Block 9, San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio, TX
**San Antonio Downtown and River Walk Historic District** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 100002128, date listed 2/23/2018
Roughly bounded by Camaron, Augusta, 6th, Bonham, Losoya, & Tolie Place
San Antonio, TX (Bexar County)
The San Antonio River Walk is a linear city park that follows the channelized San Antonio River through the center of the city. As a designed historic landscape located below street level, the River Walk is a pedestrianexclusive park that has provided respite from noisy city streets for nearly a century. Originally referred to as the “River Park” when first opened as a three-block park without sidewalks in 1914, the San Antonio River Walk is best known for its expansion (completed in 1941) to twenty-one blocks of walkways and improvements designed by Robert H. H. Hugman. The Hugman-era portion retains a high degree of historical integrity and consists of 17,000 linear feet of concrete sidewalks, 31 stairways, stone-faced banks, wrought iron fixtures, water features, and the outdoor Arneson River Theater. Since 1941, the River Walk has been expanded several times beyond the Hugman portion. These later additions, however, all use the design vocabulary of Robert Hugman attesting to his masterful landscape design. (pg 28) (1)
Block 9 (Travis Street Bridge S28 to Houston Bridge S12)
Block 9 has been highly modified due to the construction of the Embassy Suites on the west side and the Republic Bank Plaza on the east side. A modern urban plaza now abuts the east bank, with tiered rectangular beds holding crepe myrtles flanking each side. Cypress and palm trees separate the walkway from the river. On the west side, a staircase was added at the Travis Street Bridge S28. A mid-block entrance is now closed, but still visible in the wall. The boat landing at the foot of the former staircase is still in place, with cedar posts present along its curved edge. The cantilevered walk at street level featuring starburst cutouts (type A), arched cutouts with metal accents, and semicircular (type C) balustrades directs the eye upward. Similar to the previous block, additional entrances were cut into the wall to accommodate pedestrian access to the adjacent properties as the skyscrapers were constructed. (pg 33) (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/preserve/national_registe...
Block 9, San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio, TX
**San Antonio Downtown and River Walk Historic District** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 100002128, date listed 2/23/2018
Roughly bounded by Camaron, Augusta, 6th, Bonham, Losoya, & Tolie Place
San Antonio, TX (Bexar County)
The San Antonio River Walk is a linear city park that follows the channelized San Antonio River through the center of the city. As a designed historic landscape located below street level, the River Walk is a pedestrianexclusive park that has provided respite from noisy city streets for nearly a century. Originally referred to as the “River Park” when first opened as a three-block park without sidewalks in 1914, the San Antonio River Walk is best known for its expansion (completed in 1941) to twenty-one blocks of walkways and improvements designed by Robert H. H. Hugman. The Hugman-era portion retains a high degree of historical integrity and consists of 17,000 linear feet of concrete sidewalks, 31 stairways, stone-faced banks, wrought iron fixtures, water features, and the outdoor Arneson River Theater. Since 1941, the River Walk has been expanded several times beyond the Hugman portion. These later additions, however, all use the design vocabulary of Robert Hugman attesting to his masterful landscape design. (pg 28) (1)
Block 9 (Travis Street Bridge S28 to Houston Bridge S12)
Block 9 has been highly modified due to the construction of the Embassy Suites on the west side and the Republic Bank Plaza on the east side. A modern urban plaza now abuts the east bank, with tiered rectangular beds holding crepe myrtles flanking each side. Cypress and palm trees separate the walkway from the river. On the west side, a staircase was added at the Travis Street Bridge S28. A mid-block entrance is now closed, but still visible in the wall. The boat landing at the foot of the former staircase is still in place, with cedar posts present along its curved edge. The cantilevered walk at street level featuring starburst cutouts (type A), arched cutouts with metal accents, and semicircular (type C) balustrades directs the eye upward. Similar to the previous block, additional entrances were cut into the wall to accommodate pedestrian access to the adjacent properties as the skyscrapers were constructed. (pg 33) (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/preserve/national_registe...