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Did you know San Antonio is home to the Alamo?
Nah, just kidding. If you know us, you know we’re here for the deep cuts — and there’s plenty of interesting factoids to go around. As connoisseurs of the quirky + unconventional, we put together a list of San Antonio’s history, oddest characteristics, and more. Maybe you’ve lived here your whole life and know some of this, or maybe you’ll learn something new.
Either way, test your local knowledge with these 20 interesting facts.
The Alamo City
- San Antonio is home to the largest Mexican market outside of Mexico. El Mercado shopping district at the Historic Market Square boasts an impressive collection of 100+ restaurants, artisanal shops, and fresh produce stands. We can easily spend hours exploring the three-block outdoor plaza.
- The San Antonio Missions are one of 24 World Heritage Sites located in the United States.
- The King William neighborhood shares a nickname with a sweet fruit, the kiwi.
History
- Then Army Lieutenant and now former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower served as the St. Louis College — now St. Mary’s University — head football coach in 1916.
- Speaking of US Presidents. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson got married at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in downtown San Antonio in 1934.
Food
- Church’s Chicken was born across the street from the Alamo. The fried chicken chain first opened its doors in 1952 under the name “Church’s Fried Chicken To Go” and quickly became a hit among San Antonians — so much so that it has expanded to 30 countries around the world.
- In 2011, Lanier High School put on a tamalada like no one has ever seen — literally. A record-breaking 17,132 tamales landed the school in the Guinness World Records.
- Gatorade was invented by a San Antonio native, Robert Cade.
- Oh, and Fritos and Frito pie were invented in San Antonio — yeah, you can thank us for that, too.
Sports
- Before the San Antonio Spurs came to the Alamo City for the 1973–1974 season, they played for six seasons as the Dallas Chaparrals.
- Five-time NBA All-Star Shaquille O’Neal went to Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio and graduated in 1989.
Architecture
- The San Fernando Cathedral is the oldest church in Texas — and one of the oldest in the US — dating back to 1738.
- SeaWorld San Antonio recently added the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden roller coaster in the state — the Texas Stingray.
- SA world records don’t stop at tamales — The Alamo City also boasts the tallest cowboy boots sculpture in the world standing at 35 ft, 3 inches.
- The Alamodome opened on May 15, 1993, and cost $186 million to build in hopes of attracting an NFL team. It’s the home to our UFL team, the San Antonio Brahmas, and hosted the 2025 NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Civic
- It is technically illegal for people to flirt or respond to flirtation using their hands or eyes in San Antonio — talk about a buzzkill.
- It’s also illegal to climb pecan trees to gather pecans in a public park or throw stones to collect them. It’s part of an effort to protect the trees.
Nature
- Over 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats call Bracken Cave home during the summer, making it one of the biggest concentrations of mammals in the world.
- The San Antonio Stockshow and Rodeo reuses the same 2,160 tons of dirt every year.
Technology
- San Antonio has been a pioneer of many things — one of which was establishing the first all-digital library in the US. The Bexar County BiblioTech was the nation’s first library to offer an exclusively digital collection. While the library’s literary works are fully-digital, you can still visit its physical locations to access resources like computer labs + study rooms.
Your turn. Think you can get one over on us? Let us know your favorite local trivia tidbit and you just might make it into the newsletter.
