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Gorgeous. It is so interesting how certain architectural styles can get away with so much more colour. How inspiring!

It's actually "King William" and not "King Williams." Monte Vista is another historic district, a slightly larger area, and Monticello is worth a tour (though not as updated and beautiful as the aforementioned).

Thanks for the post. San Antonio is a great little city, even though it lacks the pizazz of other cities like LA, NY, San Fran and Chicago - it just needs a little attention.

makes me miss the NIOSA festival. And Rosario's...so good!

goshgolly: thanks for the correction. My girlfriend is a San Antonio native, so it's always great to see the more historic sections of a city not known for its architecture (and how wrong they are!). I fell smitten with King William when I ran a half marathon there a few years back, noting the Texan-meets-Southern feel of the area. SA needs to advertise it's historic neighborhoods more prominently...the charm and history of these buildings is undeniable.

Texas cities hold their southern charm in their difference from larger cities. NYC is a cool place, but Texas has its own thing. I grew up in Houston and thankfully now live in a smaller Texas town with a beautiful historic district that is protected from all the development junk of a large city.

As a San Antonio native and resident, I am so happy to see some of the city's beauty, appeal, and grandeur featured on apartmenttherapy. The pictures are breathtaking! Every home is unique and has its own charm. And there are so many distinct architectural styles represented! Note: The association has an annual neighborhood garage sale held during the month of October. You could just imagine the great finds and treasures that come out of these homes.

This looks a lot like the Old Northside in Indianapolis. I'll have to take a ton of photos of the historic neighborhoods now that the weather is decent.

Except that in Texas, we don't call it "soda pop"...we call it "Coke".

This is my neighborhood of 17 years. It's nice to see it featured here, where San Antonio sometimes gets short shrift to its neighbor Austin. San Antonio remains ridiculously livable (if you like hot weather--beautiful winters, tho'). King William is a notoriously liberal and tolerant neighborhood, and long a home to many of the artists who make up SA's strong contemporary art scene.

When we moved back to Austin from Philadelphia in the early 90s, we were seduced by San Antonio's charm, ethnic mix and potential as an urban community.

King William remains a great place to live.

Very lovely. Too bad it is in a foreign country.

Although I'm a born-n-bred Austinite, I've always LOVED this area and San Antonio in general (esp. for the architecture). And nothing beats Rosario's in my book! Mmm... if only I didn't live in NYC now :/

There are actually a lot of really neat San Antonio neighborhoods near downtown that have charming old houses. They are not as appreciated as the huge mansions in King William but they should be.

There is Tobin Hill, Beacon Hill, Mahnke Park, Montecello, Lavaca, and Monte Vista. We just bought a house in Mahnke Park.

It seems like people in San Antonio are starting to realize that living in these neighborhoods is a great idea (instead of living in cookie cutter suburbia). Hopefully, it continues to catch on.

As a former Texan that article brought back memories!

Don't forget to visit during the King William Fair, part of the gigantic Fiesta celebration that takes place in SA during April. http://www.fiesta-sa.org/

Thanks to Lady Bird Johnson the surrounding Hill Country is just lit up with wildflowers galore this time of year.

Downtown San Antonio has great architecture and history. The Alamo is there, of course it has to have cool buildings. My parent's live outside of SA and it's amazing at how much renovation is being done to their great old buildings. Unlike downtown Los Angeles or Dallas, downtown SA is always busy. Look at what has been done with the former Pearl Beer Brewery. http://www.pearlbrewery.com/

The San Antonio Missions National Historic Park is a must see for any visitor.

Thanks for the article. Maybe it will help guide people away from the, used to have cool restaurants, River Walk and Fiesta Texas theme park to see the true flavor of the city.

Now, I wish I had a Shiner Bock!

During your next visit to San Antonio, I would be happy to be your host and guide. Fiesta would be a good time ~~ April 17th thru 26th. Don't come after May. San Antonio may be only the 7th largest city in the US, but it is definitely the hottest.

This Louisiana native high-fives Kathryn. "What kinda Coke you want?" "Ummm...gimme a root beer."

Big fan of San Antonio! I'm there a couple times a year for quick weekend trip. Its a quick trip from Fort Worth, by Texas standards anyway. I'd love to see some posts on Fort Worth, there are some great areas in my town!

The 5th house pictured references one of my favorite buildings I studied in art history: a very famous mosque in Cordoba, Spain-

http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/cordoba.html