SAN ANTONIO │ City and Metro Off-Topic Thread

[kingkirbythe....]

The 25 most beautiful places in San Antonio

https://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio...eshow/28037256

You know it, and we know it — San Antonio is a beautiful city. Whether you're interested in historic landmarks, swanky eateries or the beauty to be found in the natural world, there's plenty of ways to enjoy yourself while soaking in gorgeous surroundings. To that end, we've rounded up the 25 most breathtaking spots in the Alamo City.

[kingkirbythe....]

Here's some fun Tower Life building stuff.


Tower Life building hosted Eisenhower’s office, a tunnel and all kinds of other weirdness

https://www.expressnews.com/lifestyl...n-16794290.php



And here's some gargoyles around the city.


The Gargoyles Guarding S.A.

For nearly a century, downtown has been home to several dozen of the most macabre characters to ever grace a Gothic cathedral or opening shot of a horror film.

https://www.expressnews.com/lifestyl...s-15156240.php

[Spoiler]

Originally Posted by kingkirbythe....

And here's some gargoyles around the city.


The Gargoyles Guarding S.A.

For nearly a century, downtown has been home to several dozen of the most macabre characters to ever grace a Gothic cathedral or opening shot of a horror film.

https://www.expressnews.com/lifestyl...s-15156240.php

That's a good article, but you have to put a "p" at the end of the hotlink to make it work.

[kingkirbythe....]

Hispanic Elvis' family shares update on San Antonio icon's condition

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...P-CP-Spotlight

San Antonians can now pitch in to help local icon Hispanic Elvis. The beloved personality, who has dressed up as The King of Rock and Roll for decades, was hospitalized on Monday, January 10. His family shared an update with MySA on Friday, January 21.

[kingkirbythe....]

Look up: There will soon be a Spurs-themed airplane in the skies

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...P-CP-Spotlight

Spurs players already know how to fly through to the air, but a new partnership is putting the franchise in the actual sky. On Friday, January 21, the Spurs announced a partnership with Viva Aerobus, a Mexico-based airline, which includes a team-branded airplane.

[kingkirbythe....]

Amazon stays mum on mystery North Star Mall project. Here are our guesses

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...e-16794554.php

Amazon is planning on opening its first physical clothing store in Los Angeles, California, lending more fuel to the speculation behind the company's mystery project inside North Star Mall. And Amazon isn't exactly trying to quell the whispers.

The multibillion-dollar online retailer is opening an Amazon Style store later this year in L.A. that will merry technology and the traditional shopping experience. A video posted online shows how people can simply scan a clothing items QR code and either send it to a fitting room or directly to the checkout counter.

Could this be a similar destiny for the mysterious retail project slated for North Star Mall. It could also be one of the new Amazon 4-Star or Amazon Books locations. What does Amazon have to say?

[kingkirbythe....]

San Antonio named one of the best places for millennials to buy a home

https://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio...t?oid=28064164

San Antonio’s real estate market is making headlines again, this time being named one of the best cities for millennials to buy a house by the online home buying platform Knock.
A new Knock report places at the Alamo City as the No. 4 best place for millennials to buy homes because of tourist attractions such as the River Walk and the city’s vibrant and bar-filled downtown. Perhaps surprising to residents, the report also praised San Antonio’s “miles of pedestrian-friendly streets.”



The report also said millennials view San Antonio as a more affordable alternative to Austin, the top-ranked cit on its list. Average homes in the Alamo City sell for around $200,000 less than in the state capital, according to Knock's analysis.
Juan Sepulveda, a political science professor at Trinity University, told the Current that he expects people to continue flocking here as they're priced out of Austin and technology allows them to work from further away.

“The new twist is that people can work from anywhere, so I think there’s going to be interesting patterns in migration moving forward,” Sepulveda said. “And with the traffic and everything getting worse in Austin, you could see more people moving to San Antonio and working in Austin.”

