Crown Jewel of Texas: The Story of San Antonio's River [Hardcover]

Lewis F. Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1997

This thoroughly-illustrated book sweeps away a morass of anecdotal misinformation to tell for the first time the full story of the evolution of a wayward stream on the frontier of New Spain into an architectural and engineering triumph, enchanting millions of visitors each year and a model for cities throughout the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A chronology, notes, bibliography and index make this more than the coffee table book suggested by the colorful photograph on the jacket. -- Review of Texas Books, Winter 1998

An enlightening account of how the two-mile River Walk evolved and grew and continues to grow. . . . The photographs are fascinating visual documents. -- Houston Chronicle, Jun. 29, 1997

This book . . . recounts the long, twisting trail that civic leaders and citizens followed to change part of the flood-prone San Antonio River into one of the nation's top tourist attractions. It is interesting reading . . . and a useful resource. -- Dallas Morning News, Oct. 26, 1997

Why succeeding generations have tried, and just as often failed, to develop the river in a sustained fashion drives the narrative of Lewis Fisher's lavishly-illustrated book. The tale . . . contains as may twists and turns as the San Antonio River's original streambed. Indeed, he effectively straightens out the conflicting stories about how the community slowly recognized the river's value, fashioned plans for its development and then altered its very course. -- San Antonio Express-News, May 11, 1997

From the Inside Flap

When San Antonio began outgrowing its winding river in the 1880s, one writer suggested that if the banks were landscaped and made attractive the river could one day become "the crown jewel of Texas." Sure enough, a hundred years and many travails later, the San Antonio River became the top visitor attraction in Texas.

Crown Jewel of Texas tells how the river gave birth to a colorful city which grew into the nation's eighth-largest. With the river in decline, aroused citizens in 1912 elected a reform city government that gave top priority to a river beautification project. It won national acclaim. When construction of the present-day River Walk began in 1939, it was the culmination of years of now mostly-forgotten struggles by generations of San Antonians seeking to preserve their river's historic beauty.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 117 pages
• Publisher: Maverick Publishing Company; First ed edition (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965150712
• ISBN-13: 978-0965150712
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,255,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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