City nicknames The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for lists of "Ten Best". — H. Allen Smith City nicknames The following is my list of City Nicknames, started around 1993. I had collected suggestions from the rec.games.trivia newsgroup, and had heard someone on KGO (San Francisco's AM news-talk radio station) use the phrase "... 10,000 residents of The City, of complications from ...". So I appropriated that phrase "The City of Complications", as an exceptionally apt nickname for San Francisco, and went on to collect a few other names. When I had enough of them, I posted the list to that newsgroup. So far, I have only been able to re-locate the quiz version of my list, so I haven't actually merged all of the answers back into the list yet. This past year or two (2001-2002), I added a few from the "Isaac Asimov" quiz column in the newspaper, a Sunset Magazine article (which lists California as the "World Capital of Agricultural World Capitals"), and other sources. I also found two other lists on the web (URLs below).

I now keep this merged version in both ~landauer/lists/CityOf.html and the stories link in my Radio Weblog, . The one at ~landauer/CityOf_was.html is older. Other web locations that have some similar lists include: ~rksnow/mottos.htm is (today) the top Google result for City nicknames , with good reason. "COMMUNITY MOTTOS & NICKNAMES" looks like they've been actively collecting these for a lot longer than I have.

The Trivia asylum Most recent additions (8 February 2003): Albany, OR; Alpine, TX; Beaver, OK; Bemidji, MN; Brainerd, MN; Bristol, TN; Burlington, Iowa; Cody, WY; Douglas, WY; Frannie, WY; Gallup, NM; Granby, CO; Isleton, CA; Laramie, WY; Lowell, WY; Meeteetse, WY; New York (as "Never Sleeps"); Noxubee County, Alabama; Philadelphia, PA; Rockport, MA; Santa Rosa, NM; Sonora, CA; Sturgis, Michigan; Taxco, Mexico; Tijuana, Mexico; Westwood, CA.

My List of City Nicknames: City Nickname Aberdeen, Scotland The Granite City Akron, OH Rubber City Albany, Georgia Good Life City Albany, ORHome of the Timber Carnival Alexandria, Egypt Pearl of the Mediterranean Allentown, Pennsylvania Cement City Alpine, TXGateway to the Big Bend Annapolis, Maryland Crabtown Atlanta, GA The Athens of the South Atlanta, GA The City Too Busy to Hate Atlanta, GA Dogwood City Atlanta, GA Gate City of the South Auckland, NZ City of Sails Baltimore, Maryland Charm City Baltimore, Maryland Monument City Banaras, India Luminous City Bandon, OR Storm Capital of the World Bangkok, Thailand Venice of the East Beaver, OKCow Chip Throwing Capital of the World Bemidji, MNHome of Paul Bunyan & Babe, the Blue Ox (see Brainerd and Westwood) Beograd The White City Bickleton, WA Bluebird Capital of the World Birmingham, AL Pittsburgh of the South Boston, MA The Athens of America Boston, MA Beantown Boston, MA The City of Kind Hearts Boston, MA The Cradle of Liberty Boston, MA The Hub of the Universe Boston, MA Puritan City Brainerd, MNHome of Paul Bunyan & Babe, the Blue Ox —

 The legend on the Brainerd city limits sign shows up in the film "Fargo".

(See Bemidji and Westwood) Bristol, TNFood City Brandon, Manitoba The Wheat City Bucharest, Romania The Little Paris Budapest, Hungary The Pearl of the Danube Buffalo, New York Bison City Buffalo, New York Flour City Buffalo, NY The City of Good Neighbors Buffalo, NY The Nickel City Buffalo, NY The Queen City (of the Great Lakes) Burlington, IowaLoader/Backhoe Capital of the World Butte, Montana Copper City Byran, Ohio The Fountain City Calgary, Alberta, Canada The Stampede City Calgary, Alberta, Canada The Heart of The New West (that's the New Convention and Visitors Bureau slogan) Calgary, Alberta, Canada Canada's oil capital (Because of high concentration of oil company head offices, as in Houston) Cape Girardeau, Missouri Rose City Cape Hatteras, North Carolina The Graveyard of the Atlantic Castroville, CA Artichoke Center of the World Champaign-Urbana, IL Chambana Champaign-Urbana, IL Shampoo-Bananna Champaign-Urbana, IL Urpaign Charleston, South Carolina America's Most Historic City Charleston, South CarolinaPalmetto City Charlotte, North Carolina Hornets Nest Charlotte, North Carolina Queen City Chicago, Illinois Big Town Chicago City of

