Category: San Antonio River

Riverside Pocket Park

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The teaching-the-teachers workshop conflicted with the February 27 opening of a revitalized pocket park perched above the San Antonio River at Crofton and Constance, directly across the river from the Blue Star silos.  Coincidentally, the historical materials Bill Perryman included for “River of Dreams” attendees included a Crofton Avenue reference from an oral history interview of H.T. Edwards Hertzberg conducted by Lupita Fernandez about the 1921 flood for the San Antonio Conservation Society:

The water was flowing down Crofton Ave. at least three feet deep and our house was sitting on piles just high enough not to be inundated.

Today, the Olmos Dam and a 16,200-foot-long flood tunnel keep Crofton and Constance safe from such dangers.  

In addition to the public sponsors of the park re-do, the King William neighborhood association – thanks to thousands of volunteer hours and King William Fair-goers’ unselfish willingness to consume beer for a good cause – kicked in with a substantial donation to the San Antonio River Foundation. 

The public/private partnership resulted in two wonderful faux bois benches crafted by Carlos Cortes, whose massive grotto in the Museum Reach invites exploration.  If you can’t visit the grotto personally, explore it virtually via Flicker. 

Note added March 15:  The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation talks about the value of pocket parks in the community.

Teaching Teachers about the River

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Arm a teacher with a curriculum rich in content and experience-based activities, and the impact of the lesson is multiplied many times over as the teacher shares it with students.  That is the basis for the San Antonio Conservation Society‘s annual, tuition-free seminar focusing on the built environment. 

River of Dreams, the 2010 seminar led by educator Bill Perryman at the end of February, focused on the history and impact of the San Antonio River.  The new Architecture Foundation of San Antonio partnered with the Conservation Society, a partnership that lent access to the stunning, contemporary offices of the American Institute of Architects San Antonio at Pearl. 

Following lunch from The Filling Station, Perryman led a walking tour of the Museum Reach focusing on historical landmarks, environmental issues addressed by the construction project, public art, the engineering of the locks and dam and what the project means for the city.  JoAnn Boone of Rio San Antonio Cruises completed the educational experience by contributing a barge ride through the locks…

Rio San Antonio Cruises donated a barge ride through the locks and dam for the River of Dreams Seminar.

And while the teachers were not provided with margaritas to test the smooth ascent to the northern stretch of the river, they grasped that the locks fulfilled Ms. Boone’s requisite for successful navigation of cocktail barges to and from Pearl and downtown.

Contemporary Art Month Parade

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Approximately three dozen exuberant artists and possibly fewer accidental spectators helped kick off Contemporary Art Month this afternoon.  In this case, photographs speak louder than words:

As the tuba player’s t-shirt says, let’s “Keep San Antonio Lame.”