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.

Although little remains of the original presidio structure that defined the plaza, the buildings lining the streets provide a good example of the presidio’s scale. The original 1891 City Hall structure had a central tower and multiple cupolas on its roof — removed in a 1927 renovation that gives the building a more Spanish Mediterranean feel.

In 1938, the San Antonio City Hall was the site of a famous protest led by San Antonio native, Emma Tenayuca, and thousands of pecan shellers, most of whom were Hispanic women, to walk off the job in protest of proposed pay cuts. The strike was one of the first successful actions in the Mexican-American struggle for political and social justice.

This site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.