one of the world's largest training complexes. While it is best known for hosting the U.S. Air Force's basic military training and much of its follow-on technical training, the nearby Lackland AFB Medina Annex also hosts the nation's primary police working dog (K9) training center, training dog handlers from all military services and many civilian law enforcement agencies. Randolph Air Force Base on the far northeastern outskirts hosts the headquarters of the Air Education and Training Command, headquarters for Air Force personnel management and also conducts pilot and navigator training. Additionally, Brooks City-Base on the city's south side and Port San Antonio (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) adjoining Lackland still have significant military presences as well as defense contractor businesses. The decision to close Kelly and consolidate its resources came from the 1995 Base Closure and Realignment Commission report to the president. The defense industry in San Antonio employs over 89,000 and provides a $5.25 billion impact to the city's economy.^[22]

Twenty million tourists visit the city and its attractions every year, contributing substantially to the city's economy.^[23] The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center alone hosts more than 300 events each year with over 750,000 convention delegates from around the world. Tourism employs 94,000 citizens and makes an economic impact of over $8.7 billion in the local economy as revealed in the Economic Impact Study conducted every two years by the San Antonio Tourism Council and the research team of Dr. Richard Butler and Dr. Mary Stefl of Trinity University. Tourism also brings new annual revenues to the City of San Antonio and other governmental entities with the hotel & motel tax, sales taxes and other revenues from hospitality agreements and contracts. This number exceeded over $160 million in the 2004 study.

San Antonio is home to five Fortune 500 companies: Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro Petroleum Corp, Clear Channel Communications, USAA, and NuStar Energy.

Attractions

San Antonio is a popular tourist destination. The jewel of the city is the River Walk, which meanders through the downtown area. Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater, this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio. Also based along the River Walk is the newly restored Aztec On The River, the only surviving exotic-themed movie palace in Texas.

The Alamo, located nearby, is Texas' top tourist attraction, while the River Walk is the second most visited attraction. SeaWorld, located 16 miles west of downtown, is the number 3 attraction.

The downtown area also features Cathedral of San Fernando, The Majestic Theatre, HemisFair Park (home of the Tower of the Americas and the Institute of Texan Cultures), La Villita, El Mercado, the Spanish Governor's Palace, and the historic Menger Hotel. On the northern side of the Alamo complex, beside the Emily Morgan Hotel, is the San Antonio Cavalry Museum, which features cavalry artifacts and exhibits and is frequented by local re-enactors.

The Fairmont Hotel, built in 1906, is in the Guinness World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever moved intact. It was placed in its new location, three blocks south of the Alamo, over four days in 1985, and cost $650,000 to move.

San Antonio is home to the first museum of modern art in Texas, the McNay Art Museum. Other places of interest include the The Woodlawn Theatre, the San Antonio Zoo, the Japanese Tea Gardens, Kumamoto, Brackenridge Park, the missions of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the Museo Alameda, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the McNay Art Museum, the Witte Museum, ArtPace, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Texas Transportation Museum, and Splashtown San Antonio. Visitors can also experience something of the cowboy culture year round, they can see the 40-foot (12 m) tall cowboy boots at North Star Mall.

Beyond taking in the sights and sounds of San Antonio, tourists can sample some of its world famous Tex-Mex cuisine at the many fine restaurants located throughout the city. Mexican restaurants are abundant in virtually all parts of town, and most — except for those in the Far North and some of the Uptown enclaves like Alamo Heights — are relatively inexpensive. Some outstanding examples of Tex-Mex eateries include Jacala, on West Avenue on the near Northwest side, La Hacienda de Los Barrios, on the North East side, Tommy's on Nogalitos at I-35 near downtown, and Los Barrios, on the near North side of town.

Sports

Current teams

The city's only top-level professional sports team, and consequently the team most San Antonians follow, is the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. The Spurs have been playing in San Antonio since 1973 and have won four NBA Championships (1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007). Previously, the Spurs played at the Alamodome, which was built for football, and before that the HemisFair Arena, but the Spurs built – with public money – and moved into the SBC Center in 2002, since renamed the AT&T Center, following the merger of SBC and AT&T.

