October 13 in San Antonio history…

1896
The big chandelier in the rotunda of the Menger Hotel was swung into position. The 700-pound article, containing 3,000 pieces of prismatic glass, cost $300.

1923
The circus is in town!  Ringling Bros. – Barnum & Bailey circus makes its annual visit to the Alamo City.

1972
Blues singer Etta James is arrested after a concert at Eastwood Country Club in possession of marijuana, narcotics paraphernalia and one gram of heroin.

August 20 in San Antonio history..

1911
The cornerstone of Hermann Sons Lodge is laid at 525 S. St. Mary’s Street.

1918
Married women will hereafter be permitted to secure positions to public schools of the city as the result of the action taken today at a meeting of the San Antonio School Board.  The action was taken as a “war time necessity” with the provision that each applicant be passed upon individually.

1923
Avenue C between Houston and Grand (now Jones) Street combines with River Avenue between Grand Street and the city limits to become Broadway Avenue.

July 5 in San Antonio history…

1819
A major flood in San Antonio, described as a “solid overflowing stream roaring south, spread east and west from the walls of the former mission San Antonio de Valero (Alamo) all the way to San Pedro Creek.”

1923
Mayor John W. Tobin returned to the San Antonio Amusement Co. several passes saying he did not believe any public official or city employee was entitled to free admittance to theaters.

1982
Jimmy Johnson donates the 3/8 scale, 270 lb. copper replica of the Liberty Bell to the Beautify San Antonio Association for display at the “Patio of States” in front of the Convention Center.  Johnson purchased the bell in 1975 for display at his amusement park, Playland Park, where it was displayed until the park closed in 1980.

June 9 in San Antonio history…

1923
Laurel Heights Pharmacy, at the corner of Main Avenue and Mistletoe, holds its grand opening.

1926
Mayor Tobin outlines plans to convert the downtown river into a veritable fairyland, rivaling in beauty the canals of Venice.  A half-mile of the river from Travis to Commerce streets will be festooned with multi-colored lights and electric fountains in the center of the river at short intervals.

1933
The Reptile Garden at the Witte Museum opens to the public at 7:30 p.m. with local children handling the non-poisonous snakes as they are released into the garden.  (It will close in 1975.)

June 5 in San Antonio history…

1923
The San Antonio Bears (now Missions) baseball team introduces uniforms that, for the first time, include numbers.

1969
The University of Texas at San Antonio is established on this date.

1981
300 teenage boys and girls from around South Texas participate in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps camp at Camp Bullis where they get experience with weaponry such as the M-16, the M-60 machine gun and the M203 grenade launcher.

April 23 in San Antonio history…

1923
The Supreme Court finds rules against the City of San Antonio in the their lawsuit to collect taxes from Santa Rosa Hospital.  The court rules that institutions of this type operated for charitable purposes are exempt from taxation.

1973
The first La Semana Alegre “Happy Week,” sponsored by the San Antonio Jaycees, kicks off in Hemisfair Park behind Beethoven Hall.   The entertainment consists of a Dixieland band in one area and a western band in another.

1976
The Brackenridge Eagle collides with an automobile parked too close to the tracks in the 3100 block of Avenue B.  No passengers are injured.  The only casualty is the engineer, who complains of a sore back after he is thrown from the train when the engines derail.

March 4 in San Antonio history…

1836
Santa Anna gathers his officers for a council of war. It is decided that when the final assault in the Alamo takes place, that they will take no prisoners. The time for the assault will be determined tomorrow. Having been consolidated into two batteries, the Mexican artillery, is brought to within 200 yards of the compound. More Texian reinforcements arrive in the late hours.

1886
The building at the “Jack Harris Corner” containing Sim Hart’s tobacco shop, the Vaudeville Theater and the Elite Restaurant is destroyed by fire.

1923
Louis Santikos opens the Palace Theater at 212 Losoya (right).

November 16 in San Antonio history…

1923
Mark Twain Junior High School is dedicated.

1930
The $1,500,00 Nix Professional Building opens with great fanfare.  The Gothic 23-story building, “the first of its kind in the world,” features a basement with a cafeteria, tailor shop and barbershop; eight floors of car storage space, ten floors of office space and a 200-bed hospital on the top six floors.

1984
Conceptual plans for a full-scale downtown revitalization were shown to the DownTown Owners Association this morning by a consultant team from Boston.  The study is intended to complement the Tri-Party Downtown Transportation Initiative by making Alamo Plaza and Houston Street dedicated pedestrian spaces.

November 14 in San Antonio history…

1923
Harry Houdini escapes from a locked crate on the stage of the (old) Majestic Theater.

1987
Wonderland Mall reopens as Crossroads Mall.

2018
The mercury falls to an all-time low for this date of 23 degrees.

August 20 in San Antonio history..

1813
The Battle of Medina:  “La Noche Triste” in San Antonio.  Scenes of desolation.  Mexican General Arredondo enters the city in triumph.  700 citizens are imprisoned in Alamo courtyards;  300 in one large poorly ventilated granary room on Main Plaza.  14 die in one night.  Women are imprisoned in La Quinta.  Daily executions are held in Military Plaza.

1911
The cornerstone of Hermann Sons Hall is laid.

1923
Avenue C between Houston and Grand (now Jones) Street combines with River Avenue between Grand Street and the city limits to become Broadway Avenue.