Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is again spelling out what he will accept in that evolving $300 million proposal to 're-imagine Alamo Plaza,' News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
In San Antonio to be announced as the Grand Marshal of next Fiesta's Texas Cavaliers River Parade, Bush stressed that the project will focus on just three key goals.
"Making sure the church and the Long Barrack, the two remaining buildings from the Battle of 1836, are around for another 300 years," he said. "To reclaim the original battlefield in partnership with the City of San Antonio."
Bush also said he is committed to closing Alamo Street in front of the Alamo to 'eliminate the noise pollution' and the rumbling of trucks which is undermining the historic structures.
He is also determined to turn what are now called the 'Crockett' and 'Woolworth' buildings across Alamo Street, which now house a number of tourist-oriented businesses including the Theater of Wax, into a Texas sized museum 'worthy of the Alamo.' The museum would include the artifacts donated by musician Phil Collins and others, as well as the Alamo's extensive collections.
Bush has already rejected two key aspects of the master plan design, which was unveiled earlier this year by a Philadelphia firm.
Bush says he will not agree to that plan to build a plexiglas 'wall' around Alamo Plaza, and he will not agree to move the Cenotaph to a planned locations along the San Antonio River across from the Convention Center. He says if the Cenotaph is moved at all, it will only be moved a few yards south, to what is now the corner of Alamo and Commerce, to act as a 'grand entrance' to the Plaza.
Bush also unveiled plans for a 'Texas Independence Trail' which will include Goliad and Gonzales, which were also the cites of key battles of the 1836 revolution.
"We also want to tie our work with the other historic Missions in San Antonio, along with the battles of Gonzalez and Goliad, and creating a truly Texas Revolutionary Trail," he said.
Plans are to begin turning dirt for the major renovation in 2018. The entire project should be done by 2024, which is the 300th anniversary of the dedication of the Mission San Antonio de Valero at its current location.