The AT&T Center is also home to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League and the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA, both owned by the Spurs. San Antonio is home to the Double-A Minor League affiliate of the San Diego Padres, the San Antonio Missions who play at Nelson Wolff Stadium on the west side of the city. (San Antonio is the largest city in the country with neither a Major League nor AAA baseball team.) San Antonio hosts the NCAA football Alamo Bowl each December. San Antonio has two rugby union teams, the Alamo City Rugby Football Club, and San Antonio Rugby Football Club.

The University of Texas at San Antonio fields San Antonio's only NCAA Division I athletic teams known as the UTSA Roadrunners. The University recently added football, hiring former University of Miami coach Larry Coker as its initial head coach. Roadrunner football will begin play in 2011.

The city is also home of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl,^[24] played annually in the Alamodome and televised live on NBC. The Bowl is an East versus West showdown featuring the nation's top 90 high school senior football players. The game has featured NFL stars Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Adrian Peterson, and many other college and NFL stars. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl also includes the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band, the U.S. Army National Combine, and the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, all of which take place in San Antonio during the week leading up to the game itself.

The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band features 91 of the nation's top high school senior marching musicians who perform during halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The U.S. Army National Combine features 500 of the nation's top high school underclassman football players. The U.S. Army Coaches Academy features 100 of the nation's top high school football coaches, including the coaches of each U.S. Army All-American. The Bowl and its related events are owned and produced by SportsLink, a New Jersey-based sports marketing and event management company.

The city served as a temporary home for the New Orleans Saints for the 2005 NFL season due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Saints set up practice facilities in San Antonio for the season, and played a split home schedule between the Alamodome and Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Tiger Stadium during the 2005 season. After the final game in San Antonio, the Saints committed to moving back to New Orleans for the 2006 season. City officials are said to be attempting to lure the National Football League permanently to San Antonio and have also said that a strong showing at the Alamodome for the three local Saints games was vital to showing that San Antonio can support an NFL franchise. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stated San Antonio was successful in hosting the team, and that the city would be on the short list for any future NFL expansions. The city has also hosted the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers preseason camps in the past, and they have signed a contract with the Cowboys in which the Cowboys will practice in San Antonio through 2011.^[25] Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his support for the city's efforts to become home to an NFL franchise.^[26] Although it is the second largest city in the United States without an NFL team (after Los Angeles), San Antonio's smaller metropolitan population has so far contributed to its lack of landing an NFL, MLB, or NHL team.

In March 2006, the city also made an offer to build a stadium for the struggling Florida Marlins baseball franchise. However, the Marlins and Major League Baseball, declined the offer.

In 2005 the city approached Major League Soccer with an interest in placing a soccer franchise in the vacant Alamodome. Both the city and the league seemed to be in harmony with the council voting 9-2 in favor of the new San Antonio team, citing that it would reduce the financial burden of the stadium on the city by providing it with a permanent tenant without extra financial costs as the necessary upgrading of facilities at the dome would have to take place regardless of a team moving in or not. The following week an 8-3 vote carried the second part of the plan, which would see a major new youth soccer complex being built in the city to compete for what was described as the lucrative Texas youth soccer event market. At the time it was stated that San Antonio had only a fraction of the youth soccer facilities available in other Texan cities of Dallas, Houston and Austin. All seemed to be in place and plans on course until a media campaign against the soccer proposals exposing that the team would only be leased with the Alamodome for three years. After three years the team would have to vacate to a soccer specific stadium. After Hurricane Katrina the city set their goal of earning an NFL franchise. The prospects for the franchise were further hindered when it became a political football during the election for Mayor, which was won by Phil Hardberger who instantly distanced the city from any deal with MLS. MLS meanwhile released a statement claiming that they had planned to withdraw before the election but did not wish to comment until afterwards in order to "respect the electoral process in San Antonio." The deal died with both sides blaming each other for its demise.

