A palace in downtown SanAntonio? Yes, indeed. This 10-room, Spanish-Colonial structure (known today as the Spanish Governor's Palace) was originally erected in 1722 as residence for the military commanders sent to govern the Presidio de San Antonio de Bejar. Theirs was the task of protecting Mission San Antonio de Valero, later known as the Alamo. This grand edifice subsequently served as official home for the governors of the Spanish Province of Texas. Considered the finest dwelling in town in its time, it was definitely palatial in comparison with the humble "jacalas" (thatched huts) of the town's inhabitants, and its gleaming white adobe walls still bespeak the colonial grandeur of its heyday.

Over the years, this home of the governors of Texas became a second-hand clothing store, a tailor's shop, a barroom, a restaurant and a schoolhouse. By the time local preservationist Aldina De Zavala spearheaded a campaign to save the building, it was in a sad state and only its 3-foot thick main walls were intact when the city purchased it in 1929. It was meticulously restored to its former glory by the San Antonio Conservation Society the following year, after extensive research to ensure authenticity. The massive, beautifully carved front doors were painstakingly copied from etchings of the original doors and tell the tale of the Spanish conquest in symbols whose meanings came to light when an elderly San Antonian recounted his oral family history. The rooms are furnished with antique pieces from the early 1700s, imparting a feel for what life was like in those long-ago days.

The long "ballroom" to the left of the entry room, with its flagstone floors, carved furnishings and aging, gilt-framed portraits, was the scene of stately minuets by Spanish grandees, as well as serving as council chamber for the governors. It was here that notables and delegations awaited an audience with the governor, and it was doubtless here that Moses F. Austin was received when he came to plead his case for the colonization of Texas.

Just beyond the ballroom is the governor's office (probably also his bedroom, as was the custom then), featuring an antique desk whose lighting came from candles and a magnificent turned Rosewood bed with damask silk cover. A 300-year-old walnut brazier on the floor would have provided heat from winter's chill, with its removable pan taken outdoors to be filled with burning charcoal and returned when the charcoal had ceased smoking.

Two other bedrooms to the rear of the dwelling include more velvet and leather upholstered chairs, ornate beds, carved chests, washstands and the traditional shrines ensconced in wall niches.

The "Reception Room" in the center of the building served as the family room and contains displays of period items from brass stirrups worn by conquistadors to zithers, black with age, and a hand-made Spanish harp, strings long faded away, which might have entertained the family on a quiet evening.

An adjoining dining room holds a rustic refectory table, with the traditional "lavabo" carved in the stone wall on one end (part of a Spanish religious ceremony in which hands were washed before eating).

The family chapel is adjacent, with ancient Madonna and Child gazing down on timeworn kneelers and benches. Other rare Spanish devotional relics line the walls.

The quaint kitchen to the rear contains pottery, tin and copper kitchen vessels that would have been used in preparing meals on the primitive open stone brazier.

Adjoining the kitchen is the "despensia" (pantry) loft, with charming curved stairway. The baking oven is just outside the kitchen door and near the service well, which has become a wishing well in modern times.

The enclosed patio and courtyard out back would have been the family's living area in all but the most inclement weather. Here one finds a tranquil paradise, with patterned pebble walkways set amid flowering native trees and shrubs, a grape vine-covered portico and a flowing fountain as centerpiece. Rustic benches here afford the modern visitor the opportunity for quiet contemplation of what life must have been like for those early inhabitants when this was, indeed, the Spanish Governor's Palace.

A Quick Look

105 Plaza de Armas (Military Plaza)
210-224-0601
Mon.-Sat.: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sun.: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
14+ years -- $1.50
7-13 years -- $ .75
Under 7 years -- free