Museums, again! Hooray!

Back in the fall of '06 -- 27 October to be exact --I posted about certain museums here in San Antonio. I knew that I was only covering the largest and best-known of the many here, and had intended to return to the subject and deal with some of the remainder of museums in the Alamo City. After all, museums are among my favorite places to go, along with libraries and churches and parks. Yours truly IS a history-lover, you know. (Surely, dear reader, you'd already guessed!)

And last nite I indulged by spending a night at the museum by going to the movies. I went to see "A Night at the Museum" at the Northwest 14, beside the IH Ten-Loop 410 interchange. I got to go because I had won a ticket to Santikos Theaters movies, and Northwest 14 is one of the easiest Santikos theatres to get to and from by VÍA bus, as a VÍA route goes right past the backside of the building.

"A Night at the Museum" as a film wasn't much to write home about. It was the standard plot of a rather slacker of a dad (played by Ben Stiller) who seeks to inspire his young son to love and admire him. But it was SET IN A MUSEUM because the dad takes a job there as a night guard. The Museum of Natural History in the Big Apple. I realized rather quickly that this movie museum was actually a combination of two real-life institutions of NYC, The American Museum of Natural History, west across the street from Central Park, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, along the eastern edge of said park. I had actually visited "The Met", and had been thrilled by its huge collection of Ancient Egyptian items!

Therefore, despite the movie museum's name, there was a lot of HUMAN history as well as natural, inside the walls. AND every animal or human display within comes alive after dark! Thus we get to see the life-size equestrian statue of Teddy Roosevelt move around and interact with the dad and later also with the boy. T.R.is played by Robin Williams -- who does the outdoor-oriented President terrific! (Other famous actors in "A Night at the Museum" are Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney, who play old night guards.)

I think my favorite character in the film is the Egyptian Pharaoh Akh-men-ra. (As far as I know there never WAS a king by such a name reigning on the banks of the Nile, and indeed I think the script spells the name Ahk-men-ra, which isn't a likely spelling.) He is a mummy who comes alive and after shedding the mummy wrappings helps the guard and his son to retrieve a stolen tablet, which had belonged to the Pharaoh, which caused the exhibit pieces to come to life each nite while it hung on a wall above the Pharaoh's coffin -- and which had been stolen by ex-guards of the museum. NOW the story gets really interesting! Present me with anything that is of Ancient Egypt, and you've got me in the palm of your hand, if not wrapped around your little finger like a mummy wrapping! (Ha, ha, I couldn't resist this one.)

Anyway, back to museums here in S.A. There are several smaller and less well-known museums to attract the tourist-visitor or the longtime resident. One that I have a coupon for free admission to is the Air Museum at Stinson Field on Roosevelt in the southern part of the city. It re-opened recently after refurbishing, so whenever I get to it, I imagine it will be an enjoyable museum experience. After all, after my junior year in high school I learned to fly the Cessna 150 two-seat airplane, and I've loved air flight ever since!

There is also the Texas Pioneers, Trail Drivers and Rangers Museum. This small museum with the big name sits next to the Witte Museum on Broadway. The building is called Pioneer Hall, I think. The displays aren't as tidy as those of the Witte, but I still enjoy visiting it. Especially interesting are the numerous photographs of Texas Rangers, either at work or posing.

Also along the lines of law enforcers, one may visit the Texas Hiway Patrol Museum. This very small, storefront museum is on South Alamo Street at St. Mary's. I've ridden by it many times on the bus, and even walked by a couple of times; however, it's not been open at those times. Apparently it has brief open times, or is by appointment only.

