Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this historic district is the cultural and political epicenter of San Antonio. As one of the oldest permanently settled areas in the state, it also represents the evolution of Spanish-influenced architectural styles.

Military Plaza (Plaza de Armas) was first established in 1722 as a parade ground and market square for the Spanish soldiers garrisoned there. Today, the Spanish Governor's Palace (built in 1749) is the last remnant of the Presidio San Antonio de Bexar. The Spanish Colonial structure served as the residence and office of the comandancia, or presidio captain. Visitors can see period furniture, tools, and accessories at the palace-turned-museum.

Across the street, visitors can explore Main Plaza (Plaza de las Islas), the site of the first authorized Texas city when it was established as the market square for the Canary Island fundadores of San Antonio March 9, 1731. These early settlers built small, primitive jacal, palisado, or caliche block residences around the square, with their village church and the Casas Reales (now 114 E. Main Plaza), their seat of government, as their focal points. The village church was eventually incorporated as the sanctuary of the Gothic Revival San Fernando Cathedral, which was completed in 1868. Within its limestone walls is a marble tomb said to be the final resting place of William Travis and other Alamo defenders.

In the 19th century, the plaza remained a bustling community gathering place for daytime markets and nighttime food vendors. In the 1860s, Mexican women began selling chile con carne, tamales, and other native foods to tourists and locals at nighttime markets. Musicians played in the plaza, diners sat at makeshift tables lit by oil lamp, and the mostly female vendors, called "Chili Queens," held court over what were usually boisterous crowds that gathered around their mesquite cooking fires.

In the 1890s, however, the Chili Queens and the nighttime markets were displaced to other plazas when City Hall was completed and Military Plaza became the seat of government for San Antonio. Learn more about the history of the San Antonio Chili Queens.

Almost half a century later, this City Hall became the site of one of the first successful actions in the Mexican-American struggle for political and social justice. In 1938, Emma Tenayuca, a native of San Antonio, led thousands of pecan shellers, most of whom were Hispanic women, to walk off the job in protest of proposed pay cuts. Their march culminated on the steps of City Hall, memorialized in the photo seen above. Learn more about the history of the Pecan Shellers Strike.