 Big Shoulders Chicago, Illinois Hog Butcher for the World Chicago Slaughterhouse to the World Chicago, Illinois Phoenix City Chicago, Illinois Second City Chicago The Windy City Christchurch, NZ The Garden City Cincinnati, Ohio Queen City Cleveland, Ohio Mistake on the Lake Cleveland, OH America's North Coast Cody, WYRodeo Capital of the World Columbus, OH The Crossroads of Ohio Cooperstown, New York Birthplace of Baseball Council Bluffs, Iowa Iowa's Leading Edge Crestwood (Louisville), KYWhiskers Cuernavaca, Morelos, MexicoThe City of Eternal Spring Dallas, Texas Big D Dayton, Ohio Birthplace of Aviation Denver, Colorado City of the Plains Denver, Colorado Convention City Denver, CO Mile High City Denver, Colorado Queen City Detroit, MI Motown Detroit, MI Motor City Dipolog City, Philippines Orchid City Douglas, WYJackalope Capitol [sic] of the World — I vaguely recall that one of the main promoters and/or inventor of the Jackelope died within the last few months.

Durham, NC City of Medicine Durham, NC Bull City Edinburgh, Scotland Athens of the North Erie, Pennsylvania The Gem Eskilstuna, Sweden Smedstan (The smith City) Fallbrook, CA Avocado Capital of the World Florence, Italy The City of Lillies Fort Myers, Florida The City of Palms Frannie, WYBiggest Little Town in Wyoming Gainesville, Florida Hogtown Gallup, NMDrunk-Driving Capital of America Gilroy, CA Garlic Capital of the World Gotland, Sweden Pearl of the Baltic Göteborg, Sweden Götet Granby, COSnowmobile Capital of Colorado Grants Pass, Oregon"It's the Climate" ...

see Grants Pass, OregonWhere the Rogue River Runs Greenfield, CA Broccoli Capital of the World Hammondsport, New York Cradle of Aviation Hawthorne, CA The City of Good Neighbors (2) Hershey, PAChocolate Town, USA Hollywood Hollyweird Hollywood Tinseltown Holtville, CA Carrot Capital of the World Hong Kong Pearl of the Orient Hood River, Oregon (Columbia Gorge) Windsurfing Capital of the World Hoople, North DakotaTater Town Houston, Texas Magnolia City Indianapolis, Indiana Naptown Indianapolis, Indiana Circle City Indianapolis, Indiana Railroad City Indio, CA Date Capital of the World International Falls, Minnesota The Icebox of the United States Isleton, CACrawdad Town, USA Jackson, Mississippi Chimneyville Jaipur The Pink City Jerusalem City of David Jerusalem City of Peace Jönköping, SwedenSmålands Jerusalem Kalamazoo, Michigan Celery City Kansas City, Kansas Heart of America Kokomo, Indiana City of Firsts Kristianstad, Sweden Lilla Paris (rare these days) Keizer, OR Iris Capital of the World Kelseyville, CA Pear Capital of the World (but see here ).

