Archaeological Findings for the City Hall Renovations Project, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "From the Famed to the Forgotten: Exploring San Antonio’s Storied History Through Urban Archeology" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Since 1722, Plaza de Armas has been the focal point of military occupation, commerce, and municipal growth for the city of San Antonio, Texas. In the heart of downtown, the space served as the second location for the Presidio de Béxar, consisting of a series of linear buildings bordering the periphery of a central plaza. Following the departure of the Spanish military, Plaza de Armas was utilized as an open-air market bordered by residential and commercial developments. By 1891, the present-day City Hall building was constructed, ultimately capping 170 years of Spanish Colonial and early statehood occupation. Archaeological monitoring investigations for the 2018-2021 City Hall Renovations Project allowed archaeologists to peel back 300 years of history, and examine a variety of cultural features, deposits, and materials representing the various construction episodes and uses of this public space.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• From the Famed to the Forgotten: Exploring San Antonio’s Storied History Through Urban Archeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology