1886
Work on an Edison electric system for San Antonio will soon begin, it has been rumored. Seeing is believing.

1939
Sheriff Will Wood’s edict banning the wearing of boots by his men has met with a wide variance of opinion.

1968
The River Walk Lodge, in the old Casino Building at 102 W. Crockett, is scheduled to open April 1 as the city’s newest youth hostelry.  The six-story building will cater primarily to high school and college-age youths as a low-rent hotel.

1944
A San Antonian waited in line two hours at the Federal Building to pay his income tax but balked when a seaman attemped to fingerprint him and enlist him in the Navy. He was in the wrong line.

1957
Old 794 was offically handed over to the city.  The last of Southern Pacific’s steam locomotives will be a permanent display at Maverick Park. (It will remain there until 1999, when it was moved to Sunset Station. – Ed.)

1909
Alderman Lockwood objects to the suggestion that Avenue C and River Avenue be changed to Broadway.

1967
“Hemisfair in the Sun”, a song composed by San Antonian Ruth Bingaman Smith and adopted by the Woman’s Pavilion for Hemisfair, is performed for the first time at a Symphony Pops Concert in Villita Assembly Hall.

1962
The San Antonio Light (right) proudly trumpeted the news that John Glenn had become the first American to orbit the earth.

1988
RiverCenter Mall holds its grand opening festivies.

1877
The first passenger train (Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio) arrives in the city.  The public celebrates with a torchlight parade.  [picture at right from a fresco by Howard Cook in the Houston Street Post Office - 1939]

1969
A bomb exploded near the Alamo Cenotaph about 5 p.m. and another approximately 30 minutes later in Northwest Shopping Center.  The bombs, made of pipes embedded in cement, scattered right-wing leaflets when they exploded.  The leaflets were signed by “The Minutemen.”  Police pronounced the strategy “a dud,” since most of the leaflets were blown onto the tops of buildings.

1982
Inebriated rocker Ozzy Osbourne causes a scandal after urinating on the Alamo cenotaph while wearing a dress.  He is arrested and charged with public intoxication.  Later that evening, after posting $40 bail, he performs in concert with UFO and Starfighters in front of 14,500 fans in the Arena.
A few days later, city councilman Bernardo Eureste asks, “Could we have a resolution to forbid this dude from coming back into town?”

1861

You can read more about this here and here.

1926
Radio station WCAR, the voice of San Antonio, sang its message to the nation over a country-wide hookup last night.

1949
Health Department estimate of 11,000 privies in San Antonio last July has been revised to slightly more than 900.

(L-R) Jean Brady, Chair, Library Board of Trustees, Paula Owen, President, Southwest School of Art, Ramiro S. Salazar, Library Director

We are looking forward to this new and exciting partnership and can’t wait to share stories of progress as we proceed.

1950
The first San Antonio Rodeo and Livestock Exposition is kicked off – in the brand new Bexar County Coliseum (later known as the Joe & Harry Freeman Coliseum.)

1991
The Finck Cigar Company building, built in 1882,  is illegally demolished at 7:45 on a Sunday morning.  A construction company crew discovered at the debris-covered site of the designated city landmark was cited for allegedly violating the city code by not having a demolition permit.  Just weeks after the demolition, State Sen. Frank Tejeda filed a bill requiring responsible parties to rebuild historic buildings that are damaged or destroyed, or pay an amount equal to the estimated replacement cost to be used for preservation projects. But since the bill was not retroactive, it could not be used to make anyone pay the estimated $200,000 it would have cost to replace the Finck Building. In the end, the joint venture paid a $25,000 fine to the city for the demolition.

1886

1927
A. J. Drossaerts became the first archbishop of San Antonio at noon today.  In San Fernando Cathedral, crowded to the doors by the thousands, the wool band with four crosses was placed on his shoulders by Archbishop John W. Shaw of New Orleans.

1939
President Roosevelt today nominated Daniel J. Quill for San Antonio postmaster.  Quill has been acting postmaster.

1929
Establishment of a senior Methodist college in San Antonio depends largely on how much money this city has.

1949
A plan to air condition Municipal Auditorium as well as San Pedro Playhouse was revealed today by Mayor Callaghan by issuance of $200,000 in revenue bonds.