Laramie, WYGem City of the Plains Las VegasSin City Las VegasEntertainment Capital of the World Las VegasCity of Lights Las Vegas, Nevada (downtown)Glitter Gulch Las Vegas, Nevada (downtown)The Strip Letchworth (UK, near Cambridge) The first Garden City in the World Lodi, CAThe [Tokay] Grape Capital of the World (probably more popularly known as the place where Creedence Clearwater Revival got stuck in once, in the 1960's.) London, England The Square Mile London's financial district The City of London London, Ontario The Forest City Los Angeles The Big Orange Los Angeles City of Angels Los Angeles, California City of Flowers and Sunshine Los Angeles La La Land Los Banos City of the Spring Baths Louisville, Kentucky City of Beautiful Churches Louisville, Kentucky Falls City Lowell, WYThe Rose City of Wyoming Madison, Wisconsin Four Lake City Manila, Philippines Pearl of the Orient Mar del Plata, Argentina Queen of the Coast Marysville, California Gateway to the Gold Fields Medellin, Columbia Orchid City Meeteetse, WYWhere Chiefs Meet Melbourne, AustraliaCity of Chromatic Dissolution (not a real nickname, but I really liked the phrase.

I'll have to dig up the film , someday.) Memphis, TN Bluff City Memphis, TN The City that Elvis Ruined (I get a Googlewhack for that one! Today, anyway.) Miami, Florida Little Cuba Miami, Florida Magic City Milwaukee, Wisconsin Cream City Minneapolis, Minnesota Flour City Minneapolis The Mini Apple Minneapolis/St.

Paul, MN The Twin Cities Mobile, Alabama City of Five Flags Montreal, Canada The City of Saints Mountain Iron, Minnesota Taconite Capital of the World Moyobamba, Peru Orchid City Nashville, TN Music City, USA New Haven, Connecticut Elm City New Orleans The Big Easy New Orleans The Crescent City New York The Big Apple New York The Capital of the World New YorkThe City that Never Sleeps New York Gotham New York Empire City New York The Melting Pot New York/Manhattan The City Norrköping, Sweden Peking Noxubee County, Alabama Home of the Dancing Rabbit Festival and Magnolia Pilgrimage (I know, it's not really a city, but how could I pass up a phrase like that?) Oakdale, CA Cowboy Capital of the World Oakland, CA Oaktown Oroville, CA City of Gold Oxford City of Dreaming Spires Oxnard, CA Strawberry Capital of the World (but see here ).

Paris City of Light Pasadena, CA City of Roses Patterson, CA Apricot Capital of the World Pearsonville, CA Hubcap Capital of the World Petaluma, CA Egg Basket of the World Petra The Rose Red City Philadelphia City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rebel Capital Philadelphia, PAMortal City (per Dar Williams) Pittsburgh, PA Steel City Pittsburgh, PA The 'Burgh Pittsburgh, PA Iron City Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The Birmingham of America Pittsburgh, PA (downtown) Golden Triangle Pittsburgh, PA (downtown) Three Rivers Pittsburgh, PA (region) City of Bridges Placerville, CA Hangtown Portland, Maine Forest City Portland, Maine Hill City Portland, Oregon City of Roses Prague, Czech Republic The Golden City Providence, Rhode Island Beehive of Industry Quebec The Gibraltar of North America Queenstown, NZ Extreme Sports Capital of the World Redmond, WA Mordor Redmond, WA Nerdburg Reno, NV The Biggest Little City in the World Reseda, CA The Hub of the West Valley (That's the San Fernando Valley) Rigby, IdahoBirthplace of TV There's a museum here, the "TV and Pioneer Museum" .

When I drove through, it made me wonder jest which of those Conestoga wagons had TVs, and how good the reception was. Rincon (Santa Barbara County), California Queen of the Coast Surfers' term. Not really a city. Rochester, New York Kodak City Rochester, New York Snapshot City Rockport, MAThe Mendocino of the East Rogue River Valley, OR Pear Capital of the World (but see here ).

