While local leaders are deciding the fate of the historic grounds of the Alamo, one block away an upcoming attraction promises to bring the story of the Battle for Texas to life.
The idea is to feel as if you’ve stepped back in time. Built in the old Joske’s building in the Rivercenter Mall, visitors will walk through a series of galleries and experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the history of the Alamo.
Joe Gold is one of the producers of “Battle for Texas: The Experience,” which is currently still under construction.
“Actually this is the first project of this magnitude that really tells the entire story of the Alamo," says Gold, "from its inception, how it was created here, what brought people from around the United States to come here to Texas, how the land was controlled by Mexico," and of course the Battle of 1836.
The attraction will also feature 250 historic artifacts, from Santa Ana’s uniform to Sam Houston’s spurs to Davy Crockett’s long knife – all privately owned and on loan to the project.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff supports the idea. He says San Antonio doesn’t have anything like this, and it comes at a really good time “because of all the debate and everything that will be happening over the next few years as we make decisions on how far are we going to go with the restoration of the grounds itself where the battle was fought in front of the Alamo, and talk of a possible museum which could be incorporated into something like this.”
Wolff says there will always be historic purists, but believes locals and visitors will enjoy this type of entertainment.
The privately financed attraction is slated to open February 2016, with an adult admission costing around $20.