Some current names in professional sports from the city of San Antonio's high school sports programs include Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Sam Hurd, New York Giants defensive back Aaron Ross, New Orleans Hornets guard Devin Brown, Minnesota Vikings 2006 second-round draft pick Cedric Griffin, Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, Houston Texans defensive end N.D. Kalu, Washington Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing, Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, Olympic gold medalist Darold Williamson, Kansas City Chiefs Tackle Anthony Alabi, and Pittsburgh Steelers Linebacker Patrick Bailey.

Government

The City of San Antonio runs under a Council-Manager form of government. The city is divided into 10 council districts designed to ensure equal population distribution between all districts. Each district elects one person to sit on the City Council with the mayor elected on a city-wide basis. All members of the City Council, which includes the mayor, are elected to two-year terms and are limited to four terms in total (except for those who were in office in November, 2008 and are limited to a total of two terms). All positions are elected on non-partisan ballots as required by Texas law. Council members are paid $20 a meeting, while the Mayor earns $4,000 a year. Most council members maintain full-time employment in addition to their positions on the council.^[27]

The council hires the City Manager to handle day to day operations. The council effectively functions as the city's legislative body with the City Manager acting as its Chief Executive, responsible for the management of day to day operations and execution of council legislation. The current City Manager is Sheryl Sculley.

The current mayor is Julian Castro The city stretches into several national congressional districts and is represented in Congress by the following:^[28]

• Senate
  • Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)
  • John Cornyn (R)
• House of Representatives
  • Texas District 20 - Charlie Gonzalez (D)
  • Texas District 21 - Lamar Smith (R)
  • Texas District 23 - Ciro Rodriguez (D)
  • Texas District 28 - Henry Cuellar (D)

Growth policy

Unlike most large cities in the U.S., San Antonio is not completely surrounded by independent suburban cities, and under Texas law it exercises extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) over much of the surrounding unincorporated land, including directing growth and zoning.^[29] It pursues an aggressive annexation policy and opposes the creation of other municipalities within its ETJ.^[30] Nearly three-fourths of its current land area has been annexed since 1960.^[31] In recent years, the city has annexed several long narrow corridors along major thoroughfares in outlying areas to facilitate eventual annexation of growth developing along the routes. The city plans to annex nearly forty additional square miles by 2009.^[32]

Involuntary annexation is a controversial issue in those parts of unincorporated Bexar County affected by it. Residents, attracted to the outlying areas by lower taxes and affordable real estate values, often see annexation as a mechanism to increase property tax rates without a corresponding improvement in services such as police and fire protection, while the city regards its annexation policy as essential to its overall prosperity.^[33]

Education

San Antonio hosts over 100,000 students across its 31 higher-education facilities which include The University of Texas at San Antonio, and the Alamo Community College District's five colleges. UTSA is San Antonio's largest University and is one of the fastest growing universities in the state of Texas. Some of the private schools include St. Mary's University, Our Lady of the Lake University, University of the Incarnate Word, Trinity University, and Wayland Baptist University. The San Antonio Public Library serves all of these institutions along with the 17 school districts within San Antonio.

The city is also home to more than 30 private schools and charter schools. These schools include Antonian College Preparatory High School,San Antonio Academy, Central Catholic Marianist High School, Holy Cross High School, Providence High School, Incarnate Word High School, Keystone School, and St. Anthony Catholic High School.

Transportation

Air

The San Antonio International Airport is located in north central San Antonio, approximately eight miles from downtown. It has two terminals and is served by 21 airlines serving 43 destinations including three in Mexico.

Mass Transit

An extensive bus and streetcar system is provided by the city's metropolitan transit system, VIA Metropolitan Transit. VIA's full fare monthly unlimited Big Pass is only $30 per month making VIA the most economical large transit authority in the nation. VIA offers 93 regular bus routes and 4 downtown streetcar routes including express service from downtown to the South, West, Northwest, North Central and Northeast areas of the city including UTSA, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld. Express service to the Far West area of the city is scheduled to begin in late 2009. VIA also offers a special service to city events including Spurs games and city parades from its Park and Ride locations. VIA has among its many routes, one of the longest transit routes in the nation. Route 550/551(LOOPER/SKIP SERVICE) travels 48 miles one way as it loops around the city. ^[34] San Antonio became the largest city in the U.S. to not have a light rail system when Phoenix, the former city that had this title got such a system in 2008.