Rome The City of the Seven Hills Rome, Italy The Eternal City Rome, Italy City of Love Rye, New York Border Town Sacramento, California River City Saint Louis, MOGateway to the West (or "The Gateway City") Saint Paul, MinnesotaMoscow on the Mississippi Saint Petersburg, Russia Venice of the North Salem, Massachusetts City of Witches Samal, Philipines Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) San Antonio, Texas Alamo City San Antonio, Texas Mission City San Diego, California The Plymouth of the West San Diego, CA America's Finest City San Francisco, California The Golden Gate City San Francisco, California Shaky Town San Francisco, CA Baghdad by the Bay San Francisco, CA The City North San Jose, CA The Golden Triangle Santa Fe, New Mexico The City Different Santa Rosa, NMThe SCUBA-diving capital of New Mexico Saratoga Springs, New York Spa City Savannah, Georgia Garden City Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario The SOO Sault Ste.

Marie, MI (I think) The SOO Seattle, WA The Emerald City Selma, CA Raisin Capital of the World Shah Alam, Malaysia Orchid City Sonora, CAThe Queen of the Southern Mines Sri Lanka Pearl of the Indian Ocean (I know, not really a city.) Stockholm Eken (The Oak) Stockholm Venice of the North Stockton, CA California's Sunrise Seaport Sturgis, MichiganCurtain Rod Capital of the World Sundbyberg, Sweden Sumpan Syracuse, New York Salt City Taxco, MexicoSilver Capital of the World Thousand Oaks, CA T.O. Tijuana, MexicoTelevision Capital of the World Toledo, Ohio Corn City Toronto, Ontario Hogtown Toronto, Ontario Muddy York (archaic, I think) Toronto, Ontario T.O.

Toronto, Ontario Toronto the Good (sometimes pejorative) Toronto, Ontario Trawna or Trahna Toronto, Ontario, Canada Queen City Tulelake, CA Horseradish Capital of the World Umeå, SwedenBjörkarnas stad (The city of the birches) (Historic) Vancouver, B.C., CanadaGastown Venice, Italy Bride of the Sea Venice, Italy Queen of the Adriatic Värnersborg, SwedenLilla Paris (Little Paris) Västerås Gurkstan (The Cucumber City) Vicksburg, Mississippi The Gibraltar of America Victoria, Australia The Cabbage Patch Victoria, B.C., Canada Little England Walla Walla, WA The Town So Nice They Named It Twice Walla Walla, WA Walla2 Walla Walla, WA Wallyworld Washington D.C. Capital City Washington D.C. News Capital of the World Waterbury, Connecticut Brass City Wenatchee, WA Apple Capital of the World West Hollywood, CA Boystown West Hollywood, CA The Creative City West Palm Beach, Florida Orchid City Westwood, CAHome of Paul Bunyan & Babe, the Blue Ox It seems that a celebrity like Paul Bunyan has several homes.

I've actually seen him here in Westwood — and note that this is the Lassen County Westwood. (See and also see Brainerd and Bemidji.) Wheeling, West Virginia Nail City Wichita, Kansas Emerald City Windsor, Ontario Tijuana North NOTES: I used to have some of the following ones in the main list. I have moved these here mostly for not being unique enough (i.e., Google found too many candidates for the given honor). I should probably move all of the "Queen City"s down here, too. A recent contributor mentioned Coos Bay, Oregon as having (had) the official motto "City With a Future".

Alas, Google says that this is one of the too-common ones: Lansing, KS; Mankato, MN (had this motto in 1912); Yokosuka, Japan; Ruda [approx equal]öl[florin]Öska, Poland; Massillon, Ohio; Fulton, NY?; Monett, MO; ¬¶widnica, Poland; Lisbon, Portugal; Sumner, Iowa; St Louis, MO; Tremonton, Utah And it has a few variations: Altus, Oklahoma: "City with a Future to Share" Kenai, Alaska: "THE VILLAGE WITH A PAST - THE CITY WITH A FUTURE" Lowell, Arkansas: "Town with a Past, City with a Future" Beersheba: "A place with a past, a city with a future" "City of Champions" (Joliet, Illinois; Brockton, Massachusetts; Duncanville, Texas; Lilburn, Georgia; Edmonton, Alberta; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). (Pittsburgh has really really bad Google-juice.

