SAN ANTONIO - Official Photo Thread for San Antonio & Surrounding Communities! (Roma: real estate, rated)

[ranchodrive]

Spirit of San Antonio

[elnina]

North Star mall is the mall of all malls and the larger-than-life cowboy boot sculpture in front says just that.

In 1979 Bob "Daddy-O" Wade built a pair of boots that are 40 feet tall and 30 feet long, eight–feet wide and weight 10,000 pounds. They were promoted as the World's Largest Cowboy Boots, even though they were probably not.
The boots were created primarily from donated materials. Steel skeletons were covered with urethane foam that was textured and painted to look like ostrich skin. Erected in an empty lot near the White House, the boots were bought in 1980 by North Star Mall's then-owner, The Rouse Company, for a cool $20,000.
During the Holidays, more than 3,000 twinkling white lights set the grandiose boots aglow, helping Santa find his way to San Antonio.

"Back then it was kind of a ratty mall," said Bob, "and one day they called me and said, 'Mr. Wade, your boots are on fire.'" They were not; it turned out that a homeless man was living in one of the boots, cooking his dinner with Sterno, and using the shaft as his smoky chimney. "I don't know how long the guy had been in there, but they probably should have left him," said Bob. "It would've been a great attraction."
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/7815
http://www.americaspremiershoppingpl...wboy-boots.htm

[elnina]

The San Antonio Texas Temple is the fourth temple built in Texas, following the Dallas Texas Temple (1984), the Houston Texas Temple (2000), and the Lubbock Texas Temple (2002). The 16,800-square-foot temple’s exterior is granite. Its single-spire design is complemented by a white granite exterior quarried in China. The stone cladding found on retaining walls, stairs and walks is a Texas red - a tribute to the Lone Star State.The inside of the temple is aesthetically furnished with African Cherrywood, stained glass windows, paintings of Jesus' life and a mural by San Antonio artist Keith Bonds. The use of color in the stained glass windows, in a slightly muted southwest style, and the indigo and star motif inside the central spire sets this edifice apart from most all other LDS temples.
The temple is closed to the public, so all pictures are taken from outside.

[elnina]

Stained glass and other forms of art glass are one of my favorite features in LDS Temples. This art form was used in several early temples and then became very simple for a long period of time.

San Antonio Temple and its Tree of Life window in a sealing room.

[elnina]

San Fernando Cathedral

[elnina]

[elnina]

[elnina]

Downtown from the bridge on Guadalupe St.

[elnina]

Main Plaza

[elnina]

Riverwalk