San Antonio May 2018 6 (Arneson River Theater)

Arneson River Theatre is an outdoor performance theater located on the

San Antonio River Walk The San Antonio River Walk is a city park and special-case pedestrian street in San Antonio, Texas, one level down from the automobile street. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shop ...

in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The open-air venue was erected 1939-1941 by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. The design was supervised by architect

Robert H.H. Hugman Robert H. H. Hugman (February 8, 1902 – July 22, 1980) was an American architect who designed the San Antonio River Walk. Born in San Antonio as Robert Harvey Harold Hugman, he finished Brackenridge High before graduating from the School of Ar ...

. It is named after Edwin P. Arneson, the regional engineer for the W.P.A. who was instrumental in securing funding for the Paseo del Rio. Arneson died before construction began. Many years later bells were added to arches behind the stage that Hugman had designed, and they were named for him. In a belated ceremony, the "Father of the River Walk" struck the bells for the first time, two years before his death. The stage is on the north side of river; the audience sits on the grass-covered steps on the south side, which can hold over 800 people on 13 rows of seats. A nearby stone bridge is often made part of the performance space. It is now called Rosita's Bridge in honor of

Rosita Fernández Rosita Fernández (January 10, 1918 – May 2, 2006) was a Mexican American Tejano music singer, humanitarian, and actress. She became a symbol of "Old Mexico" among European Americans in San Antonio, and was called the city's First Lady of Song b ...

, a pioneer of Tejano music, who performed here as star of the summer-long

Fiesta Noche del Rio ''Fiesta'' (Spanish for "religious feast", "festival", or "party") may refer to: Events *Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day event held every April in San Antonio, Texas * St. Peter's Fiesta, a five-day festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts * Fiestas ...

for 25 years. The theater continues to be used throughout the year for a wide variety of performances averaging over 200 each year including folkloric groups, festivals, music concerts, plays, dance, opera, and even weddings. Many of the river parades held throughout the year are televised from this unique open-air amphitheater. Above and behind the seating area is La Villita Historic Arts Village, a restoration of San Antonio's oldest residential neighborhood, today filled with artisan shops, galleries, and restaurants. The theater, along with several other San Antonio landmarks, was featured in the popular 2000 comedy film ''

Miss Congeniality Miss Congeniality may refer to: * ''Miss Congeniality'' (film), 2000 film, directed by Donald Petrie, starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt **'' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'', a 2005 sequel *A special award, the "Miss Congeniality A ...

'', starring Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine.

External links

La Villita’s venues including Arneson River Theatre

Arneson River Theatre at La Villita, Calendar of Upcoming Events

Arneson month calendar

References

{{Coord, 29.422, -98.489, display=title Theatres in San Antonio Works Progress Administration in Texas Theatres completed in 1941

See also

External links

References