I have a vague recollection that it (and Edmonton) were the two "City of Champions"s on my original list. But Pittsburgh is way down low on the Google-meter search for "City of Champions".) "City of Gold" (Gold Beach, OR; Oroville, California; Cite de l'or, Quebec; Gold Coast City in Australia; Victor, Colorado; etc) "City of Love" (Glasgow, San Francisco, Calcutta, Paris) "City of Roses" — Pasadena, California (my first home town) has held the Rose Parade for more than a century now; this gives it first dibs on this monicker. I had also seen Portland, Oregon referred to this way. But Google gives the nod to ?Cape Girardeau, Missouri??? Weird.

The "City That Time Forgot" (Baldwin Park, CA; Galena, IL; New Orleans; Tikal, Guatemala; Bruges/Brugge, Belgium; and a host of others) Cowtown (Both Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta; Chicago; Columbus, OH; Dallas; Kansas City; Wichita, KS; et al) "The All-American City" (I gather there's an award by this name, whose value is enormously diluted by the fact that it is bestowed annually on 10 cities. It is the National Civic League that does this.) Here are a few of the winners, plus other places that claim this title either on the web, or in email I've seen lately: Tri-Cities of TN/VA; Ocean City, MD; Tuscaloosa-Northport Tupelo MI; Roswell, NM; Santa Clara, CA; Delray Beach, FL; South Miami, FL; Fort Dodge, IA; Howard County, MD; Ocean City, MD; Independence, MO; Bozeman, MT; Fayetteville, NC; Brownsville, TX; Allentown, PA The End of the World.

(Not to be confused with The End of the Internet , of which there are also a whole bunch). Trosa, Sweden; Ushuaia, Argentina; Anchorage, AK; Gibraltar Gateway to the Rockies (Denver and Aurora Colorado; and Calgary, Hinton, and Banff, Alberta. Probably dozens of others.) Devin T McLaughlin suggested a bunch of nicknames for Calgary; some ("Entrepreneurial City" and "Volunteer City") failed the google test (didn't really show up at all), and Cowtown fails in the other direction (see above). Cotton Capital of { World, USA, Western Australia, etc... } "The Garden City" is an unusual one: there appear to be a number of cities with "Garden" as a part of their real names, which makes it a bit hard to sift out and locate the one(s) where it's just a nickname. I left three of these in the main list; Christchurch is Phil Pearson's fault, and the others came from a Google search to see if the nickname was too common for my tastes. pre-Thanksgiving update: Hogtown goes to Toronto mainly, though Gainesville put in a strong enough #2 showing.

So at this point, only one of the nicknames from my original list remains unidentified -- i.e., I haven't quite figured out with enough certainty to put it back in place yet: "The Paris of the 1980's". Maybe Seattle. Gaining no confidence from Google, I'll probably just drop that one. And the other two cities that I didn't find matches for are in Ontario, Canada — Copetown and Welland. My google efforts did not come up with any nickname for either. These will have to wait until I re-locate my original list or check some of the other sites I've listed above. Thanks to Erland, Margaret, Phil, Devin, Drew, Isaac, Kunaal, Dave Letterman, the film "Fargo", and anyone else who contributed suggestions! © Copyright 2006 Doug Landauer . The Alamo The Alamo was already a hundred years old at the time of the siege and battle. It was founded in 1718 as a Spanish mission for the purpose of Christianizing the Indians indigenous to the area.

The Indians themselves built the mission under the supervision of the Spanish priests and it was named Mission "San Antonio de Valero." The church was designed without the benefit of a master engineer, the roof collapsed almost immediately, and this portion of the mission was never actually completed. By 1793, most of the Indians had died from disease and "San Antonio de Valero" was closed as a mission. In 1803, a Spanish cavalry unit from Alamo de Parras, Mexico, was quartered In the mission and it was from this unit that the mission received the name "PuebLo del Alamo." The Spanish word "alamo" means "cottonwood" and may refer to the cottonwood trees that grew along the San Antonio River. In 1821, Mexico won her independence from Spain and claimed all the land that Spain owned that included Texas. In 1824, Mexico created a democratic constitution based on the United States Constitution. Mexico opened Texas for colonization, offering land very cheaply to new settlers. Many people. both Americans and Europeans, relocated to the area which offered the opportunity for a fresh start.

