San Antonio’s Grande Dames
Three grand San Antonio hotels, the St. Anthony, Gunter, and Crockett, opened in 1909. The timing is hardly a coincidence. Founded at the crossroads of early travel routes, San Antonio saw significant growth after Texas became part of the Union and again with the arrival of the railroad in 1877. According to the Texas Almanac, San Antonio was the state’s most populous city in 1909. And, says architect Irby Hightower, principal of Alamo Architects Inc., these hotels filled a growing need for lodging and places to conduct business. Even during tough economic times in the 1920s and 1930s, San Antonio prospered thanks to oil and ranching money. Through the years, these hotels made enough money to remain open but not so much to tempt their owners to tear them down and build something bigger. All three have continuously operated as hotels, and thanks to recent renovations, they retain their original grandeur. Read More »
Hunt County Heroes
The Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum in Greenville could just as easily be called the Hunt County Historical ... Read More »
Gone Ameripolitan
Veteran Austin honky-tonker Dale Watson says it’s gotten harder and harder to explain his music to strangers—the ... Read More »
Wandering Through Time
Mention to friends that you’re going to Round Top Antiques Week and you’re likely to hear, “Ooh … ” or “Ugh ... ,” ... Read More »
Daytripper: Turkey
Tucked away in the Texas Panhandle is a town that exists on its own time. It’s a place where bison herds still ... Read More »
Punchin’, Preachin’, and the Piney Woods
Maybe you know George Foreman the boxer. “Big George” notched a 76-5 record in his legendary career, including an ... Read More »
On Valley Time
When I told my wife, Laura, about my idea of a road trip across the Rio Grande Valley, she was initially ... Read More »
Hot off the Griddle
Like many Texans who have a fondness for pancakes, I keep a list of favorite places to eat them. Magnolia Pancake ... Read More »
Head East
As the craft-beer movement explodes in the Lone Star State, well-made beers are originating beyond Texas’ major ... Read More »
Comfort Awaits
Inside the modest painted-brick building that houses Huntsville’s Farmhouse Cafe, comfort awaits—both on the plate ... Read More »
Biking Big Bend
Chances are I won’t be hitchhiking out West any time soon to hire on with a ranch or join a sheriff’s posse. My boyhood fancies of a cowboy life on the open range, fueled by Lone Ranger reruns and imaginative bicycle escapades around the neighborhood, lost steam over time. But I’ve still got a Lone Ranger poster, and I’ve still got a mountain bike. And exploring the Texas countryside by bicycle still kindles my childlike excitement for adventure, freedom, and fun. Read More »
Sentinels of the Sea
The first lighthouses came to Texas shores in 1852, built to guide ships past sandbars and shoals at river mouths ... Read More »
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