The Evolution of the San Antonio River Walk

Welcome to the San Antonio River Walk Exhibit! Here, you will learn about River Walk History, Traditions, Celebrations and more!

Before and After

1930 vs. 2018

History of the Famous S.A River Walk

The San Antonio River Walk has been a part of our lives since 1941. It has been home to many classic restaurants such as Casa Rio, which was one of the first restaurants to open business on the river walk and is still operating today. The River walk was intended to help the drainage of the city after a huge flood occurred downtown San Antonio in September of 1921, which killed over 50 people and cause millions of dollars of damage.

This is an image of a bridge destroyed after the horrible flood downtown in 1921

The River Walk was completed in the midst of WWII, therefore there wasn't as much attention to the site as there should’ve been. However years later, there was recognition to the beautiful attraction during the 1960’s that allowed for there to be improvements. As you scroll through, you will learn more about a significant piece of our history and how it has made San Antonio the best place to be.

Q&A: Common Questions

"How long did it take to finish the construction of the San Antonio River Walk?"

The plan began back in 1929 when Robert Hugman had an idea on bettering the aesthetic of the river that went through the city, but it took 10 years to get the funding for his vision. The River Walk was officially opened in April 1941, the year the first ever annual Fiesta River Parade occurred which was sponsored by the San Antonio Texas Cavaliers!

"Does the San Antonio River Walk have another name?"

The San Antonio River Walk also goes by "Paseo del Rio", given its name by Ignacio Torres, who was an architect on the River Walk's renovation team. The Texas State Historical Association credits him for the translation of "Paseo del Rio". Torres is a San Antonio native and is 96 years old today.

"Was the River Walk always so fun and safe?"

Unfortunately, no. The San Antonio River Walk was once deemed as dangerous and didn't allow military personnel because of it. There was a lot of crime at night in it's early years, but after there was security dedicated to the area it became safe enough for tourists and S.A natives to spend time on. Now police are all over the walk and even provide information to visitors!

River Walk Patrol when the the River Walk opened to the public.

"How long is the River Walk?"

The River Walk is 15 miles and it joins the Guadalupe River and flows into the Gulf of Mexico!

"Can the River Walk flood?"

Thankfully, the River Walk cannot flood because of it's locks and dams! The water that is on street level during harsh rain makes its way into the river and goes through drainage processes to ensure there's no flood! I guess you can say one flood was enough to protect downtown S.A!

Father of the River Walk

Robert H. Hugman

Robert H. H. Hugman was born February 8 1902 in the great city of San Antonio Texas and graduated from the school of Architect and Design from University of Texas at Austin in 1924. His vision of the River walk came to life after he had gone to New Orleans and viewed it’s respect to the city's French heritage. Once in San Antonio, he wanted to develop a river bend that incorporated San Antonio’s Spanish heritage. He wanted for pedestrians to feel as if they were walking through the city of Venice, a walkway filled with shops and restaurants with a gorgeous river in the middle. After many failed attempts with the San Antonio Conservation Society and then mayor C.M.Chambers, he finally got support from hotelier Jack White and gained both city assistance and federal funding from Works Progress Administration with congressman and later mayor Maury Maverick(Fisher,1).Hugman began his project 1939, with replacing concrete walls with limestone blocks that had a slight curve to replicate the channel of a natural stream. He added nearly 12,000 trees and shrubs for agricultural planting. He was removed halfway through the project and was replaced by J.Fred Buenz, another landscape architect. The river walk is 15 miles long.

His vision was “old cities in Spain, of a narrow winding street barred to vehicular traffic yet holding the best shops, clubs, banks and cafes; prosperous, yet alluring with its shadowed doorways and quaint atmosphere”, a quote in A Dream Come True: Robert H. H. Hugman and the San Antonio RiverWalk.

Fascinating Archives & Pictures of the River Walk:

Newspaper about the Tex Mex food on the River walk, article collected by The New York Times by Ora Dodd on August 23, 1970.

Picture of River Walk taken in front of Casa Rio, 1950’s

Workers constructing a bridge arch on top of the River Walk. Aggie Horticulture Archives

Although all the elements of today's River Walk were in place during the 1940's activity on the river was limited to the occasional canoe. Aggie Horticulture Archives

This is Casa Rio during the beginning of the River Walk- it became one of the first businesses to open on the River Walk and is still operating today. Aggie Horticulture Archives


What occurs/to do on the River Walk!

Here are a couple of activities that are considered San Antonio Traditions and events tourist can take a part of!