In 1833, a Mexican general, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, was elected President of Mexico, but it wasn't long before he turned his presidency into a dictatorship. He began to collect hi-h taxes and passed harsh and unreasonable laws, making the settlers very unhappy with their new home. By 1835. many colonists began to threaten revolt. Alarmed by these threats. Santa Anna sent his brother-@ln-law,. General Martin de Cos, to reinforce the Alamo General Cos arrived in San Antonio. quartered himself and his troops in the Alamo, and converted the old mission into a fortress. He added some 21 cannons which he placed around the walls and began to prepare for a siege and battle. Declaring martial law, he jailed people for no reason and soon the threat of revolution became a reality. Almost two months after Cos' arrival. in December of 1835, a force of 400 Texans led bv Ben Milam made their way into San Antonio and engaged General Cos in battle. After several days of fighting Cos surrendered by raising, a white flag above the Alamo. The Texan force of 400 suffered 19 casualties while.

defeating Mexican forces of l,1OO and gained the most important military stronghold north of the Rio Grande. Leaving his cannons behind, General Cos fled to Mexico promising not to return. The defeat of Cos angered Santa Anna. It became a matter of honor to teach the Texans a lesson and he began to raise an army which he would personally lead to San Antonio. In the meantime, despite the obvious importance of the Alamo location, Texas Army Commander Sam Houston ordered the Alamo abandoned and destroyed. Feeling that the outpost was far too isolated. he sent Colonel James Bowie with 30 men to carry out his orders. After arriving in San Antonio. somehow Bowie couldn't bring himself to destroy the old mission. Hearing that Santa Anna was marching toward The Alamo. He became even more determined to save the Alamo The Battle Of The Alamo Unsheathing his sword during a lull in the virtually incessant bombardment Colonel William Barret Travis drew a line on the ground before his battle-weary men.

In a voice trembling with emotion he described the hopelessness of their plight and said, "those prepared to give their lives in freedom's cause, come over to me." Without hesitation, every man, save one, crossed the line, Colonel James Bowie, stricken with pneumonia, asked that his cot be carried over. For twelve days now, since February 23, when Travis answered Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's surrender ultimatum with a cannon shot, the defenders had withstood the onslaught of an army which ultimately numbered 4,000 men. Committed to death inside the Alamo were 189 known patriots who valued freedom more than life itself. Many, such as the 32 men and boys from Gonzales who made their way through the Mexican lines in answer to Travis's plea for reinforcements, were colonists. Theirs was a fight against Santa Anna's intolerable decrees. Others were volunteers such as David Crockett and his "Tennessee Boys" who owned nothing in Texas, and owed nothing to it. Theirs was a fight against tyranny wherever it might be. A handful were native Texans of Spanish and Mexican descent who suffered under the same injustices as the other colonists.

Now with the ammunition and supplies all but exhausted, yet determined to make a Mexican victory more costly than a defeat, those who rallied to the Texas cause awaited the inevitable. It came suddenly in the chilly, pre-dawn hours of March 6. With bugles sounding the dreaded "Deguello" (no quarter to the defenders) columns of Mexican soldiers attacked from the north, the east, the south and the west. Twice repulsed by withering musket fire and cannon shot, they concentrated their third attack at the battered north wall. Travis, with a single shot through his forehead, fell across his cannon. The Mexicans swarmed through the breach and into the plaza. At frightful cost they fought their way to the Long Barrack and blasted its massive doors with cannon shot. Its defenders, asking no quarter and receiving none, were put to death with grapeshot, musket fire and bayonets. Crockett, using his rifle as a club, fell as the attackers, now joined by reinforcements who stormed the south wall, turned to the chapel. The Texans inside soon suffered the fate of their comrades. Bowie, his pistols emptied, his famous knife bloodied, and his body riddled, died on his cot.

