A sunken stone riverwalk under cypress trees, and the Tower Life Building that appears behind a scene in Miss Congeniality.
What Downtown San Antonio looks like
The River Walk sits a full level below the streets, reached by stairs and footbridges from the sidewalks above. Bald cypress trees, some centuries old, lean out over the water and shade a paved stone walkway lined with restaurant tables. Low arched bridges cross overhead every block or two, and flat-bottomed river barges move slowly beneath them.
Above the river, tan brick office towers from the 1920s carry terra cotta trim and Gothic detailing. The Tower Life Building caps St. Mary's Street at 31 storeys, its stepped crown under a green tile roof. The plainer rises nearby on Travis Street. Palm trees line the wider sidewalks between them, with parking structures filling some of the older lots.
Alamo Plaza opens off Commerce Street, a broad paved square framed by the and its wrought iron balconies. chapel's cut limestone walls run four feet thick and end abruptly at an unfinished parapet. The planned bell towers were never added. A block west, painted brick storefronts run under striped awnings and iron balconies.
Across the river in La Villita, the sets stone tiered seating into the riverbank, facing an open stage on the far side with the water running between them as the aisle. 's striped umbrellas crowd the walkway a few blocks north, tables set right at the water's edge.
Shot in Downtown San Antonio
Miss Congeniality used the Alamo for the pageant's talent competition. It used the Arneson River Theatre, on the river in La Villita, for the swimsuit round. The Tower Life Building's crown rises over an earlier scene between Eric Matthews and Victor Melling on the street below it.
Miss Congeniality, 2000
The Tower Life Building's Gothic crown rises behind Eric Matthews and Victor Melling as they talk on the sidewalk below it. The tower's tan brick shaft and green tile roof stay visible over the rooftops for most of the conversation. Street View
What Downtown San Antonio can double for
Chicago Riverwalk in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago's own sunken Riverwalk runs a paved promenade one level below the street, with pedestrians passing directly under the DuSable Bridge and the other river bridges the same way they do here. Tall office towers rise on both sides of the water just as they do above the San Antonio corridor. Chicago's cut stone paving runs colder and greyer with no bald cypress trees overhanging the water, so a warmer, tree-shaded frame here would need reframing to sell the switch. Try searching sunken riverwalk under bridges now.
Downtown Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Downtown Tulsa's Deco District is built of the same 1920s limestone and terra cotta as this area's office towers, with the Philtower's Gothic arches and carved stone doing similar work to the Tower Life Building's own crown. Both cities built their tallest towers within a few years of each other on oil money. Tulsa's ornament runs more geometric up close, with zigzag terra cotta panels that read differently from San Antonio's plainer Gothic tracery in a tight shot. Try searching terra cotta office towers now.
Waterplace Park in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence's Waterplace Park sinks its own cobblestone riverwalk below street level, with pedestrian bridges crossing the water at a similar scale to San Antonio's stone arches. Gondola rides run the same water on summer evenings. The Providence walkway was built in the 1990s, so its cobblestones and iron railings read newer and squarer than San Antonio's older stonework, better suited to a present day setting than any period piece. Try searching cobblestone riverwalk below street now.
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