Then there are the "house museums." Best-known of these is surely the Spanish Governors Palace on Plaza de Armas or Military Plaza, across from City Hall. Originally this was la comandancia or residence of the commander of el Presidio de San Antonio de Béjar/Béxar, the military fort that protected the Spanish missions in the area from Apache attack. In the later stages of Spain's endeavors to occupy and develop Tejas, San Antonio replaced Los Adaes and its fort (located inside what is now the State of Louisiana) as capital of the province. The Spanish Governor usually also served as commander of the fort here. Hence, the current name for la comandancia. This structure which served much less noble purposes after San Antonio became a city of the USA -- to include being a tavern! -- was an early project of the ladies of the new San Antonio Conservation Society of the early 20th Century. It is completely restored, and refurbished as it would hae been in the 18th Century.

Close by la Comandancia/Spanish Gov. Palace is Casa Navarro. Located at Nueva and Larredo streets next to the S.A. Police headquarters, this is the restored home of Texas and tejano hero José Antonio Navarro. It's really a small complex, consisting of a one-story residence with porch space, a two-story office (Navarro was a lawyer and rancher), a kitchen and a now-enclosed yard or courtyard with ancient encinos (live oaks). The SACS is also responsible for saving Casa Navarro from destruction, in the mid-Twentieth Century.

Another well-known house museum is the Steves Homestead. It was one of the first mansions built in San Antonio's first upscale suburb, the King William neighborhood. LIke most of the families who built and then lived in King william in the late 19th century, the Steves family was Deutsch; indeed, the suburb was named in honor of Kaiser Wilhelm I, architect of German unification. The name was anglicized due to anti-German sentiment arising from the two World Wars. The Steves family was influential in the culture and commerce of San Antonio, into the early 20th Century. Even tho' they no longer live in the mansion, they continue to be prominent in the Alamo City. indeed, a very recent Fiesta had a Queen, a King Antonio and a Fiesta Commissioner who were all Steves; should have called THAT Fiesta "the Steves Family Fiesta" or even "The Steves Family Reunion." Now the mansion is run by the San Antonio Conservation Society, which holds its regular meetings in the River House (formerly an enclosed swimming pool on the river bank) behind the mansion on the property.

Scattered all over town are various museums of a very small size - "pocket museums", if you will - associated with major or historic institutions of the city. For example, Fort Sam Houston Army post has at least two such museums that I know of. San Fernando Cathedral, the oldest active cathedral building in these United States, has a museum-like display area in its gift shop next door to the ancient, hallowed sanctuary. A similar museum or display area is inside the visitors Center at Mission San José. Indeed, the other missions in the National Park also have museum areas which interpret various aspects of mission life as they display artifacts from the mission era.

Out northeast of the International Airport, on Wetmore Road is the Texas Transportation Museum. Neither have I visited this one, yet. But I understand it's a fine one to visit, including for children. It's supposed to contain artifacts relating to the history of trains in Texas, which will grab the interest of yours truly who's "been workin' on the railroad" at Fiesta Texas!

It's appropriate that San Antonio has the first and last museums which I listed. You see, dear reader, this city sat on El Camino Real, the King's Hiway which connected the viceregal seat of government with the missions and settlements in far eastern Tejas. (I delight that Texas shares two distinctive geographical features with the Holy Land of the Bible: a road called the King's Hiway and an upland called the Hill Country!) The Alamo City was the point of destination of many Anglos from the USA who traveled what they called the "Old San Antonio Road". (Nowadays a portion of this is officially labelled the OSR.) In the late 19th Century San Antonio served as the gathering point toward the south end, for feeders for the old Chisholm Trail, up which thousands of longhorns were driven to railheads in Kansas. Just a few years later on this city became a major rail-shipping point itself, served by several railroads. Even today the lonesome whistle of the train still sounds thru'out the streets and neighborhoods here.

From the ground to the air: here is where military air flight began. The first military airplanes used the parade field of Fort Sam Houston as the landing field. And of course, since military flight coalesced into the US Air Force, San Antonio remains a major center of the airborne military.

So, there is my run-down of museums in the Alamo City. I hope you'll get to enjoy a few of them some time in the future. When you visit this city that's well worth visiting!