Twelve Things You May Not Know about the River Walk (Paseo del Río)

The River Walk is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, and since the 1980s it has been the second biggest tourist attraction in Texas, right behind the Alamo. The River Walk generates so much economic power—not to mention civic pride—that almost every city in Texas has tried to copy it or is developing similar plans. Most proposals fail, though, because there is so much more to the River Walk than meets the eye.

1

The River Walk is actually a flood control device.

The San Antonio River was not always an object of affection for the city’s downtown merchants, especially on September 9, 1921, when a major flood dumped nine feet of water on Houston Street. The water was up to the second level of the Gunter Hotel and washed out merchants up and down the street. It was the twelfth flood to hit the city since 1819, and city fathers felt the need to implement a flood control plan. The River Walk was an elegant solution to the problem.

2

The first flood control proposal was to pave over the river.

Some engineers proposed cutting a new channel for the river and eliminating its big bend portion. The eliminated portion could be paved over for parking or possibly another thoroughfare. This plan was supported by many on the river because an extra street would give them an additional street storefront. Today, the big bend section of the River Walk is not only the most popular but also generates the most commercial revenue of any portion of the river.

3

It took ten years for the proposal to become reality.

In 1929 a young architect named Robert Hugman developed the idea to transform the riverbanks on the big bend into a park-like area with public access and an area of commerce known as the shops of Aragon and Romula. The idea was years ahead of its time; it was decades before urban renewal projects and festival marketplaces were being proposed. The River Walk would feature shops offering food from around the world. The banks would be clear of litter and debris. Merchants would clean up the backs of their property and cease to use the river as an alley and a dumping ground. Hugman proposed this then-radical idea in 1929.

His plan was nothing more than a vision for six years, until local hotel owner Jack White began to look for a way to attract more tourists to San Antonio. White organized a River Beautification Board to promote the idea of a river walk. In 1938 the group proposed a special downtown tax district that would establish $75,000 for river improvement. It was then that the Works Project Administration became interested in the River Walk as a way of putting Depression-era men back to work. The WPA kicked in $325,000 toward the project. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the project took place March 25, 1939, ten years after Hugman made the proposal.

4

During construction, a virtual historic treasure trove was uncovered.

One of the first things that needed to be done during the construction of the River Walk was the cleaning and deepening of the river channel. During the dredging, workers uncovered wagon wheels, cannonballs, guns, and a host of other items.

5

The River Walk has floodgates.

A bypass channel was constructed to have floodwater flow past the big bend area of the River Walk. Floodgates were also built to cut off the big bend area from the rest of the river channel during high water. The two floodgates are just north of Commerce Street and just north of Villita Street.

6

No two River Walk staircases are alike.

Few people realize the effort involved in Hugman’s design. The River Walk sits below street level, and thirty-one stairwells were designed to give the public access to the original section of the River Walk. And each one is unique. The first completed stairwell was made of cedar posts and went from the Crockett Street Bridge to the river’s east bank.

7

During construction, more than 11,000 trees and shrubs were planted.

Careful attention was paid to landscaping the River Walk. A large number of small trees and shrubs were stored by local nurseries until they could be replanted. Trees that had their roots uncovered by the dredging were treated with the utmost care. Crutches were built to aid many large trees during the construction, and surgery was performed on many large trees. Over 11,000 trees and shrubs were planted. The construction effort attracted attention from across the country. Celebrated columnist Ernie Pyle visited the site in 1939 and wrote an article, “An American Venice in the Making, San Antonio Is Doing Tricks with Its Winding Downtown River,” for the Scripps-Howard newspaper syndicate.

8

The visionary who proposed the River Walk originally got very little credit.

It took two years to build the River Walk, which officially opened in 1941. Unfortunately, Hugman had been fired a year earlier. The young architect got caught in a bureaucratic shuffle over materials being sent to the La Villita construction site rather than to the River Walk. A meeting of the river board released Hugman without benefit of a hearing. Officially, it was announced that the visionary architect was released because he failed to hire a landscape architect and because many of his cost estimates were off base. Hugman was devastated by the dismissal.

The man who was known as the father of the River Walk was given very little credit for his vision until 1978, when he was finally recognized for his contributions. That year, bells were added to the Arneson River Theatre and were dedicated to Hugman. Today, as you stroll the River Walk, you will see Hugman’s name displayed above his old office, just under the circular Royalty Coins Building.

9

The River Walk was originally a dismal failure.

The River Walk was anything but an instant success. During World War II there was a shortage of labor to maintain the park-like settings. Many businesses resumed their practice of dumping garbage in the water and using the river as an alley. Vandalism and petty crime became common occurrences. Poor lighting made the River Walk a dangerous place after dark. For many years the army declared the River Walk off-limits to military personnel. One air force colonel who returned to San Antonio in the ’80s remarked that when he was a young airman stationed in town, the River Walk was a good place to “get rolled.”

The first restaurant to open on the River Bend section was Casa Rio, in 1946, by A. F. Beyer. He was joined on the river level by Robert Hugman, who opened his architect office next to the Commerce Street Bridge. Both were the subject of a few raised eyebrows. Many thought they were crazy to operate on the River Walk. Today, Casa Rio is one of the most popular restaurants on the river.

10

A puppet show did not save the River Walk.

A popular local story is that the San Antonio Conservation Society presented a puppet show, “The Goose with the Golden Eggs,” to the city council in order to sway public opinion away from a plan to pave over the downtown riverbed section. However, when the Society commissioned Lewis Fisher to research the history of the organization, he discovered that the puppet show wasn’t performed until three years after the plan had been rejected, apparently to convince the city to protect the city’s cultural and historical heritage.

11

The 1968 World’s Fair gave the River Walk its second life.

Before San Antonio hosted HemisFair ’68, the city appropriated $500,000 to improve the River Walk. The Chamber of Commerce formed the Paseo Del Rio Association, made up of businesspeople who had a stake in the river. The river was extended east toward the new convention center, the first addition in over twenty years. A first-class hotel, the Hilton Palacio Del Rio, was built on the river and was soon joined by La Mansión del Rio. Thousands of tourists who came to town discovered the River Walk for the first time. Soon more restaurants began to open and other hotels were added. The “Shops of Aragon and Romula” that Robert Hugman once envisioned were finally becoming a reality.

12

It was expanded multiple times.

Originally the River Walk ended just after the Tower Life Building. With the construction of the Hyatt Regency, the Paseo Del Rio was connected to Alamo Plaza via a series of waterfalls. It was also extended south to the King William district. In 1988 the massive shopping complex called Rivercenter Mall was built around an extension of the river.