The engineering behind the San Antonio River Walk(practical.engineering)
practical.engineering
The engineering behind the San Antonio River Walk
https://practical.engineering/blog/2025/1/7/the-hidden-engineering-behind-texass-top-tourist-attraction
53 comments
[deleted]
San antonio is easily my favkrite city in the US. Awesome, food, events, bars, music scene (saw some sweet ultraviolence bads there) etc. The city is pretty, clean,easy to navigate. Its just great
[deleted]
Having grown up in San Antonio, I have many memories of spending time as a teenager downtown and around the river walk.
The best time to visit is during the riverboat parade after Thanksgiving. Everything is lit up and many restaurants along the route offer dinner and nice views. Going during the summer can be incredibly hot and uncomfortable.
The best time to visit is during the riverboat parade after Thanksgiving. Everything is lit up and many restaurants along the route offer dinner and nice views. Going during the summer can be incredibly hot and uncomfortable.
Yes, agreed! The first time I visited San Antonio (as a Brit who was based in Dallas for some months) happened to be at exactly that time. We didn't know anything about it, but found ourselves on the river walk in the evening, and along came the parade of boats bringing Pancho Claus & co... it was a lovely surprise and a beautiful evening.
The first time I visited San Antonio I'd never heard of the river walk.
We were simply walking along the street downtown and saw some stairs leading down and many people taking them so we went down and a whole magical world opened up. (I went back later and it wasn't nearly as magical).
We were simply walking along the street downtown and saw some stairs leading down and many people taking them so we went down and a whole magical world opened up. (I went back later and it wasn't nearly as magical).
You make it sound like Rivendell
The engineering is fascinating. The river walk itself is hardly worth the trip.
It’s a pleasant spot. Texas is dry and hot as a rule, but the river walk is a level below the city, right at the water’s edge, with trees providing ample shade for the whole length. If you are visiting San Antonio you will definitely want to eat lunch there so that you can be in the shade during the hottest part of the day.
But is it special enough to make it worth a trip to San Antonio just to see the it? No, probably not. You probably live near a river, and there are probably restaurants with a deck you can sit on while you eat lunch. Go to San Antonio to see the Alamo and remember all who died for your freedom there, then as long as you’re in the area go to the river for a leisurely lunch.
But is it special enough to make it worth a trip to San Antonio just to see the it? No, probably not. You probably live near a river, and there are probably restaurants with a deck you can sit on while you eat lunch. Go to San Antonio to see the Alamo and remember all who died for your freedom there, then as long as you’re in the area go to the river for a leisurely lunch.
> remember all who died for your freedom there
The Mexicans or the Texans?
The Mexicans or the Texans?
No Mexicans died for anyone's freedom, including their own or other Mexicans. They were serving under a dictator and didn't have a choice. (And, yes, there were some slaves in Texas, but comparatively few compared to the rest of the South.)
The small force there knew they would eventually be massacred by the thousands of troops surrounding them. The defenders held them off for 13 days. When they requested parley, Santa Anna signaled no quarter. Legend has it that Davy Crockett was on the roof, fighting to keep the horde from coming up the ladder, but he died with the rest of them.
Santa Anna ordered the execution of the six surviving prisoners of war. The Alamo defenders fought bravely and died in support of an idea: that men can govern themselves and live in freedom. It would take another 30 years before the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, would sign the Emancipation Proclamation and free the slaves.
The small force there knew they would eventually be massacred by the thousands of troops surrounding them. The defenders held them off for 13 days. When they requested parley, Santa Anna signaled no quarter. Legend has it that Davy Crockett was on the roof, fighting to keep the horde from coming up the ladder, but he died with the rest of them.
Santa Anna ordered the execution of the six surviving prisoners of war. The Alamo defenders fought bravely and died in support of an idea: that men can govern themselves and live in freedom. It would take another 30 years before the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, would sign the Emancipation Proclamation and free the slaves.
