San Antonio: the unseen suburbs, the hills... and beyond
 

Since there haven't been a lot of threads about San Antonio that show you much other than downtown and some inner neighborhoods, I took some pics of some other areas not as frequently seen on SSP. Everything here is well within the city limits.

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Here we are, just inside Loop 410, looking south toward downtown from the Balcones Escarpment, the southern terminus of the Texas Hill Country.

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But if you go outside the loop...

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...bland midrises and suburbia await

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(like Austin, we also have hills-- you just have to drive further)

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On the upper left is a glimpse of the USAA building, the (so I'm told) largest single-tenant private office building in the US. Note the vulture circling over the Westin La Cantera Resort. I wish I could say that portends something.


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New development in the hills off Interstate 10: the mixed-use Eilan some-or-other.
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On the horizon is the South Texas Medical Center. It's the closest thing SA has to a second skyline.

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The campus in the middleground is the University of Texas-San Antonio, my alma mater and home to ~28,000 eager young students who will probably end up moving away.

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San Antonio can't have all-glass buildings downtown (not "historic"), but we're still allowed to have them in the boonies.

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Living in South Texas means almost hitting these things with your car at least once a week.

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Going back into SA to see some other parts.
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Black rhinoceros, meet new Broadway residential tower.

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If I know SA, this guy probably listens to the three S's: Siouxsie and the Banshees, Slayer and Selena. I know I do.

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The growing "midtown" skyline on north Broadway, with Fort Sam Houston in the background.

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Back home inside the loop.
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Nice tour. The terrain and vegetation definitely gives the community a unique feel.

That's so awesome. I'm starting a suburban set of Cleveland myself, I really do love these threads. Thanks.

Good photography. I like the long shots.

I love how lush the region is!

Thanks for the reminder of why I never go outside loop 410. :tup:

i love & hate that lost shot

Very nice photos, lots of stuff I've never seen. SA's Hill Country looks more wild and less overbuilt than Austin's. I like it.

I didn't realize how similar the terrain in that part of S.A. is to west Austin. I also didn't know there was that much residential development.

Great thread and finally something outside of the downtown area!
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I have always loved this view of the skyline! Thanks for the tour! :tup:

It's hasn't been that long since I lived in San Antonio, but last time I was there I was shocked by the growth along 1604. I see it's still going.

That drive down I-10 from just outside of San Antonio (around Boerne) West towards Kerrville, Junction, etc. is one of the prettiest anywhere. These pics bring back a lot of memories. San Antonio has one of the most underrated terrains in the US.

very interesting photo tour... the development patterns suck... but I do love those green hills

Fortunately there's a large area of the Hill Country that's undeveloped, extending roughly 120 miles to the northwest/west of Austin/San Antonio. Lot's of retirees can be found but for the most part, it's undisturbed. The prettiest part is quite a ways northwest of San Antonio around Leakey/Vanderpool, where the hills are the highest and the views the best. I sometimes take day trips through the hill country just to get away from the craziness of the city.

Beautiful thread. Thanks. Yeah, Northwest San Antonio especially is pretty around the hills. The area around 1604 and environs is quite nice. I might be around there tomorrow actually. I might take some pictures if the weather cooperates.

interesting. some of it looks good, some doesn't.

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I almost had a wreck on 610 from looking the downtown view at the edge of the Balcones escarpment. Love this thread!

Yeah, sweet topography but yuck to the endless strip malls and highways.

I underestimated your hills. They do look nice.

Thanks y'all. Yeah, I definitely wanted to show some surprising San Antonio prettiness, and some SA ugliness. I'm ticked at some of the hill country development. Our hills, for a long time, were relatively unspoiled, while Austin's, being so close to downtown, saw a lot of development fairly early on. Now the gated communities have moved in. We do have two huge primitive city parks in the area, Friedrich and Eisenhauer, full of hiking trails, and a giant state park, Government Canyon, protecting almost 8,600 acres of true wilderness entirely within the city limits (NYC's Central Park is 843 acres). We are also a much greener, more forested city than a lot of people realize (especially in the spring). That said, the ugly is here, just like everywhere else, and I wanted to include it.

Very nice. I hope some of those hills are preserved because the are gorgeous.