This comedor (dining room) in the Governors’ Palace was the scene of many gay and festive affairs.
The garden of the Spanish Governors’ Palace, filled with subtropical shrubbery and flowers, could have been no more beautiful in the days when Spanish viceroys ruled within its walls. The pebble mosaic walks form interesting patterns in the patio.
Moses Austin, born in Connecticut, lost in 1819 the fortunes he had made in the South and West and two days before Christmas of the following year arrived in San Antonio seeking permission from the Spanish authorities to bring 300 families from the states to found a colony. This bronze statue of Moses Austin, modeled by Waldine Tauch, stands on the City Hall grounds facing the restored Spanish Governors’ Palace, from whence came permission to establish his colony.
Looking across Main Plaza to the San Fernando Cathedral. It is here that the original Canary Islanders settled in 1731, naming the spot “Plaza de las Islas”. San Fernando Cathedral was completed in 1873 after a fire destroyed most of the original 1749 building. Santa Anna used the church as an observation point during the siege of the Alamo in 1836.
This Georgia Marble Cenotaph in memory of the heroes of the Alamo stands opposite the Alamo fortress area. Its sides are inscribed with the names of all who fell at the Alamo. Pompeo Coppini was the sculptor. At the left is the Spanish Colonial Post Office, at the right, the Medical Arts Building.