Rail

Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to San Antonio at San Antonio Amtrak Station, operating its Texas Eagle daily between San Antonio and Chicago's Union Station.^[35] Amtrak also operates its Sunset Limited three times a week in each direction through San Antonio between Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida (currently truncated to New Orleans due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina).^[36] The Texas Eagle section travels between San Antonio and Los Angeles as part of the Sunset Limited. The old Sunset Station is now an entertainment venue owned by VIA and neighbored by the current station and the Alamodome.^[37]

Road

San Antonio is served by these major freeways:

• Interstate 10 – McDermott Freeway (Northwest) runs west toward El Paso, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Jose Lopez Freeway (East) runs east toward Houston, New Orleans and Jacksonville
• Interstate 35 – Pan Am Expressway (Northeast/Southwest) - runs south toward Laredo and runs north toward Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Minneapolis
• Interstate 37 - Lucian Adams Freeway (Southeast) - runs from San Antonio through its junction with U.S. Highway 281 south (Edinburg and McAllen) near Three Rivers and into Corpus Christi through its junction with U.S. Highway 77 south (Kingsville, Harlingen and Brownsville) to its southern terminus at Corpus Christi Bay.
• Interstate 410 - Connally Loop - simply called Loop 410 (four-ten) by locals is a 53-mile inner beltway around the city.
• U.S. Highway 90 - Cleto Rodriguez Freeway (West) through Uvalde and Del Rio to its western terminus at I-10 in Van Horn. Prior to I-10 East and US 90 West expressway being built US 90 traveled through the west side via West Commerce St. (westbound) and Buena Vista St. (eastbound) as well as along Old Hwy 90. On the east side it traveled along East Commerce St. to its current alignment which runs concurrent with I-10 East to Seguin.
• U.S. Highway 281 - McAllister Freeway (North) to Johnson City and Wichita Falls. Southbound, it runs concurrent with I-37, then I-410 for 4 miles (6 km), then heads south to Pleasanton. Prior to I-37 and McAllister Fwy. being built US 281 traveled through the north side via San Pedro Ave. and the south side via Roosevelt Ave.
• State Highway 151 - Stotzer Freeway runs from US Hwy 90 West through Westover Hills which includes SeaWorld to its western terminus at State Loop 1604.
• State Loop 1604 – Charles W. Anderson Loop—simply called 1604 (sixteen-oh-four) by locals—is a 96-mile outer beltway around San Antonio

Other highways include:

• U.S. Highway 87 - Southbound to Victoria along Roland Avenue then Rigsby Avenue. It runs concurrent with I-10 for 52 miles (84 km) where it goes to San Angelo northbound.
• U.S. Highway 181 - Starts 0.5 miles (0.8 km) south of I-410/I-37/US 281 junction and goes to Corpus Christi via Beeville. Prior to I-37 being built US 181 traveled along Presa St. from downtown to its current alignment.
• State Highway 16 - From Freer, it runs concurrent with I-410 for 17 miles (27 km) along southwest San Antonio, over to Bandera Road to Bandera.
• State Loop 345 - Fredericksburg Road is the Business Loop for I-10 West/US-87 North.^[38]
• State Loop 368 - Broadway and Austin Highway is the Business Loop for I-35 North.^[39]
• State Loop 353 - Nogalitos Street and New Laredo Highway is the Business Loop for I-35 South.^[40]
• State Loop 13 - Is the city's inner loop on the south side serving Lackland AFB, Port San Antonio, South Park Mall and Brooks CityBase traveling along Military Dr. on the south side and WW White Rd. on the east side. The northern arc of the loop is now I-410.

Notable natives and residents

Media and entertainment

Print

San Antonio has one major newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News, which has served the area since 1865. Robert Rivard, who currently serves as the paper's executive vice president and editor,^[41] was named Managing Editor in 1994 and then Editor in 1997. The Express-News currently circulates as the largest newspaper service in South Texas. The Hearst Corporation, which owned a second newspaper, the San Antonio Light, purchased the Express-News from News Corp. in 1992 and shut down the Light after failing to find a buyer. Hearst, using the Express-News brand, also produces Conexion, a weekly magazine written by an entirely Hispanic staff with a Hispanic spin on weekly events. The San Antonio Current is the free "alternative" paper published weekly with local political issues, art and music news, restaurant listings and reviews, and listings of events and nightlife around town. In addition, the San Antonio Business Journal covers general business news. La Prensa, a bilingual publication, also has a long history in San Antonio. The San Antonio River Walk Current covers general San Antonio news.

