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A wide variety of architectural styles are represented in
the Main and Military Plaza Historic District, covering a time
span of over 200 years. This variety illustrates, through the
built environment, San Antonio's evolution from Spanish Presidio
in the 18th century to l9th-century cow town, to solid
commercial city center in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, giving the area an organic, eclectic flavor not found
in many downtown areas of this size. The District has been the
traditional hub of downtown San Antonio since the 18th century.
Military Plaza was first established in 1722 as a parade ground
and market square for the Spanish soldiers garrisoned there.
While this plaza is associated with early Spanish colonialism,
due, in large part to the preservation of the 1749 Spanish
Governor's Palace, it evolved over the years from a community
gathering place and market place into the seat of government for
the city when the Italian Renaissance Revival style City Hall
was built in 1888-91.
Main Plaza was the site of the first authorized Texas city when
it was established as the market square for the Canary Island
fundadores of San Antonio March 9, 1731. These early settlers
built small, primitive jacal, palisado, or caliche block
residences around the square, with their village church (now San
Fernando Cathedral) and the Casas Reales (now 114 E.
Main Plaza), their seat of government, as their focal points. A
local government structure still shares the architectural focus
of Main Plaza with the Cathedral, in the form of the 1882
Romanesque Revival style County Courthouse.
Through the 18th and 19th centuries, the two plazas have been
the scene of everyday business and social events, as well as
many skirmishes and battles, with the architecture changing to
late 19th and early 20th century commercial and governmental
structures as these functions became more important to the area.
Many of these structures and facade rows remain today, with
commerce, banking, government and the historic ambiance of the
area combining to make the plazas popular with natives and
tourists alike.
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