This is pretty revisionist. Slavery wasn't some ancillary factor that just happened to exist in Texas. It was core to the anglo side of the Texas revolution. The War Party was strongly proslavery and the increasing (Mexican) federal push towards abolition was a key point for them. They especially hated a Mexican predecessor to the Emancipation Proclamation called the Guerrero decree that (attempted to) free most slaves in the northern states. After independence, they wrote slavery into the constitution and some of the first laws passed prohibited slaveowners from freeing slaves without government approval. The events in Texas were just one of half a dozen revolutions opposed to Mexican federal centralization around the same time.
None of this was politically palatable after the American Civil War and people certainly weren't going to focus on the non-anglo sides of the revolution that weren't so deeply proslavery, so the narrative that's taught in schools was sanitized.
None of this was politically palatable after the American Civil War and people certainly weren't going to focus on the non-anglo sides of the revolution that weren't so deeply proslavery, so the narrative that's taught in schools was sanitized.
As someone who went to public school in Texas, the textbooks in Texas are vetted by revisionists who still claim the Civil War was about states rights and not slavery, my civic teacher argued this repeatedly in the 1980s. A lot of kids are indoctrinated with the BS that downplay the slavery aspect, it's like the Big Lie of the south.
One of the nice things about growing up in Texas is that I 100% know what being the target of state-sponsored propaganda feels like. The extra cool thing is that almost all the propaganda is pretty easy to refute and it is easy to access alternative (and IME more historically correct points of views) which aren't supressed by the state.
That makes it a lot easier to understand the claim that folks often make, that any system is "propaganda free" when disagreements can be publicly stated with no governmental reprisal, is trivially false.
At the same time, it's been pleasantly horrific to look at how objectively bad the reflexive assumptions most of my cohort hold about the world and then try to draw conclusions about how terrible and mistaken my own views have and probably continue to be.
Thanks, Texas!
That makes it a lot easier to understand the claim that folks often make, that any system is "propaganda free" when disagreements can be publicly stated with no governmental reprisal, is trivially false.
At the same time, it's been pleasantly horrific to look at how objectively bad the reflexive assumptions most of my cohort hold about the world and then try to draw conclusions about how terrible and mistaken my own views have and probably continue to be.
Thanks, Texas!
I went to school in Texas and slavery was absolutely taught as the primary issue leading to the civil war.
It was both. The succession was only about slavery. The economic motivation was only about slavery. The political motivation, after slavery, really was about states rights and that directly influenced all other factors even contributing to a weaker, fragmented, and less well funded military.
The name for post civil war revisionism is the Lost Cause Movement, by the way.
I too attended Texas public schools during that period and did not encounter any such revisionism. It was there that I learned succession started by 14 planters in South Carolina and spread to other states. I have since completed a history minor in college and completed book reports on the subject for military education professional development. Looking back the slant you speak of wasn’t there for me.
The political slant I do remember, though, is that the American Revolution was all about freedom. Not wanting to pay taxes hardly came up.
The name for post civil war revisionism is the Lost Cause Movement, by the way.
I too attended Texas public schools during that period and did not encounter any such revisionism. It was there that I learned succession started by 14 planters in South Carolina and spread to other states. I have since completed a history minor in college and completed book reports on the subject for military education professional development. Looking back the slant you speak of wasn’t there for me.
The political slant I do remember, though, is that the American Revolution was all about freedom. Not wanting to pay taxes hardly came up.
I agree with most of your comment, but a bit more nuance with the last statement.
The taxes were core to supporting freedom among the colonists. These were not ordinary taxes. The Boston Tea Party, where they tossed the tea into the ocean as a mostly non-violent act of protest, was directly related to the Tea Act which followed the Stamp Act and other Acts that not just directly levied taxes onto the colonists, but actually made other sources of tea that weren't purchased from the British East India Company illegal.
