Riverwalk

Riverwalk is a name often given to a foreshoreway or pedestrian zone adjacent to a river.

In the United States

San Antonio

San Antonio (/ˌsænænˈtoʊni.oʊ/ Spanish for "Saint Anthony"), officially the City of San Antonio, is the seventh most populated city in the United States of America and the second most populated city in the state of Texas, with a population of 1,409,019. It was the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States from 2000 to 2010, and the second from 1990 to 2000. The city is located in the American Southwest, the south–central part of Texas, and the southwestern corner of an urban region known as the Texas Triangle.

San Antonio serves as the seat of Bexar County. Recent annexations have extended the city's boundaries into Medina County and, though for only a very tiny area near the city of Garden Ridge, into Comal County. The city has characteristics of other western urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city limits. San Antonio is the center of the San Antonio–New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. Commonly referred to as Greater San Antonio, the metropolitan area has a population of over 2.3 million based on the 2014 US Census estimate, making it the 25th-largest metropolitan area in the United States and third-largest in the state of Texas. Growth along the Interstate 35 and Interstate 10 corridors to the north, west and east make it likely that the metropolitan area will continue to expand.

Chicago Riverwalk

The Chicago Riverwalk is an open, pedestrian waterfront located on the south bank of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It spans from Lake Shore Drive to Franklin Street. Called the city's 'Second Lakefront', the Riverwalk contains restaurants, seating, boat rentals, and other activities. It is currently being expanded to 9 blocks and is scheduled for completion in 2016.

2001-2005

In conjunction with the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), construction of the Riverwalk began in 2001 as an extension of the Wacker Drive reconstruction project. With the rebuilding of Wacker Drive, the street was purposely relocated to allow for development of the walk. Temporary stubs were built in some places, such as the Arcade (see below), until design plans and funding could be arranged, in some cases over a decade later.

The plan called for four separate districts within the riverwalk: Confluence, Arcade, Civic and Market, all with a specific location and theme in mind.

San Antonio River

The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in Midtown San Antonio, approximately four miles north of Downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about ten miles from San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is 240 miles long and crosses five counties: Bexar, Goliad, Karnes, Refugio, and Wilson.

History

Naming the river

The first documented record of the river was from Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca on his explorations of Texas in 1535. The river was later named after San Antonio de Padua by the first governor of Spanish Texas, Domingo Terán de los Ríos in 1691.

On June 13, 1691, Governor Terán and his company camped at a rancheria on a stream called Yanaguana They renamed the stream "San Antonio" because it was Saint Anthony's Day. Father Damián Massanet accompanied Governor Terán on his trip.

Texas Revolution

During the Texas Revolution, the river was host to several major conflicts. The Battle of Concepcion occurred when the Mexican Forces in Bexar and Texian Militia fired upon each other in a small skirmish on the Mission's grounds. The Grass Fight occurred when Texian Militia mistook mules carrying grass to feed horses as mules carrying supply and gold money. The siege of Bexar was the climax of all these previous events when the Texian Militia surrounded Bexar and began continuous attacks into the Mexican stronghold of Bexar until the Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos surrendered.

San Antonio River Walk

The San Antonio River Walk (also known as Paseo del Río) is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath the streets of Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. Lined by bars, shops and restaurants, the River Walk is an important part of the city's urban fabric and a tourist attraction in its own right.

Today, the River Walk is an enormously successful special-case pedestrian street, one level down from the automobile street. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shops, connecting the major tourist draws from the Alamo to Rivercenter Mall, to the Arneson River Theatre, to Marriage Island, to La Villita, to HemisFair Park, to the Tower Life Building, to the San Antonio Museum of Art, and the Pearl Brewery. During the annual springtime Fiesta San Antonio, the River Parade features flowery floats that float down the river.

History

In September 1921, a disastrous flood along the San Antonio River took 50 lives. Plans were then developed for flood control of the river. Among the plans was to build an upstream dam (Olmos Dam) and bypass a prominent bend of the river in the Downtown area (between present day Houston Street and Villita Parkway), then to pave over the bend, and create a storm sewer.