I’m just going to start off with this quote by Mark Twain: “There are only 4 unique cities in the U.S. New Orleans, San Antonio, Boston, and San Francisco.”
While I’d love to talk about all four cities, I’m going to focus on the one I love the most. San Antonio. Unique. Mark Twain described it perfectly. Today was the first time I heard this quote and it made me feel a little giddy inside. No, not because he was calling my favorite city unique; it was because I always describe San Antonio using that exact same word! Of all the ways to describe a place! I seriously felt like I could tap into his brain. Before I lose the “I can write like Mark Twain” vibe, let me hurry and finish what I wanted to say.
While on vacation recently, I was having a conversation with some people I had just met. During the whole “getting to know you” phase, I was asked the inevitable where are you from? question. When answering with “San Antonio” I realized how the conversation turned toward another city in Texas. I found myself wanting to defend my great city-it’s worthy of being talked about, too! So, that got me thinking: why is San Antonio so great? I’ve compiled a list of 10 fun facts that you may or may not have known. Hope to see you soon vacationers!
- San Antonio ranks at #7 for largest cities in the U.S. (It’s also the second largest in Texas)
- There are over 140 miles of trails in San Antonio
- Shaquille O’Neal played basketball in his San Antonio high school
- San Antonio is home to Six Flags, Sea World
- San Antonio is also home to the oldest, continuously functioning church in Texas: San Fernando Cathedral
- On June 28, 1929 Robert H. Hugman revealed his plan for The Shops of Romula and Aragon-Can you guess what this was? Yep, the Riverwalk!
- Singer Phil Collins’ fascination with the Alamo led him to collect tens of millions of dollars worth of Alamo artifacts, which he recently donated to The Alamo. He even paid for the shipping.
- San Antonio is the birthplace of Tex-Mex. Though the term originated from abbreviating the Texas Mexican railroad then referring to Mexican nationals living in Texas, it eventually became the name of the food San Antonio is famous for.
- The front of the Alamo was not originally there when it was built. It was added on in the 1850’s by the U.S. Army.
- Since 1988, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo (if you’ve never been, seriously? what are you waiting for???) has been reusing the same exact dirt to cover the floor of the AT&T center every year.
When making this list, I was reminded of San Antonio’s richness in history and culture. Maybe someday you’ll love this city as much as Mark Twain and me!