Present in the Alamo were Captain Almeron Dickinson's wife, Susanna, and their 15-month-old daughter, Angelina. After the battle, Santa Anna ordered Mrs. Dickingson, her child, and other noncombatants be spared. Other known survivors were Joe, Travis servant; Gertrudis Navarro, 15, sister by adoption to James Bowie's wife, Ursula; Juana Navarro Alsbury, sister of Gertrudis, and her 18-month-old son, Alijo; Gregorio Esparza's wife Ana, and her four children: Enrique, Francisco, Manuel and Maria de Jesus; Trinidad Saucedo and Petra Gonzales. Another survivor was Lewis "Moses" Rose, who by his own choice left the Alamo on the fifth day of March. Santa Anna, minimizing his losses which numbered nearly 600, said, "It was but a small affair," and ordered the bodies of the heroes burned.

Colonel Juan Almonte, noting the great number of casualties, declared, "Another such victory and we are ruined." The Texans' smoldering desire for freedom, kindled by the funeral pyres of the Alamo, roared into flames three weeks later at Goliad when Santa Anna coldly ordered the massacre of more than 300 prisoners taken at the Battle of Coleto Creek. On April 21, forty-six days after the fall of the Alamo, less than 800 angered Texans and American volunteers led by General Sam Houston launched a furious attack on the Mexican army of 1,500 at San Jacinto. Shouting "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!", they completely routed the Mexican army in a matter of minutes, killing six hundred and thirty while losing nine. Santa Anna was captured. Texas was free; a new republic was born. An independent nation for nearly 10 years, Texas was officially annexed to the United States on December 29, 1845.

With the change in government, and the lowering of the Texas flag on February 19, 1846, outgoing President Anson Jones declared, "The final act in the great drama is now performed; the Republic of Texas is no more." 13 DAYS OF THE SIEGE OF THE ALAMO First Day Tuesday, February 23, 1836 General Santa Anna with the vanguard of his army arrived in San Antonio close to sundown. A blood-red banner was run up an San Fernando Cathedral, signifying no quarter. Colonel William 'Travis ordered the red banner answered with a cannon shot. The Mexican soldiers fired back and the siege of the Alamo began. It lasted 13 days. Second Day, Wednesday, February 24, 1836 Colonel Bowie, gravely ill, turns over command to Colonel Travis. Travis sends Albert Martin. with a letter "To the people of Texas and All Americans in the World." Third Day, Thursday, February 25, 1836 Messengers reach Fannin in Goliad. The Mexican batteries move closer. A strong norther blows in around 9:00 P.M.

Fourth Day, Friday, February 26, 1836 A skirmish takes place east of the fort while the Texans are hunting for wood. Mexican trooos try to cut water supply. Fifth Day, Saturdav, February 27, 1836 Bonham leaves for Goliad and Gonzales. The Mexican Army causes many night alarms, giving Texans very little sleep. The Mexicans try to cut off water supply to north. Sixth Day, Sunday, February 28, 1836 Fannin starts for the Alamo and then returns to Goliad. Mexicans cannonade ail day. Crockett with fiddle, Mc Gregor with bagpipes, stace musical to cheer Texans. Drizzles. Seventh Day, Monday, February, 29, 1836 Mexicans move earthworms closer. Santa Anna reconnoiters troops. The 32 men. leave Gonzales for the Alamo. Eighth Day, Tuesday, March 1, 1836 3:00 a.m., Texans elated at arrival of 32 men from Gonzales.

Texans fire two 12-pound shots at house Santa Anna is in on Main Plaza; one shot hits the house. Ninth Day Wednesday, March 2, 1836 Heavy Mexican cannonading continues. Weary men in Alamo unaware Texas Declaration of independence declared at Washington-on-the-brazos. Tenth Day, Thursday, March 3, 1836 Bonham returns from Gokiad-to report Fannin not coming. John W. Smith sent to Governor Smith with final message from the Alamo. Eleventh Day, Friday, March 4, 1836 CannoTa-ding starts early and continues all day. Little return fire from the Alamo. Twelfth Day, Saturday, March 5, 1836 Colonel Travis draws line on ground with sword for ail who will stand and fight with him. Mexican bombardment ends at 1O:00 p.m. Thirteenth Sunday, March 6, 1836 1:00 a.m. Weary Texans sleep. - Mexican troops move into positions. 2:00 a.m. Santa Anna and Almonte discuss battle plans. 3:00 a.m.

