The odd, the repulsive, the sacrilegious…

by Wade Dillon

San Antonio Express News writer praises the carnival act on Alamo Plaza.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA041008.06E.NZ.State.Ripleys.30d03a5.html

San Antonio Express News recently published an article praising the new Ripley’s Believe it or Not : Odditorium attraction that opened on April 9th; joining the carnival act that continues to build on Alamo plaza.

Believe it or Not, such developements continue as the history of Alamo plaza is increasingly ignored.

While boasting about the “new, three story attraction”, the general manager of the San Antonio location, Melissa Lopez, said “This one is going to blow everything out of the water. There’s nothing in Alamo Plaza like it.”

The Odditorium stands a few yards away from where the southwest corner of the Alamo compound would’ve stood. This is where Colonel Juan Morales, of the Mexican Army, led his troops in a valiant effort to capture the Alamo garrison’s eighteen pounder on the morning of March 6th, 1836. The attraction stands on ground where men, on both sides of the struggle, gave their lives dearly.

And just next door are three other attractions. The Guinness World Records Museum, Ripley’s Believe it or Not: Haunted Adventure, and Tomb Rider, sits where the west wall of the Alamo compound would’ve existed. The headquarters of William Barret Travis, the leader of the Alamo garrison, stood where the Haunted Adventure now haunts Alamo Plaza with it’s annoying, advertising shrieks coming from a ghostly employee.

Melissa Lopez, the writer responsible for the article, quoted Marco A. Barros, president of the San Antonio Area Tourism Council, as saying “This new investment in downtown will give travelers more reasons to visit San Antonio this summer.” He went on to say, “We need to keep expanding and adding to the visitor’s experience. This shows (Ripley’s) commitment to continue to improve the tourism product, and their new space allows them to have so many incredible displays.”

Across from the Odditorium is the Shrine of Texas Independence, The Alamo. Has history become such a thing of the past that historical values and facts are now subject to extinction thanks to trivial entertainment? Are people forgetting the Alamo? Has San Antonio, who has long praised its historical and cultural beauty, forgotten the key events that made the city what it is? Is the Alamo, which was once a crossroad of destiny, now a mere tourist attraction? Has San Antonio lost their creativity in marketing, tourism, and advertising that they must use the Alamo as a stepping stone for irrelevant attractions? Clearly, those responsible for this carnival act must have an answer for these questions, for no other battlefield showcases sacrilegious attractions such as Ripley’s Believe it Or Not.

No doubt, there are other appropriate places around San Antonio for these tourists traps. Hopefully, this is realized before San Antonio’s history is lost to all of those who visit the city to learn and enjoy the significance the Alamo story has served Texas, and millions around the world. Sadly, the splendor, beauty, and knowledge is sometimes lost behind bright lights and a ghostly employee pestering pedestrians.

“As goes the Alamo, so goes Texas.”