Television

While the city is one of the ten largest in the United States, its television market is only the 37th in the United States, according to the marketing research firm ACNielsen.^[42] This is primarily due to the relatively low population-density of the outlying areas and the close proximity of Austin, which truncates the potential market area. The San Antonio market has 65% cable TV penetration.

Radio

See also: Broadcast media in San Antonio

FM: 28 AM: 20

About 50 radio stations can be heard in the San Antonio area — 30 of them are actually located in San Antonio. The first radio station to broadcast in South Texas was KTSA AM-550 in 1922. Some of KTSA AM-550's better known local talk show hosts include Jack Riccardi, Trey Ware and Ricci Ware. Another significant station is WOAI AM-1200 (the flagship of Clear Channel Worldwide), which is the radio home of the San Antonio Spurs and features Rush Limbaugh.

There are two National Public Radio stations in San Antonio, both belong to Texas Public Radio (www.TPR.org); KSTX 89.1 FM is NPR news/talk and KPAC 88.3 is a 24-hour classical music station. KSTX also broadcasts "Riverwalk Jazz", featuring Jim Cullum Jazz Band at The Landing, a fixture on the River Walk since 1963. KRTU 91.7 is a non-commercial radio station based out of Trinity University. Unlike other college radio stations throughout the U.S. the station plays jazz 17 hours a day and college rock/indie rock at night. College Alternative station KSYM, 90.1 FM, is owned by the Alamo Community College District and operated by San Antonio College students and like KRTU it plays the Third Coast music network during the day and alternative music at night.

Most Latin stations in the area play Regional Mexican, Tejano or Contemporary Pop. But on January 12, 2006, Univision-owned KCOR-FM "La Kalle 95.1" changed its format from Hispanic-Rhythmic Contemporary Hits to Spanish Oldies, now named "Recuerdo 95.1". However, Univision announced on November 10, 2006, that it flipped KLTO Tejano 97.7's format to Reggaeton in an attempt to reintroduce the format to San Antonio again. KLTO was acquired earlier in the year and operated as a simulcast of KXTN Tejano 107.5. San Antonio has quickly diversified in recent years, with the influx of non-Tejano Latinos, mostly from the East Coast, who are serving in the city's various military bases, as well as immigrants from Mexico. Therefore, just like in the rest of the country, radio station conglomerates have been changing formats in San Antonio to reflect shifting demographics.

Sister cities

• Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
• Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
• Guadalajara, Mexico
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• Kumamoto, Japan
• Kwangju, South Korea
• Monterrey, Mexico
• Chennai, India