Go Rio San Antonio River Cruises

The San Antonio River Walk partakes in cruises that are narrated for 35 minutes by a tour guide. Tourists can learn more about the culture/architecture of the city and points of interest such as Selena's Bridge, La Villita, the city's first neighborhood and Old Mill Crossing.(GO RIO,1)

Sprus River Walk Parade

The San Antonio Spurs dedicate a parade to the cities championship every successful NBA year. The team gets on the river boats and parades through the stream celebrating with fans !

Texas Cavilers River Parade

The Texas Cavilers hold their annual parade to support charities in the San Antonio area. The Foundation has given over $10,000,000 to help children’s charities since its beginning! People can sit on the River side as they watch the parade every April!

Ford Mariachi Festival

A true tradition to our Hispanic culture. Since 1972, the city of San Antonio has held a festival on the River Walk embracing Mariachi culture and music.

Mardi Gras River Parade

The Mardi Gras inspired boats are for the public to come and celebrate the mardi Gras season. The public is encouraged to wear beads, masks and other Mardi Gras attire for the ceebration!

Haunted River

The San Antonio River is the place to be on October 25 as the boats are covered with scary props and civilians in costumes. It is, of course, provided with free admission.

Did you know?

Here are some fun facts about the San Antonio River Walk!

The River Walk making its debut in the 1997 Selena film

Here,the River Walk can be seen in the background of this scene as Selena and Chris talk about their recent marriage. This bridge was later named "Selena's Bridge" in her honor, which is just outside the Omni La Mansion del Rio hotel.

Disney on River Walk!

Not many know, but there were Disney engineers hired to help revitalize the area after a reputation of "seediness" in the 1950's. The designers suggested including the shops at a basement level

Christmas in S.A

Every year, the San Antonio River Walk is draped and decorated with over 1.8 million Christmas lights dating back to 1974!

Johnny loves Vivian Bench

Before Johnny Cash became a country star, he enjoyed a stroll with his lover Vivian Liberto on thee River Walk and wrote on a bench "Johnny loves Vivian". It is now in a San Antonio museum.

Miss Congeniality

Not just the Alamo made it's presence known in the 2000 film. The River Walk is scene as well, along with a cruise boat giving a tour! (min. 1:20)

Cloack and Dagger

The San Antonio River Walk also made its debut in the 1983 spy film Cloak and Dagger. At minute 2:38 we can see a comparison of both locations from 1983 to 2019. We have a star on our hands!

Little Italy

With the construction of the River Walk, Hugman made sure to make the bridge arches high enough so that gondoliers and floats could pass under.

Overall:

The San Antonio River Walk has always been a part of my life. I spend so much time here all year round, but my favorite time of the year is Christmas. The lights bring so many people joy and my family and I have shared many special moments while dining at Casa Rio and other restaurants on the River Walk. I hope that this exhibit gives you all an insight on how the River Walk came to be and why it has been so special to the community of San Antonio and hopefully for more generations to come.

Analysis and Commentary

  • What new insights or knowledge does your exhibit contribute to the local history of our community? Please use at least one IB historical thinking concept in your answer (Causation, Consequence, Change, Continuity, Significance, Perspective)? Many people that live in San Antonio just go to the River Walk for a fun night out but don't ever understand how it came to be. My exhibit offers photographs that compare the before and after of the River Walk, in which we can see the changes from the 1930's to present time within the architecture. Not to mention that there has been a significant change throughout its reputation. The River Walk used to be a very dangerous place, even for military personnel, but over time there was security dedicated to protecting the River Walk and this allowed for people to join in on the new structure of the river. This shows change because if it weren't for the security, the River Walk would have probably stayed the same and the river wouldn't have it's famous reputation today. My community can learn more about what kind of traditions are a part of the River Walk as a continuity as of today! Most of the traditions have been a part of the festivities on the River Walk for 20 years or more, and the continuity of them allows for the community to enjoy the growth of what has become of the River Walk. My exhibit is an easy and focused source that many San Antonians can use to navigate themselves through the history of the River Walk and understand it more!
  • Why do you think this topic deserves to be preserved and highlighted in the historical record and for future generations? Why is it significant? I believe this topic deserves to be preserved and highlighted in historical record because it has been a part of San Antonio for many years and evolved from a project that was meant for water draining. It is significant to understand the work that was put into the San Antonio River Walk because although it was constructed in the midst of a war and wasn't taken seriously in the beginning, it ended up becoming a huge success in the end and has held onto many traditions of the city for years. People grow up around the River Walk, it's a place where our diverse community comes together to celebrate lives, annual traditions and our heritage. Future generations can observe my exhibit and other articles on the San Antonio River Walk to further understand the importance of being able to unify with others on the same river. Hopefully this way, the River Walk has many more years of life that the future generations can enjoy and protect as well!

