Support from the public was far from unanimous as the $400 million master plan for the redevelopment of Alamo Plaza, first revealed on Tuesday by 1200 WOAI news, was formally unveiled at the Convention Center last night, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Most of the main features were revealed in 1200 WOAI's reporting on Tuesday, including closing and removal of Alamo Street from Commerce to Houston Streets, the conversion of the Crockett, Palace, and Woolworth buildings into a 'world class' museum with a rooftop garden, and protections for the ' viewshed,' to protect the views from being encroached on by looming modern buildings.
Two main additions that were emphasized in a video that was played for people attending the unveiling included a translucent glass wall which will completely surround the entire five acres of Alamo Plaza, deliniating the Alamo grounds from modern downtown San Antonio.
"A sense of place, an enclosure, with transparent structural glass walls, which facilitate views of the Alamo's historic courtyard, and aid the visitor in interpretation and understanding of the site."
Enclosed in the courtyard will be facilities which help the visitor understand where he or she is standing, what happened on that spot, and how the place the visitor is standing related not just to the battle in 1836, but to some 10,000 years of human habitation on the site.
The glass wall will be broken only by a monumental gate at the south end of Alamo Plaza, which is where the gate in the stone wall of the Mission complex existed in the 18th Century.
"Guiding the visitor though a single entrance point, the south gate, which was used by all visitors from 1724 through 1836."
Opposition was raised by several people who attended last night's event.Several people objected to plans to dismantle and remove the monumental Cenotaph, which has stood in front of the Alamo sicne it was erected by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in honor of the 100th anniversary of the battle in 1836.
The plan is to reconstruct the Cenotaph along the San Antonio River east of the current Chamber of Commerce building, which is where the bodies of the Alamo defenders are believed to have been cremated.
Others objected to the removal of trees planned for Alamo Plaza, and some said the renovation means that Alamo Plaza will no longer be a 'central gathering spot' for San Antonio, during events like Fiesta.
And some people simply complained that the $400 million projected price for the renovation is simply too expensive.
More public meetings will be held before the final decision on how to redevelop the site are made later this year.