Even worse, the colonists had no representation at all in Parliament or in England at all (hence the cry, "no taxation without representation"). Those accused of even heinous crimes or abuse in the colonies would simply be sent back to England to stand trial rather than by 'a jury of their peers'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Act
This was in 1773, more than three years before the Declaration of Independence, and it marked a crucial turning point in the colonists' reaction to the Crown's acts against them, which had been ongoing for more than a decade at that point.
This was followed by the 1775 Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms, which you should read in its entirety (it's only a few pages), because it again predated by a year the final straw -- the "Declaration of Independence" in 1776.
The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms, written by Thomas Jefferson, is a crucial document that is often overlooked. In it, the colonists again gave the Crown multiple warnings that they were not going to be abused like this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Causes_and_...
Why did the King ignore it? He led the most powerful empire in the world, and probably the most powerful war machine that had ever been seen in history until that point. He was, literally, almost invincible. What did colonists thousands of miles away really think they could do to him? Why would he pay any attention?
That document is quite explicit as to exactly what crimes the Crown supported or directly undertook against the colonists (a bit old English and hard to read, but worth the read). And, unlike many other British colonies and subjugates such as India itself, the colonists were armed and they could make their own guns, which they did, beginning in the Connecticut River valley, in which could properly be understood as the very beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
The founding fathers recognized that guns in the hands of ordinary citizens were a bulwark against tyranny, which directly led to the drafting of the Second Amendment less than 15 years later (easily ratified in 1791).
Not coincidentally, the banning and seizing of small arms during the American Revolution were also what helped foment the Texas War for Independence as well, many decades later, and which led to the "Come and Take It" from Gonzales in 1831 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_take_it) and finally led to the Alamo and the Goliad Massacre in 1836 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliad_massacre), where the Mexican Army executed, en masse, the defeated Texian Army.
There is indeed a lot of revisionism going on, so the best way to resolve that is to actually read the contemporary documents from that time period and understand what people actually thought (or at least what they were brave enough to write down!)
Thanks for reading, even if you disagree.
The taxes were core to supporting freedom among the colonists. These were not ordinary taxes. The Boston Tea Party, where they tossed the tea into the ocean as a mostly non-violent act of protest, was directly related to the Tea Act which followed the Stamp Act and other Acts that not just directly levied taxes onto the colonists, but actually made other sources of tea that weren't purchased from the British East India Company illegal.
Even worse, the colonists had no representation at all in Parliament or in England at all (hence the cry, "no taxation without representation"). Those accused of even heinous crimes or abuse in the colonies would simply be sent back to England to stand trial rather than by 'a jury of their peers'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Act
This was in 1773, more than three years before the Declaration of Independence, and it marked a crucial turning point in the colonists' reaction to the Crown's acts against them, which had been ongoing for more than a decade at that point.
This was followed by the 1775 Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms, which you should read in its entirety (it's only a few pages), because it again predated by a year the final straw -- the "Declaration of Independence" in 1776.
The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms, written by Thomas Jefferson, is a crucial document that is often overlooked. In it, the colonists again gave the Crown multiple warnings that they were not going to be abused like this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Causes_and_...
Why did the King ignore it? He led the most powerful empire in the world, and probably the most powerful war machine that had ever been seen in history until that point. He was, literally, almost invincible. What did colonists thousands of miles away really think they could do to him? Why would he pay any attention?
That document is quite explicit as to exactly what crimes the Crown supported or directly undertook against the colonists (a bit old English and hard to read, but worth the read). And, unlike many other British colonies and subjugates such as India itself, the colonists were armed and they could make their own guns, which they did, beginning in the Connecticut River valley, in which could properly be understood as the very beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
The founding fathers recognized that guns in the hands of ordinary citizens were a bulwark against tyranny, which directly led to the drafting of the Second Amendment less than 15 years later (easily ratified in 1791).
Not coincidentally, the banning and seizing of small arms during the American Revolution were also what helped foment the Texas War for Independence as well, many decades later, and which led to the "Come and Take It" from Gonzales in 1831 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_take_it) and finally led to the Alamo and the Goliad Massacre in 1836 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliad_massacre), where the Mexican Army executed, en masse, the defeated Texian Army.
