Alamo to Espada

San Antonio’s five Spanish missions were being pulled from the brink of destruction a century ago just as picture postcards came into vogue. Alamo to Espada features more than 150 such vintage postcards to document the progress of the dramatic transformation, as well as the far-reaching impact of these architectural and religious treasures.

The focus on individual missions is expanded in one chapter to illustrate the various ways the Alamo has been remembered — as a symbol of patriotism, place of pilgrimage and as an advertising backdrop.

Another chapter gathers images of the legacy of mission architecture, showing design elements of the Alamo and other missions replicated in often unusual ways in railroad stations, hotels, beer gardens, burial parks and country clubs.