by Diane Capito & Mark Willis Original review by Steve Labinski
Please select edition to check the price: Softcover
Grab your best pair of walking shoes and enjoy the
many fine points of interest in one of Texas' oldest and most colorful historical cities. Writers
Diane Capito and Mark Willis map out a comprehensive plan allowing the reader to
discover San Antonio on foot. Capito, a veteran walker, makes the most of it utilizing
Willis, a knowledgeable tour guide. Together they create a unique perspective that cannot be found in
other travel books.
Why walking? Paging through the book's chapters illustrates over thirty quiet walks which allows the tourist to really soak up the color, making for a more memorable experience.
And San Antonio has plenty of points of interest to fill a travel guidebook.
There is, of course, the Riverwalk, plus many other sites downtown, like the Alamo. There are two
long walks through the Mission District, taking in three of the historic structures. San Antonio also enjoys the distinction of
possessing several old residential neighborhoods, all of which could not be better seen and explored than on foot.
San Antonio is at its heart a military town, and the walk through Fort Sam Houston, an Army reservation run by federal regulations, is most
interesting. The Quadrangle, which dates from 1876,
is its centerpiece and is designated as a National Historic Landmark. There are also
parade grounds and the training area.
The silent film
Wings with Clara Bow and Gary Cooper was filmed here in 1927.
The Parks section covers the many attractions in Brackenridge Park, as well as
San Antonio's wilderness parks.
San Antonio on Foot is not a history book, although just by walking around San Antonio the tourist will
probably experience more history than most otherwise would.
Nor is it a comprehensive guidebook, however, the authors have assembled the different walks into a complete chronicle of tourist attractions that are best appreciated on foot.
The main purpose of San Antonio on Foot is actually to get people out walking.
Since the book's 1993 publication, news reports reflect the grim health statistics that more Americans than ever suffer the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle, devoid of exorcize.
The usefulness of this book is even more timely now than ever. The walks, however, can be long.
The first downtown walk lasts slightly over two hours. But the visitor will enjoy
the Alamo, the Spanish Governor's Palace, Market Square, the Bexar County Courthouse, the San Fernando Cathedral and lots
more. Plus, there are so many great places to eat in that area, the entire walk would make for
a memorable afternoon excursion.
There are two seperate ninety-minute walking tours of the King William Historic District.
Most of the homes in this quiet neighborhood date from the 1860s through the 1920s.
The first builder named the main street after Prussian ruler Wilhelm I, a testament to
San Antonio's Germanic heritage. (Although around World War I, the street was renamed Pershing Avenue.) The area fell into decline in the 1970s, only to experience a spurt of renovation in recent years. All of this is best seen using the authors' finely detailed pages in the book.
Part of the fun of exploring on foot is getting off the beaten path. Clearly, the writers
had this in mind when assembling the book. Walking through San Antonio typically leads
to migrating a block or so away to see something interesting which is not on the map.
There is no telling what interesting things the reader will discover along the way.