Knock's top-ranked markets for millennial homebuyers are:

1. Austin, Texas
2. Des Moines, Iowa
3. Charleston, South Carolina
4. San Antonio, Texas
5. Atlanta, Georgia

Knock's report is only the latest suggesting San Antonio has become a hot real-estate market. Last month, Zillow listed the city as 2022’s fourth-hottest U.S. real estate market, and the bedroom community of New Braunfels was listed as one of the country's most desirable neighborhoods last week by OpenDoor.

But, the Alamo City’s brisk growth is causing a host of problems for longtime residents. The average rent price in San Antonio soared 30% in 2021, and the city’s cost of living skyrocketed 17% between 2010 and 2020, according to U.S. Census data.

[forward looking]

Austin's 5:00 P.M. rush hour traffic jam on I-35 is the worst I have ever seen anywhere the last time I was there. With one single exception and this was the Great Northeast Blackout where all power was lost in the the Northeastern states and much of Canada, in one fell swoop.
The entire population within the Detroit Metro Area lost electricity, six million people. One person I knew spent six hours in the freeway gridlock just getting home from work and he left work at 4:00!

[QUOTE=kingkirbythe....;9512996]San Antonio named one of the best places for millennials to buy a home


“And with the traffic and everything getting worse in Austin, you could see more people moving to San Antonio and working in Austin.”

[kingkirbythe....]

What lies beneath? Cleanup crews will be uncovering the secrets of the San Antonio River this week

https://www.expressnews.com/news/loc...n-16800781.php

One of the Alamo City’s biggest tourist attractions is due for a makeover.

Sections of the San Antonio River bordering the River Walk will be drained and dredged for the first time since January 2020 in an extensive cleanup effort spearheaded by the San Antonio River Authority and the San Antonio Public Works and City Development and Operations Departments.

The biannual undertaking ensures the river, which is vital to the health of the local economy, remains clean and navigable.

[kingkirbythe....]

A Guide to Bexar County's Historic Buildings

https://www.expressnews.com/projects...ildings-guide/

Remember the Alamo? Of course you do.

But there are also 91 other historic buildings worthy of remembering here in Bexar County, according to the Texas Historical Commission and the National Park Service.

These buildings have been accepted into the National Register of Historic Places as an acknowledgment of their historical or architectural significance and their worthiness of preservation.

[Dan In Real Life]

Originally Posted by forward looking

Austin's 5:00 P.M. rush hour traffic jam on I-35 is the worst I have ever seen anywhere the last time I was there.

Growing up in Austin, we used to joke that rush hour started at 3 and ended at 8. But now it's pretty much all day every day. It's just horrible.

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by Keep-SA-Lame

https://sanantonioreport.org/broadway-txdot-move/



Greg Abbott is bad, actually.

Honestly it sounds like we're kind of screwed here. We'll see what happens at the committee meeting Thursday. But seriously what the fuck?

They hate Austin so much it’s spreading south. Unelected state bureaucracy should not be dictating this, especially when this decade could be transformative for San Antonio. Smh

[kingkirbythe....]

It is an elected official, Abbott, directing it. He is directing one of his appointments to do it.

[JACKinBeantown]

Yup, Greg Abbott is an evil dude. I would expect nothing else of him. It's all about corporate profit and the people who own the corporations (and make "donations" to the politicians' funds).

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

Yup, Greg Abbott is an evil dude. I would expect nothing else of him. It's all about corporate profit and the people who own the corporations (and make "donations" to the politicians' funds).

One hand washes the other.

[Rynetwo]

If local leaders could run the city better maybe this would not happen.

“On Thursday, January 27, the Texas Transportation Commission will consider a minute order that will confirm that State Loop 368, Broadway, in the City of San Antonio has been and continues to be part of the state highway system. This action would rescind prior minute orders that considered a future transfer of the SL 368 to the City of San Antonio. This action is needed as a result of local proposals to convert the existing three lanes to two lanes in each direction and remove turn lanes along SL 368. These local proposals would result in a significant increase in congestion. TxDOT remains focused on strategies to decrease congestion and will work with the City and other local stakeholders to develop solutions for SL 368 that serve to maintain the existing three lanes in each direction while addressing the mobility and safety needs of all users.”

https://sanantonioreport.org/broadway-txdot-move/

A lot of local people were very upset by this aspect. Apparently it was going to impact some locals with power.

