Today, Land Commissioner George P. Bush released the below statement following the Alamo Management Committee's unanimous passage of the Alamo plan. The management committee has provided day to day oversight of the development of the Alamo plan and is comprised of representatives appointed by the San Antonio Mayor, General Land Office and Alamo Endowment fund.
"Today's vote by the Alamo Management Committee brings the Alamo one step closer to restoring its former glory," said Commissioner Bush. "The Alamo is a symbol known across Texas as a beacon of liberty and freedom from an oppressive government. In 2015, the Texas Legislature mandated the General Land Office enter into an agreement with the City of San Antonio to coordinate the improvement of the Alamo complex. Making good on this directive, the Alamo preservation plan will repair and preserve the Alamo, restoring reverence to the land the defenders gave their lives upon. I look forward to voting with the Mayor on this plan and will move quickly in adherence with the Management Committee's suggested dates. This plan is four years in the making and its goal is for all Texans to Remember the Alamo."
Background:
The Alamo Management Committee's vote includes:
- Alamo Plaza, as reflected in the August 2018 Alamo Plan expands from 1.3-acres to 12.6-acres. Of this 5.9-acres will be a civic space and 6.7 will be a historic site. (4.2 acres are current State property.)
- The historic site will include a new 2.5-acre Outdoor Museum which recaptures and delineates most of the original Historic Mission Footprint. This historic mission space will have six access points and will be open to the public 24 HOURS A DAY FOR FREE through the access points outlined in #3 through #6 below.
- The Outdoor Museum/Historic Mission Footprint will be open via the six access points for the 16 hours when the Alamo Indoor Museum is closed to the public, generally, from 6:00 PM to 9 AM. However, the Alamo Museum operating hours may be adjusted at various times during the year as the seasons change. The museum will always be open 8 hours of every day and closed 16 hours of every day.
- The public will freely enter the Alamo, the Church, the new Museum and the Outdoor Museum/Historic Mission Footprint through a main entry when the museum is open (generally 9 am until 6 pm). Daily the public will, without charge, be able to enjoy the delineated Historic Mission Footprint area, the new Outdoor Museum interpretive elements, living history programs, and the Alamo Church.
- Every day and every hour of the day, the Alamo will welcome people who simply want to passively and reverently, wander the site, take photos in front of the church, or just sit on the new sitting walls while drinking coffee and reflecting on the site.
- The Alamo Museum Director can, at their discretion, open two additional access/exit points if, at any time during the Museum operating hours (generally 9 am until 6 pm), there is no Museum programming scheduled for the 2.5-acre Outdoor Museum/Historic Mission Footprint. Additionally, the Alamo Museum Director may decide to open additional access/exit points on visitor days. These additional access points will be staffed by museum personnel and the same security checks and access rules that apply to the visitors entering through the main entrance will apply to these additional access points.
- At the request of the San Antonio City Manager and/or the Alamo Museum Director the Alamo Indoor Museum and the Alamo Outdoor Museum/Historic Footprint hours of operation may be extended until 12:00 midnight for special events.
A full text of the Alamo Management Committee's vote of approval can be found here and here.
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