by Well, actually, the Alamo building was a warehouse for a general store in downtown San Antonio back in 1890. The long barracks (where the last stand in the battle for the Alamo occurred) housed the goods for sale.
Given how much effort is put into getting tourists to spend money at the Alamo these days–photos at the entrance unless you tell the photographers ‘No’, a fully stocked gift shop, vendor souvenir tables at the back of the site–it seems as if things haven’t changed too much. Entry to the site is free, however.
The interior of the church building is now completely bare. It is easy to see how it could have been an attractive storage place.
When I first arrived in San Antonio I thought I’d skip the Alamo, but an installation at the Briscoe Western Art Museum changed my mind. This display/installation is a custom recreation of the battle done with toy soldiers. Here are two photos. (I wish I had taken more.)
To give the site more interest historic re-enactors are behind the church, the Mission San Antonio de Valero, founded by the Franciscans in the early 1700s. The mission was secularized in 1793 and abandoned. Then in 1803 the complex became a military fort under the government of Mexico. Today it is remembered more as a military installation than as a church. And almost no one mentions its short history as a mercantile store.
