Texas and Arizona, August 2009

Photos from Austin (including the Texas Capitol and the LBJ museum), San Antonio (including the Alamo, the river walk, San Fernando cathedral, and the Spanish Governor’s Palace), and the Grand Canyon.

The ‘Letter from the Alamo’, written by Travis, who commanded the forces of those defending the building.
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A commemoration in the small cathedral museum of the visit of Pope John Paul II to San Fernando Cathedral in 1987, the only visit of a Pope to Texas.
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The Texas Capitol in the late-afternoon sunlight on the day of my arrival.
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The Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum in Austin (on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin) contains an extensive (if at times slightly mis-weighted) history of the U.S.A. in the 20th Century. I was impressed that it included this display of the history of racial segregation which was challenged in the ’60s. It was good to see that there was no sweeping under the rug going on, at least not on this matter.
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As well as housing a museum of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency, the LBJ building at UT Austin also houses the official archive of his administration, which apparently consists of at least forty million pieces of paper. Here you can see the archive stored over four levels.
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Here is the official description of the LBJ library and archive:

‘You are looking at a cross[-]section of the archives stack area housing the manuscript collection of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Over forty million pages are housed in acid[-]free storage boxes in a balanced humidity and temperature atmosphere.

‘The first level is congressional, senatorial and vice-presidential. The second level contains papers of friends, public figures and speech files from college days to 1973. The third level houses papers and reports of task forces, commissions and appointment committees. The fourth level contains White House Central Files.’
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A museum official lolls beneath the enormous carved presidential seal in the Lyndon Johnson museum in Austin.
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There was much construction work going on on the campus of UT Austin when I walked through it, some of it evidently taking advantage of the students’ absence for the soon-to-end summer vacation, but some on a considerably larger scale. This seemed to be the office of the principal contractor: how could I not photograph it?
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The University of Texas at Austin is apparently one of the richest universities in the world, and consequently has been able to purchase many rare artefacts and manuscripts. The university’s wealth is a result of the fact that it owned an oil reserve which was drilled during the 20th century. This is the pumping equipment that was used (Santa Rita No. 1), moved to a location near to the UT Austin campus from the well, which was near Big Lake, Texas.
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The northern side of the Texas Capitol building in Austin.
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Inside the Texas Capitol in Austin.
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Looking up into the dome of the Texas Capitol in Austin. The Texas star at the top of the dome apparently measures about eight feet from point to point. The letters which spell out the word ‘TEXAS’ around the star are about eighteen inches high.
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Going down to the underground extension of the Texas Capitol building, which houses offices for political staff-members.
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Looking back up at the dome of the Texas Capitol from the underground extension.
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The floor as you enter the underground extension to the Texas Capitol.
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Each of the doors in the Texas Capitol is attached by three of these specially carved brass hinges, each one weighing about 8 lb.
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Inside the House of Representatives (the lower house) in the Texas Capitol. Look out for the second-last ‘F’ representative!
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The chamber of the House of Representatives in the Texas Capitol.
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The floor under the dome of the Texas Capitol.
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One of the rangers watching the tourists in the Texas Capitol. At no point did I have to undergo any security search, and I was never approached by anyone asking what I was doing. In fact, tourists are free to wander the corridors (and it wouldn’t take much to start wandering in to offices!). I suppose that’s ‘approachable democracy’, although I wonder if everything is so relaxed when the state Congress is in session, which is ordinarily only for the first six months of odd-numbered years.
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The senate chamber inside the Texas State Capitol.
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One of the frequent barge tours along the San Antonio river and interconnecting canals in the city of San Antonio.
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A statue of St Anthony of Padua, after whom the San Antonio river is named; the city of San Antonio takes its name from the river.
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The river walk (paseo del río) is one of the principal tourist attractions in San Antonio: below street-level some well-maintained footpaths follow about three miles of the San Antonio river and interconnecting canals. The river walk was the idea of a local businessman in the 1920s, but it was constructed with funding and support from the Federal government, as part of F.D. Roosevelt’s Public Works Programme. Now the central portions of the river walk are packed with tourists, and tens of riverside restaurants and bars seemed to be doing a roaring trade when I was there.

It is remarkable how much more comfortable it was being beside the river compared to being on the street. Temperatures were about 102ºF on the two days I was in San Antonio, but at river-level it was very pleasant. Being on the street is uncomfortable because the vast expanses of concrete and other paved surfaces reflect very dry heat back up to you, whereas the river, with the trees and other plants along its edge, humidifies the air just enough to make walking the long distances quite comfortable even in such hot weather.
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Umbrellas outside one of the restaurants along the river walk in San Antonio.
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A barge on the San Antonio river.
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These signs around the centre of San Antonio were enormously helpful for me as a tourist on foot, since not only did they show a map of the surrounding area, but also giving the four points of the compass. Thus, when various sections of the river walk pavement were closed for maintenance with diversion signs telling you to go up to street level and go south towards Houston Street, these signs were able easily to point you in the right direction.
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Another station of St Anthony of Padua, this time near the cathedral of San Fernando in San Antonio.
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The Alamo, the former Spanish Catholic Mission, where in 1836 about 200 people fighting for Texan independence were besieged by the Mexican president, General Santa Anna. After thirteen days, they were driven out and slaughtered by columns of Mexican soldiers. The Alamos has thus come to be a cornerstone of the Texan consciousness, symbolizing the Texan spirit of independence, being an example of great courage in the face of adversity. The only thing is, it would have been considerably more remarkable if they had in fact succeeded in defending the Alamo—a real David and Goliath story—but, as it is, we have a story of some men getting besieged and then getting defeated by the far stronger army which surrounded them. Say what you like about spirit of independence—and it is remarkable that they were able to hold out for so long—but it was still a resounding defeat. There is not much to see in the Alamo today, which is of course a significant stop on the tourist trail of San Antonio: the authorities have turned it into a shrine to the men who died defending the Alamo, with no divergent opinion allowed.
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Tourists strolling in front of the Alamo.
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The monument to the men who died defending the Alamo.
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The monument to the men who died defending the Alamo.
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San Fernando cathedral in San Antonio, the first cathedral in the United States, was established in 1731.
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The site of the first Mass in San Antonio, celebrated, appropriately enough, on the feast of St Anthony of Padua.
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The sanctuary of San Fernando cathedral in San Antonio.
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One of the two Lady altars inside San Fernando cathedral in San Antonio. This statue of the black Madonna was given by the people of the Canary Islands, in commemoration of the Canary Islanders who carried over a similar statue to found the church on whose site is now this cathedral.
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San Fernando cathedral in San Antonio.
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«Maréchal, nous voilà!» You can just see Foch (complete with moustache) to the right of the bishop. He appears to be wearing an improbably heavy woollen coat.
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Inside the Palace of Spanish Governor (originally built 1749, but extended over subsequent years), San Antonio: the reception room.
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Inside the Palace of Spanish Governor, San Antonio: the Governor’s quarters, including a copper pan for burning coals in the winter months.
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Inside the Palace of Spanish Governor, San Antonio: the family room, opening up on to the terrace.
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Inside the Palace of Spanish Governor, San Antonio: the chapel.
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Inside the Palace of Spanish Governor, San Antonio: the dining room.
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Tourists looking over the Grand Canyon.
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Tourists looking over the Grand Canyon.
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Tourists looking over the Grand Canyon.
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The Grand Canyon.
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Photographing a portion of the Grand Canyon.
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