The Where I Live series aims to showcase our diverse city and region by spotlighting its many vibrant neighborhoods. Each week a local resident invites us over and lets us in on what makes their neighborhood special. Have we been to your neighborhood yet? Get in touch to share your story. If your story is selected and published, you will receive a $250 stipend.
What we know as community is so different from what it was for our parents when they were kids. While some of us do attend the local public school, many of us attend charter or private schools that are not tied geographically with the block we are growing up on. Even our extracurriculars or churches might be farther away from our homes, so it can be hard to connect and be part of the neighborhoods we live in.
While my sister and I don’t attend our public school or the church down the block, we do still really enjoy our neighborhood. We have grown up in the shadow of the Tower of the Americas — in the Historic Gardens neighborhood which parallels the Alamodome. Our childhood has been woven with the fiber of San Antonio’s cultural scene. From fireworks shows at the tower, Asian festivals at the Institute of Texan Cultures, and various Fiesta events to football games, Christmas lights and concerts, we are just a two-minute walk away.
Growing up, our normal family outings involved our dad pulling us on his bike to Hemisfair to enjoy the playground or watch a play at Magik Theatre while our mom followed on her bike. He’d also take us into downtown to visit the Children’s Museum when it was on Houston Street or the San Antonio Museum of Art on Jones Street. Our kind neighbors were always waving at us or stopping our parents to chat while we anxiously waited to continue our adventures.
As we got older, we learned to ride our bikes in the parking lot of the Alamodome, which is across the street from us. Our playground and splash pad visits at Hemisfair park turned into lunch at Dough Pizzeria and Lick Honest Ice Creams or Paleteria San Antonio for dessert.
One of the things we like the most about our neighborhood is that, since our home straddles downtown and the East Side, we can choose to be in the middle of all the activity or slow it down and keep it more casual. Because of where our house is, it’s so easy to enjoy stuff in the neighborhoods right by us like downtown, Southtown, Dignowity Hill and Tobin Hill.
Our routines now that we’re teens are a little different. We might make a quick stop to pick up a latte at Estate Coffee on the way to school or spend a lazy Saturday morning having tacos from Con Huevos and pastries from Cake Thieves, all three on Houston Street just a few blocks away from our home. We also enjoy neighborhood family walks either through the Alamodome into St. Paul Square or for a more scenic view on the Hays Street bridge.
Our neighborhood experience may not be traditional, but we wouldn’t trade it. Be it a Wednesday evening dinner on the River Walk or ice skating at Travis Park during the holidays, these perks remind us it is a real privilege to be so close to the heart of our city.