Reflection:

  • What was valuable about the artifacts you collected for understanding and telling the story you wanted to tell? In what ways were your artifacts limiting or not able to fully complete the story you hoped to tell? What was valuable about the artifacts in my exhibit was that I was able to visually show my audience what I imagined as I read the articles about the flood. Not to mention that it gives us a visual representation of how the River Walk used to look like and the evolution of it over the years. However, my artifacts were limiting because on some of the archives, there are no specific dates, and all that we know was that it was before the renovation of the River Walk. I wished to have been able to visit some museums and see the artifacts in real life so that there may be a closer connection to the audience and River Walk archives.
  • What recommendations do you have for future research and documentation on this topic? If you were to continue this project what would be your next steps to learn and document more? If you were to re-do this project, what would you do differently? I recommend for there to be a video process of future research. Create journal entries to depict what would happen on a day to day basis as they research the River Walk and possibly even recreate the "steps" as the "building process" would go on. I would also like for there to be an actual River Walk museum! I feel like there is a lot of history behind it's architecture that there could be a museum filled with fascinating archives. Some workers that helped build the River Walk could talk about their experience and have their own personal interviews for the population to watch and get to ask questions. This would allow for there to be more primary sources and concrete answers to any lingering questions. If I were to re-do this project I would add in personal statements from random people on the River Walk to get their personal liking insight of the River Walk. Ask them what they enjoy doing there, what their favorite restaurant is and even take photographs of them standing in front of their favorite spots. I would simply love to connect more with the River Walk personally, and physically engage in certain things so that I can create my own archives to one day show to the public!
  • What did you learn through this process about yourself and/or your community? What new knowledge or skills did you develop? Why was this project meaningful to you? Throughout this process, I learned so much about my community and where I spend a lot of my free time. I didn't realize there was so much history behind the River Walk and that previous generations didn't get to experience it the way I do. There were different attractions during the older generations' time and the River Walk wasn't as popular, but what fascinates me is that they got to watch the River Walk evolve into what it is today! I learned that the River Walk was originally constructed to prevent future flooding, that there were Disney engineers helping parts of the building process and that the River Walk used to be a dangerous place. Most of the things stated in the exhibit I wasn't fully aware of, but it was these 3 things that really stood out to me. This project was meaningful to me because it allowed my knowledge to further educate others on a treasure we have here in town. This project helped me explore a part of my community that I knew about, but didn't understand on a different level. Given that I spend most of my time there especially during the holidays, it has always felt like a place of home. I am so honored to have the River Walk in my town that I can go to whenever I want and call myself a true San Antonio native.

Work Cited

Credits to:

Selena "We did it" Video

Abmexboi, director. Selena "We Did It" San Antonio Riverwalk. YouTube, YouTube, 1 Jan. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DolS_SBZ4dA.

Mardi Gras

and About, Kids out. “Mardi Gras River Parade & Festival at San Antonio River Walk.” Kids Out and About San Antonio, Kids Out and About San Antonio, sanantonio.kidsoutandabout.com/content/mardi-gras-river-parade-festival-san-antonio-river-walk. 

River Walk at Night-Cover of Slide "What to do" Section

Anne, Anne. “What Are the Top Things to Do in San Antonio at Night?” Tripster Travel Guide, Tripster, 3 June 2019, www.tripster.com/travelguide/things-to-do-in-san-antonio-at-night/.  

Texas Cavilers Info.

Beal, Jim. “Texas Cavaliers River Parade.” MySA, Express-News, 17 Apr. 2013, www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/article/Texas-Cavaliers-River-Parade-4442872.php. 

Archives Photographs of the Construction of the San Antonio River Walk

Construction of the San Antonio River Walk (circa 1930). Courtesy of the University of Texas at San Antonio  Institute of Texan Cultures . Image available on the Internet and included in accordance with  Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 .

R.H.Hugman Photograph

Dahl, Marilyn. “Robert Harvey Harold Hugman (1902-1980) - Find A...” Find a Grave, 15 Nov. 2009, www.findagrave.com/memorial/44357879/robert-harvey_harold-hugman#.

Paseo del Rio naming

Davis, Vincent T. “Retired Architect Fondly Recalls Being on River Walk Renovation Team.” News, Express-News, 11 Feb. 2018, www.expressnews.com/sa300/article/Retired-architect-fondly-recalls-being-on-River-12604632.php.

