What People Have Said About San Antonio in the Past (Mission: hotel, to buy)

[gy2020]

"There is one corner in San Antonio where you can see a mission dating back to the early seventeen-hundreds; and not a stone's throw away, one of the famous gambling joints of the wildest days of the wild Southwest--the site of the Old Silver King, where cowboys and miners from the South used to come 'to clean out' their earnings of a year; sometimes to ride horsesover the faro tables or 'pot-shot' a row of champagne bottles. A man had to 'smile' when he called his 'partner' pet names in the Silver King, or there would be crackle of more than champagne corks. Men would look for hiding. A body would be dragged out, sand spread on the floor while the games went on, morning, noon and night. The missions are crumbling ruins; so is the Silver King. Frontiersmen will tell you regretfully of the good old days forever gone, when the night passed but dully if cowboys did not shoot up all the saloons, and 'hurdle' the gambling tables."
--Agnes C. Laut, in "Historic San Antonio," The Pacific Sunset Monthly, 1913

"We stopped in San Antonio long enough for Solly to buy some clothes, and eight rounds of drinks for the guests and employees of the Menger Hotel, and order four Mexican saddles with silver trimmings and white Augora sauderos to be shipped down to the ranch."--O. Henry

"The story of teh Alamo will thrill mankind to the remotest posterity and in all countries and climes where liberty is loved and heroism revered." --San Antonio Express, 1875

"Coming to San Antonio for my birthday is like coming back home.
"I guess there isn't a city or town in the whole world that holds more happy memories for me.
"Here I was stationed as a youngster in the army, and also in later life. Here, too, I won my first and most important victory. For it was here that I met my Mamie for the first time and we became engaged to be married. Here, too, our first son was born.
"When a man gets to be sixty-two years old, he likes to countr over the real values that have come into his life. Many of the things that made mine worthwhile had their beginnings right here in this grand old city of San Antonio." -- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, from speech made in front of the Alamo, Tuesday, October 14, 1952.

"I've seen missions, shrines and historic places, but your San Antonio missions surpass in splendor any I've seen; especially your Mission San Jose and the Alamo." -- Aston Knight

"No more interesting ruins exist on the earth than those of old San Antonio missions and no chain of missions possess more romantic interest." -- Emerson Hough

"If peculiarities were quills, San Antonio would be a rare porcupine." -- Sidney Lanier

[DickZ]

Thanks, gy2020, for finding these, and letting us know about them.

I just recently read a book about Dwight Eisenhower and was pleasantly surprised to learn that he had done so much in San Antonio.

[gy2020]

Yea, Mamie Eisenhower was responsible for closing San Antonio's Legal Red Light District knows as "West Side of the Creek". She did this in 1941 after an article appeared in Life Magazine naming only one city, San Antonio, and talking about red light districts through the US.

jh1882/West Side - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[quest51210]

this building still stands


good stuff

[satx56]

I remember many two story buildings and businesses on the near west side. I'm sure there are many like the one in photo still standing. I'm sure the red light district was talked about by many.