10-04-12

Today Loren guided me through King Edward's Historic district.

The King William District occupies land that once belowed to the Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo.

It was about 1860s that many Germans who had immigrated to Texas in the 1840s began to settle in this area and it became known as "Sauerkraut Bend" to the rest of San Antonio.

It developed into an idyllic neighborhood of large, impressive houses shaded by enormous pecan and cypress trees. The main entry street was named King Wilhelm in honor of the King of Prussia in the 1870s. During World War, the name was changed to Pershing Avenue. A few years after the war was over the original name was restored, but in it english version English version, King William, and it has remained so since.

In the early 1900s the King William District began to wane as a fashionable neighborhood. During the 1930s and 1940s the neighborhood declined and many of the fine old homes were converted into apartments and general deterioration set in throughout the area. Only a few of the earlier settlers remained and maintained earlier standards.

Around 1950, the area began to attract a group of people who found its proximity to the business district attractive and who recognized the potential of restoration. The interest in preservation of the area began to be aroused and once again it became a "fashionable" and desirable place to live.

In 1967 the King William District was designated the first Historic Neighborhood District in Texas.

Ok, I copied the information above from the Internet, but it's more or less what Loren told me (I've deleted part of the things that were written on the webpage). It is a really inspiring walk, and I highly recomend it!