San Antonio Tex-Mex News Paper Article in The New York Times

Dodd, Ora. “San Antonio's River Walk: Fiestas With a Tex‐Mex Touch.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Aug. 1970, www.nytimes.com/1970/08/23/archives/san-antonios-river-walk-fiestas-with-a-texmex-touch-noise-is-muted.html. 

R.H. Hugman and Construction of the River Walk Archives

Fisher, Lewis F. “San Antonio River Walk [Paseo Del Rio].” TSHA, 29 Jan. 2014, www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/san-antonio-river-walk-paseo-del-rio. 

Casa Rio Archive Photograph

“Gallery.” Edited by Haylee Oliver, Casa Rio, SquareSpace, www.casario.com/gallery/s32e3otn29i3vvzlrc612w90trr00i. 

Disney Engineers fact

Page, SA. San Antonio Riverwalk: Information, History and Boat Tours, SA Page, 2021, www.sapage.com/riverwalk.php. 

Spurs RiverWalk Parade-Youtube

Pinky2305, director. YouTube. Spurs Riverwalk Parade 6/18/14, YouTube, 18 June 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzYdBpydTz. 

Cloak and Dagger Video

Reshoots, director. Cloak & Dagger Filming Locations | Then & Now 1983 San Antonio. YouTube, YouTube, 13 Oct. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_zpcyu6dF8. 

Background on the GO RIO Cruises

Rio, GO. “GO RIO Narrated Cruise.” Narrated River Walk Boat Tour – GO RIO Cruises, GO RIO, 2018, www.goriocruises.com/Cruises/Soul-of-San-Antonio-Narrated-Cruise/. 

FAQ Section

River Walk, San Antonio. “FAQs.” San Antonio River Walk, 10 July 2020, www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/about/faqs/. 

Ford Mariachi Festival

River Walk, The San Antonio. “Ford Mariachi Festival.” San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio River Walk, 23 Mar. 2021, www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/events/ford-mariachi-festival/. 

Archives of the River Walk such as Boat Police and the Archives Slide (Photographs)

  Ronkko, Markus, and Texas AgriLife Extension Service Martin Anderson. San Antonio River Walk, Aggie Horticulture, aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/riverwalk/index_3.html.

Selena in San Antonio Article/Slides

San Antonio, City of. “Selena.” ICal, www.visitsanantonio.com/selena/. 

Texas Caviliers

 San Antonio, Fiesta. “The Texas Cavaliers River Parade.” Fiesta San Antonio, 20 Apr. 2021, fiestasanantonio.org/events/the-texas-cavaliers-river-parade/. 

Johnny Cash Bench

Satxwdavis. “A Hidden Love Note From Johnny Cash.” Edited by Gardnermcelroy and Edward Denny, Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 7 May 2018, www.atlasobscura.com/places/johnny-loves-vivian-bench.

Christmas Lights Photograph

 Sault, Spring. “San Antonio River Walk Is Draped With Christmas Lights and It’s Dreamy.” Lifestyle, 27 Nov. 2018, texashillcountry.com/san-antonio-river-walk-christmas-lights/.

Little Italy Photograph

Scott, J.M. “20 Things to Know about the San Antonio River Walk.” MySA, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Dec. 2017, www.mysanantonio.com/150years/article/20-Things-to-know-about-the-River-Walk-6088171.php#photo-7539057. 

Paseo del Rio inspiration

Speck, Larry, and Name *. “Paseo Del Rio.” Larry Speck, Larry Speck, 4 Sept. 1986, larryspeck.com/writing/paseo-del-rio/. 

River Boat Tours Photograph

Viator. “San Antonio River Walk Cruise, Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour and Tower of the Americas.” San Antonio River Walk and Tower of the Americas 2021, 2020, www.viator.com/tours/San-Antonio/San-Antonio-River-Walk-Cruise-Hop-On-Hop-Off-Tour-and-Tower-of-the-Americas-Package/d910-10152P3. 

Cover Photo

Williams, Keller Williams. “Dining On The San Antonio Riverwalk: All Things Delicious.” San Antonio Real Estate for Sale, 2013, www.kwsanantonio.com/news/dining-on-san-antonio-riverwalk-all-things-delicious/. 

A Dream Come True: Robert H. H. Hugman and the San Antonio River Walk

Zunker, Vernon G. “Page 34.” A Dream Come True: Robert H. H. Hugman and the San Antonio River Walk, V.G. Zunker, 1983. 

This is an image of a bridge destroyed after the horrible flood downtown in 1921

River Walk Patrol when the the River Walk opened to the public.

Robert H. Hugman