There is indeed a lot of revisionism going on, so the best way to resolve that is to actually read the contemporary documents from that time period and understand what people actually thought (or at least what they were brave enough to write down!)
Thanks for reading, even if you disagree.
1984 / George Orwell: 'Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.'
[deleted]
Isn’t it pretty much accepted now that Davy was one of the survivors executed the next morning? I suppose it doesn’t really matter either way, but surprised to see the “died with guns blazing” story still in circulation.
The Texans were fighting for the slaveholding Republic of Texas, the Mexicans for a dictator.
Probably not your freedom specifically, but the vague concept.
Probably not your freedom specifically, but the vague concept.
> Texas is dry and hot as a rule
Brownsville and Houston would like a word… (Texas is a huge state and coastal Texas is not dry.)
Brownsville and Houston would like a word… (Texas is a huge state and coastal Texas is not dry.)
Yea, I've lived in Houston so I know all about how hot and humid it is. But the two areas are by no means equal in size: the hot and dry parts of Texas are vast and cover most of the state. There’s lots of variation too. El Paso is far dryer than San Antonio. But if you’re walking around downtown in midday in most parts of Texas the only thought on your mind will be where your next glass of ice water is going to come from.
Not a bad comment until BAM! The Alamo is such a lackluster disappointing building. It's tiny. Even if you know it is small, it is still impressive in how small it really is. It is the exact opposite of knowing how big the Grand Canyon is but still being amazed at its size when you visit in person. It's also a total let down in that no bicycles were found there.
Why does a building have to be large in order to be historically important?
Because it goes against the everything is bigger in Texas narrative.
It’s just hard to express how small it is until you’ve been there. Once you are there, it’s just underwhelming.
It’s just hard to express how small it is until you’ve been there. Once you are there, it’s just underwhelming.
You may have misunderstood what you were looking at. All that is really left is the chapel. It’s just a church sized for a few hundred people. All of the houses, offices, barracks, work rooms, stables, storehouses, defensive works, etc, etc are all gone. They were left to rot when the place was abandoned for a decade or two, then cleaned up when there was an army present, heavily damaged in a certain famous battle that you might remember, partially repaired by the occupying Mexican army, then burnt down again as they left. Only the chapel remains, and that’s because the walls were built of limestone blocks four feet thick. They were too solid to tear down and couldn’t be burnt.
Well, all that remains of the alamo is the chapel and a residential unit.
It was originally a quickly fortified missionary complex which is a large plaza surrounded by walls.
It was originally a quickly fortified missionary complex which is a large plaza surrounded by walls.
Doesn’t the small size make it more impressive that the Texians held out for so long?
Not really. At the time of the battle the complex covered several acres, with the buildings built in a squarish shape around a courtyard. The Mexican army burnt most of the buildings down out of spite as they retreated, and like most other ruins it was mined for stone and brick to build new buildings with.
Really only the chapel is left, and that was never intended for anything other than church services for a few hundred people.
Really only the chapel is left, and that was never intended for anything other than church services for a few hundred people.
Did you check the basement?
It's the same thing as anyone recommending a visit to high street, the Santa Monica 3rd Street promenade, SF's Embarcadero, NYC's 5th Ave or Times Square, or any other touristy area of a city. It is what it is.
I find those to be highly worth visiting if you’re in the area.
But few are worth making them the centerpiece of an entire trip.
But few are worth making them the centerpiece of an entire trip.
[deleted]
It's pretty much the only thing to see South of Austin. Except for Big Bend but that's further West.
Last year, I spent some time in Amsterdam and stayed at an Airbnb whose patio/balcony-ish extended to a canal (my host was a super awesome person, by the way). As a tourist to the new experience, it was kinda scary for me but this seems to be a normal thing for the locals.
Besides the ever-pleasing view, including the casual peeks from the window, I spent a lot of time, pretty much every day, walking on the sides of many other canals — that engineering is something to think about.
