Sacred Spaces and Historic Places

This cast bronze map is in front of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. It is a reproduction of how the building  or "Mission" looked in 1836 while the defenders were busy with Santa Anna's Army. Interesting enough the compound was not inhabitant when the alteration occurred. And I say mission because it was never really roofed until the U.S. Army purchased and used it for storage many years after it became part of the United States. The characteristic facade was only complete above the window of the second level. The rounded portion of the parapet over the entry was added by the U.S. Army to hide the gable roof which was later added in the later years.


What makes this structure not just a building but a sacred space is the meaning it in our culture. It represents sacrifice for those who, beyond the immediate peril and their own comfort, strove for what is decent and moral. A worthwhile endeavor and something that makes this place like no other in the United States. It is not the comfort but a noble endeavor and the tribulations that ensue, which lifts a place above the confines of daily endeavors. I must admit the space is rather small for a modern church and the infirmary building which was originally two stories is now a one story space. It all seems larger than life as we walk through the spaces ,where if the walls could talk ,would say that men and women of all races did something that elevated this place to a sacred complex.