[20] Other notable attractions include the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, SeaWorld San Antonio, the Alamo Bowl, and Marriage Island.

The U.S. Armed Forces have numerous facilities in and around San Antonio;[21][22][23] Fort Sam Houston, which has Brooke Army Medical Center within it, is the only one within the city limits.

The viceroy gave formal approval for a combined mission and presidio in late 1716, as he wanted to forestall any French expansion into the area from their colony of La Louisiane to the east, as well as prevent illegal trading with the Payaya.

[26] On February 14, 1719, the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo proposed to the king of Spain that 400 families be transported from the Canary Islands, Galicia, or Havana to populate the province of Texas.

Widespread bankruptcy forced Leal Goraz Jr.'s army back into the current boundaries of Mexico; they fell into internal conflict and turmoil with neighboring entities.

[30][31] In a series of battles, the Texian Army succeeded in forcing Mexican soldiers out of the settlement areas east of San Antonio, which were dominated by Americans.

In the 1850s, Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City, traveled throughout the Southern and Southwest U.S., and published accounts of his observations.

In his 1859 book about Texas, Olmsted described San Antonio as having a "jumble of races, costumes, languages, and buildings", which gave it a quality that only New Orleans could rival in what he described as "odd and antiquated foreignness.

[41] In 1990, the United States Census Bureau reported San Antonio's population as 55.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.0% Black or African American, and 36.2% non-Hispanic white.

[20] With the increase in professional jobs, San Antonio has become a destination for many college-educated persons, most recently including African Americans in a reverse Great Migration from northern and western areas.

The central business district is generally understood to cover the northern half of the "Downtown Loop"—the area bordered by Cesar Chavez to the south.

The South Side area of San Antonio is characterized by its predominantly Latino and Hispanic neighborhoods, who on average, account for above 81 percent of the population.

[113] The number of juveniles arrested in San Antonio for violent crimes tripled between 1987 and 1994, according to the Texas Law Enforcement Management and Administration Statistics Program.

[125] Over twenty million tourists visit the city and its attractions every year, contributing substantially to its economy, primarily due to The Alamo and the River Walk.

[144][145] San Antonio has lost several major company headquarters, the largest being the 2008 move of AT&T Inc. to Dallas "to better serve customers and expand business in the future.

[153] Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater, this attraction is transformed into a festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period (except for the Mission Reach), and is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio.

The Downtown area also features San Fernando Cathedral, The Majestic Theatre, Hemisfair (home of the Tower of the Americas, and UTSA's Institute of Texan Cultures), La Villita, Market Square, the Spanish Governor's Palace, and the historic Menger Hotel.

SeaWorld, 16 miles (26 km) west of Downtown in the city's Westover Hills district, is one of the largest marine life parks in the world.

In 2015 work was authorized to begin on the restoration of the former Hot Wells hotel, spa, and bathhouses on the San Antonio River on the city's south side.

Previously the Spurs played at the Alamodome (which was speculatively built in an attempt to lure a professional football team to the region), and before that the HemisFair Arena.

[169] The city used to be home to the San Antonio Rampage ice hockey team until the franchise was sold in February 2020 to the Vegas Golden Knights.

[173] Prior to moving to Division III, Trinity was a national power in tennis, winning five USTA women's championships and one NCAA men's title between 1968 and 1976.

The ETJ lands are in an area bordered by FM 1518 to the west, Lower Seguin Road to the north, Cibolo Creek to the east and I-10 to the south.

On January 12, 2006, Univision-owned KMYO-FM "La Kalle 95.1" changed its format from Hispanic-Rhythmic Contemporary Hits to Spanish Oldies, then named "Recuerdo 95.1".

San Antonio radio is diversified, due to an influx of non-Tejano Latinos, mostly from the East Coast, who serve in the city's various military bases, as well as immigrants from Mexico.

[213] On the days that the Sunset Limited operates, a section of the Texas Eagle continues west with it, offering Chicago to Los Angeles through service.

As examples: A large portion of trade between Mexico and the United States passes through the San Antonio area's interstate highway system.

Although largely disconnected, the progress to create a bicycle-friendly environment was recognized when San Antonio was designated a bronze-level "Bicycle Friendly Community" in 2015 by the League of American Bicyclists.

[227] As of 2021[update], Walk Score ranks San Antonio as the least walkable American city a population greater than one million and calls it car-dependent.

This is due in large part to its rapid growth after World War II, the prevalence of single-family zoning and thousands of miles of missing or broken sidewalks.