Alamo, San Antonio (must see)

The Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in Downtown San Antonio.

The compound was built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century for the education of local Native Americans after their conversion to Christianity. In 1793, the mission was secularized and soon abandoned. Ten years later, it became a fortress housing the Mexican Army group led by San Carlos de Parras, who likely gave the name "Alamo." For the next five years after the Battle of the Alamo, it was periodically used to garrison soldiers. The US Army abandoned the mission in 1876. The Alamo chapel was eventually sold to the state of Texas. After forming in 1892, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) began trying to preserve the Alamo. In 1905, Adina Emilia de Zavala and Clara Driscoll successfully convinced the legislature to purchase the buildings and to name the DRT permanent custodians of the site. Texas governor Oscar B. Colquitt briefly took the complex under state control and began restorations in 1912.

As of 2002, the Alamo has welcomed over four million visitors each year, making it one of the most popular historic sites in the United States. Visitors may tour the chapel, as well as the Long Barracks, which contains a small museum with paintings, weapons, and other artifacts from the era of the Texas Revolution. A large mural, known as the Wall of History, portrays the history of the Alamo complex from its mission days to the modern times.