Hopefully they can redesign to 3 lanes with a smaller side walk and keep the bike lane.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Rynetwo

If local leaders could run the city better maybe this would not happen.



https://sanantonioreport.org/broadway-txdot-move/

A lot of local people were very upset by this aspect. Apparently it was going to impact some locals with power.

Hopefully they can redesign to 3 lanes with a smaller side walk and keep the bike lane.

This has zero to do with management capability of our elected and non-elected leaders. It has everything to do with what the VOTERS wanted, and this plan is what they wanted:

A whole hell of a lot more people wanted the change, which is why S.A. voters approved the project 70 to 30. This is a democracy—when you lose, you lose and you move on to the next election trying to convince everyone else you were right; when you win elections you get to reap the rewards thru policy.

What they’re doing here is not that at all, but rather using underhanded tactics to institute minority rule (or something approximating it). That is ANTI-democracy. I bet you the complaints aren’t even from San Antonians, but from residents of Alamo Heights, which would make this even more anti-democracy: people outside of the jurisdiction dictating the policy of said jurisdiction. That’s not even minority rule. Instead, that is rule by outsiders.

Actually, let’s take this even more meta:

Rich Alamo Heights residents appeal to the state government to stop a policy change in San Antonio within San Antonios legitimate prerogatives and the state acquiesces to their demands by clawing back something they gave to San Antonio years ago. I.E. multiple layers of anti-democracy meddling from illegitimate actors.

THIS is exactly why the GOP should be considered anathema to our democracy: they are trying to destroy and undermine it at every level at every possible opportunity to ensure that they always get their preferred policy outcomes.

[forward looking]

'Course Abbot is evil Jack, and- A Trump devotee, I'm sure.. The guy even probably took part in the chanting which takes place at Trumpus fund raisers.

Corporate influence in Texas you write? Surely, and without even mentioning the "Mineral Interests", another powerful monied political influence to be reckoned with in this State.
And with the conservative influence added to the above mixture?

A description of Senator Henry Clay by Senator Webster and his corruption taken from long ago, surely still applies to the first two from above today.

"Sen. Clay is like a Mackerel in the Moonlight which both shines and stinks at the same time."
Let us not forget about young George P. Bush the= Texas land commissioner. Just call him "P" for short.

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

Yup, Greg Abbott is an evil dude. I would expect nothing else of him. It's all about corporate profit and the people who own the corporations (and make "donations" to the politicians' funds).

[JACKinBeantown]

As you all either know or have surmised, I live in Boston. Do any of you San Antonians plan to put on a mask and go make your voices heard?

[kingkirbythe....]

Meet Atlee Ayres, the visionary architect who helped design modern San Antonio

https://www.mysanantonio.com/real-es...n-16801054.php

There are a few things that make up the soul of a city: its people, its cuisine, and its architecture. Recently, a 1920s house in Terrell Hills designed by architect Atlee Ayres hit the market. In the listing, it was noted that Ayres had designed hundreds of home across San Antonio in the early 20th century, including the Atkinson-McNay House, along with famous commercial buildings such as the Freeman Coliseum and the Smith-Young Tower, once the city's tallest skyscraper. If architecture defines a place, then Ayres was key in creating the San Antonio we know today.

But despite his reputation as "San Antonio's most famous architect," there isn't much written about Ayres (in fact, there's only one book — The Eclectic Odyssey of Atlee B. Ayres, Architect — dedicated entirely to his legacy). Adding to the confusion is that often what is written is incorrect, due largely to his longtime partnership with his son, Robert M. Ayres, leading to confusion about exactly which Ayres is responsible for which project.