Reflections on San Antonio

In our story, Anna Hartle goes to San Antonio with the owner of the real estate agency, Joseph Cowell, to visit a successful developer and get some ideas about marketing property in larger developments. It turns out to be a job interview for Anna who is ready for a change. She isn't sure she'll like Texas before she visits San Antonio, but accepts the job and moves to the beautiful city. I hadn't been to San Antonio for years and decided to visit some of the places I'd read and wrote about, and look for historical reminders of her time.

Alamo Heights
Anna's first site visit is at Alamo Heights, still a haven of beautiful bungalows and two story homes. Most have been updated, but  are still quaint and reflect their original character. Newer, larger homes are on side streets. It's a quiet place with lovely parks, and developer H. C. Thorman would be proud.   
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Fredericksburg Road
In the 1930 census Anna was living with her second spouse, Dr. Charles Petry, on Fredericksburg Road. Unfortunately, the address where she lived is now a commercial area and part of  San Antonio's suburban sprawl. A four lane highway divides a street with no trace of the nice homes which evidently once stood there. and business establishments have seen better days. 

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Downtown San Antonio

I'm certain that Anna would have appreciated the majestic red structure that serves as the Bexar County Courthouse. The 1896 Romanesque building was built with native Texas granite and red sandstone. She would have gotten her marriage license there, and her death certificate is there, too. 

Some commercial buildings are empty and now house social service agencies and other organizations as businesses gravitated toward the Market Square or the more touristy area near the Alamo.

The River Walk  is San Antonio's jewel. I suppose Anna watched it develop. After many floods and attempts over time to improve the waterway, the potential for the area was realized in 1939 when the River Project broke ground.

I can understand Anna's love of San Antonio. The population in 1915 when she arrived was about 100,000, a small enough community compared to Los Angeles that she could more easily start over. My only regret is that I didn't find out about her sooner—that only my grandfather, Purl, ever mentioned her. But, that was probably her wish. She passed away in 1962 and is buried in San Antonio's Sunset Memorial Park.

History of the Bexar County Courthouse by Sylvia Ann Santos https://www.bexar.org/DocumentCenter/View/4102

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