I read somewhere that it is even more beautiful and breathtaking in the outskirts and beyond the city. I need to revisit to experience those.
Besides the ever-pleasing view, including the casual peeks from the window, I spent a lot of time, pretty much every day, walking on the sides of many other canals — that engineering is something to think about.
I read somewhere that it is even more beautiful and breathtaking in the outskirts and beyond the city. I need to revisit to experience those.
What was scary about the canals? That your patio hung over them?
I thought the way he referenced the hydraulic pumps compared to electric motors with gear shafts was interesting.
I spent much of the video wishing for an expansion of the pros and cons though, and why electric motors had been selected originally, and hydraulic pumps had been selected as their replacement.
I have lived in San Antonio for the past 2 years as an international student studying at UTSA. Never in my life, I have heard of San Antonio, Alamo, or even riverwalk before I moved to San Antonio, later I heard lot of great things about the Riverwalk and caves of San Antonio when I was researching. Personally, I doubt it, I agree it looks great in pictures, but I don't even know why people like it, the water is super dirty, the only thing which makes it look good are the lighting decoration on the trees. Though the history of San Antonio is very fascinating, and the battle of alamo etc..Its a very quiet and boring place tbh :D
Everyone who is a fan of Pee Wee Herman has heard of the Alamo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHLoHou8uY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHLoHou8uY
I would highly endorse the Practical Engineering YouTube channel, it’s quite nice!
I just watched the gate replacement video with my mom 2 days ago. She's from SA. It's neat that they thought to turn it into a tourist thing rather than fill it in. Sometimes, the most expedient choice isn't the best one.
If you're ever downtown, checkout the Chihuly installations in the main library. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fiesta-tower
If you're ever downtown, checkout the Chihuly installations in the main library. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fiesta-tower
Interesting and refreshing choice to stick to a pure textual description without the usual torrent of photos. Needs frequent looking up of terms though :-)
As for the river walk itself, living in Amsterdam predisposes you to treat the bone-dry, car infested asphalt and concrete jungles we call cities as weird places where humanity aggregates for ritualistic suffering. Discovering that San Antonio is different was a great and pleasant surprise.
As for the river walk itself, living in Amsterdam predisposes you to treat the bone-dry, car infested asphalt and concrete jungles we call cities as weird places where humanity aggregates for ritualistic suffering. Discovering that San Antonio is different was a great and pleasant surprise.
Grady has a popular YouTube channel by the same name (Practical Engineering) with great photos, videos, graphs, and homemade demos. I am not a real engineer, but his videos bridge the gap between complex mechanical ideas and the layperson with well-designed experiments.
I watched the video version of this article. I think this is only the 2nd or 3rd video in his "practical construction" series on the channel.
I assume there's many more currently in the works, based on how long this one was in production during the replacement of the flood gates. I'm glad that the city, engineers, and contractors let him document the construction process and make a video about it.
I also thought it was pretty cool in a strange sort of way to see each of their logos in the video's credits. Not something I'm used to seeing from independent (if you ignore nebula studios) youtubers.
I assume there's many more currently in the works, based on how long this one was in production during the replacement of the flood gates. I'm glad that the city, engineers, and contractors let him document the construction process and make a video about it.
I also thought it was pretty cool in a strange sort of way to see each of their logos in the video's credits. Not something I'm used to seeing from independent (if you ignore nebula studios) youtubers.
> Interesting and refreshing choice to stick to a pure textual description without the usual torrent of photos. Needs frequent looking up of terms though :-)
It's the transcript of a video (at the top), so there is little reason to bother with pictures: if you want visuals you can watch the video, or use it as a slideshow.
It's the transcript of a video (at the top), so there is little reason to bother with pictures: if you want visuals you can watch the video, or use it as a slideshow.
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Sure you can walk the streets but getting around via the Riverwalk is actually extremely pleasant. I really love how convinient of a convention city San Antonio is.