Alliance Cities

• Dresden, Saxony, Germany

See also

List of Registered Historic Places in Bexar County, Texas

References

1. ^ http://www.sanantonio.gov/mayor/indexcastro.asp
2. ^ "The fastest growing U.S. cities - June 28, 2007". http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/27/real_estate/fastest_growing_cities/.
3. ^ Ayala, Elaine (July 1, 2009). "S. A. Again Census Standout". San Antonio Express News. B1. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/SA_again_census_standout.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-01.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Web site of the San Antonio River Walk, February 16, 2008.
5. ^ http://rootsweb.com/~txbexar/canarydes.html
6. ^ Granting of Titles to Hiers of Canary Islanders
7. ^ 1st Migration
8. ^ Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire. Penguin, 2000.
9. ^ Fisher, Lewis F. (1996). Saving San Antonio: the precarious preservation of a heritage. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press.
10. ^ "VERY HOT EARLY SEPTEMBER 2000 WEATHER". National Weather Service. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx/html/wxevent/2000_2001/sep2wx.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
11. ^ Monthly/Annual/Average Precipitation San Antonio, Texas (1871 - December 2006), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
12. ^ Historical Weather for San Antonio.
13. ^ San Antonio Climate Records
14. ^ "Population Estimates for All Places: 2000 to 2007". http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2007-04-48.xls. Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
15. ^ "1990 Population and Housing Unit Counts: United States (CPH-2)". http://www.census.gov/prod/cen1990/cph2/cph-2-1-1.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
16. ^ Census 2000: Incorporated Places of 100,000 or More, Ranked by Population, U.S. Census Bureau.
17. ^ Census 2000: Metropolitan Areas Ranked by Population, U.S. Census Bureau.
18. ^ [1], U.S. Census Bureau.
19. ^ [2], U.S. Census Bureau.
20. ^ "Financials". http://www.uthscsa.edu/univrel/Financial.html.
21. ^ "2006 South Texas Medical Center Area Progress Report". San Antonio Medical Foundation. http://www.samedfoundation.org/docs/2006progressReportMemo.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
22. ^ "Welcome to the City of San Antonio Economic Development Department-Index". http://www.sanantonio.gov/edd/.
23. ^ San Antonio Tourism, San Antonio Riverwalk.com. Last accessed on January 7, 2007.
24. ^ Welcome to the 2009 U.S. Army All American Bowl
25. ^ Football: Cowboys returning to S.A. in '07, San Antonio Express-News, April 1, 2006.
26. ^ Football: Cowboys' Jones backs S.A. team, San Antonio Express-News, May 5, 2006.
27. ^ http://www.sanantonio.gov/council/
28. ^ "www.sanantonio.gov/planning/pdf/GIS/map_download/0702GG24.pdf" (PDF). http://www.sanantonio.gov/planning/pdf/GIS/map_download/0702GG24.pdf.
29. ^ Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Boundary (PDF), City of San Antonio Planning Department. July 28, 2006.
30. ^ San Antonio Master Plan, Public Studio (San Antonio Chapter American Institute of Architects). Last accessed on January 7, 2007.
31. ^ San Antonio Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities (PowerPoint), City of San Antonio Planning Department. Last accessed January 7, 2007.
32. ^ Three-year annexation plan (PDF), City of San Antonio Planning Department, January 6, 2006.
33. ^ "MySA.com: Public Safety". http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/crime/stories/MYSA031107.01A.Fireresponsetimes.370d0e6.html.
34. ^ "VIA Metropolitan Transit". http://www.viainfo.net/.
35. ^ "Amtrak's Texas Eagle". http://www.texaseagle.com/home.htm.
36. ^ "Amtrak - Routes - California". http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Horizontal_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081442673803&ssid=132.
37. ^ "Sunset Station San Antonio near the Convention Center, Alamo and River Walk Hotels". http://www.sunset-station.com/.
38. ^ Texas Department of Transportation. "Highway Designation File - State Highway Loop No. 345". http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/SL/SL0345.htm.
39. ^ Texas Department of Transportation. "Highway Designation File - State Highway Loop No. 368". http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/SL/SL0368.htm.
40. ^ Texas Department of Transportation. "Highway Designation File - State Highway Loop No. 353". http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/SL/SL0353.htm.
41. ^ "MySA.com: Express-News About Us". http://www2.mysanantonio.com/aboutus/expressnews/.
42. ^ Designated Market Areas, Nielson Media Research.

External links

• City of San Antonio
• San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau
• San Antonio Parks
• San Antonio travel guide from Wikitravel
• San Antonio International Airport
• Fiesta San Antonio Information on San Antonio's biggest party
• San Antonio area parks
• South and West Texas, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
• San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
• San Antonio from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Census quickfacts
• San Antonio City Data
• San Antonio Housing Statistics
• Port San Antonio
• Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce

Categories: San Antonio, Texas | Settlements established in 1718 | Bexar County, Texas | Comal County, Texas | San Antonio metropolitan area | Cities in Texas | County seats in Texas | United States colonial and territorial capitals | Texas communities with Hispanic majority populations

See Also:

• San Antonio
• San Antonio Spurs
• San Antonio, Texas
• Greater San Antonio
• San Antonio Silver Stars

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