Troops still moving into positions. 4:00 a.m. Silence. Troops in position. Just after 5:00 a.m. Santa Anna gives signal. Mexican bugler sounds Dequello. Four columns of Mexican Army advance on Alamo. Twice repelled by Texans. Intense fighting, heavy Mexican casualties. Mexicans breach north wall, pour into plaza barracks, and former church. 6:30 am The Alamo has fallen Enter your search terms Submit search form © Copyright 1994 - 2013 by AlamoCity.com All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission is prohibited Send comments to gcrumpton@yahoo.com History History More News Releases... History of the San Antonio Police Department A glimpse into the early days of the San Antonio Police Department. Contributions and suggestions are always welcome. Further Info 1718-1900 Early law enforcement in San Antonio begins with the alguacils of the Villa de San Fernando de Bexar and progresses to the Texas Rangers, vigilantes, and City Marshals of early San Antonio.

Early San Antonio history can be divided into four areas : 1718-1836 San Antonio de Bexar Under Spain & Mexico 1837-1860 Era of Texas Independence & Early Statehood 1860-1870 San Antonio During Civil War & Reconstruction 1870-1900 San Antonio Becomes a Modern City Construction began in 1850 on the Courthouse and Jail Building, located on the NW corner of Military Plaza. This 2-story building later became known as the "Bat Cave". Police shield in use c.1900 San Antonio Police Department c. 1900, on steps of the new City Hall Timeline 1870 Population of San Antonio: 12,256 1870 Reconstruction Texas Governor E.J. Davis set up a State Police force under the Police Act, with authority to operate anywhere in the state (known as the "Davis Police") 1872 Police Act overturned.

Texas Rangers re-instated 1873 Colt issues its classic .45 Single Action Revolver which soon became the sidearm of choice for Texas lawmen 1873 John Dobbin is appointed Marshal and transforms the police from a frontier, cowboy-type group into an organized, uniformed police department 1875 San Antonio police officers are issued standard uniforms. Police officers are required to wear a shield and to conceal their firearms under their uniform coats. 1876 The new Texas Constitution goes into effect 1876 Barbed wire introduced to San Antonio & its widespread use leads to "fence cutting" and range wars 1877 Railroad service finally reaches San Antonio. San Antonio's first street car, pulled by mules, goes into operation 1879 Telephone service introduced in San Antonio by Western Union 1883 Electricity extended to entire city center. State of Texas purchases abandoned Alamo and gives it to City of San Antonio 1899 First automobiles arrive in Texas 1900 - 1950 The Department acquires automobiles, motorcycles, radios and other technology, establishes a Training Academy, and becomes a professional, modern police organization.

1900: Elizabeth Dunn (Hardy) is hired as the first female member of the San Antonio Police Department. Her duties are to monitor female prisoners. The rural, frontier crimes and dangers of the 19th c (Indian/bandit raids, cattle rustling, gunslingers, and so on) were replaced by more urban crime and problems: bank robbers who used fast getaway cars, organized crime and corruption, alcohol (Prohibition) and narcotics, traffic accidents, and labor unrest - a product of industrialization. Although there was a continuation of frontier attitudes towards law and order as late as the 1930s (the WPA Guide to Texas quoted a Texas jurist as saying, "In Texas the 1st question to be decided by a jury in any homicide case is: Should the deceased have departed?"), technology served to facilitate the dissemination of more accepted (nationally) attitudes. In 1900, San Antonio residents were barely linked by telephone to someone a few blocks away; by 1950 San Antonio had a television station broadcasting national news every evening.

The Police Department that entered the 20th century on horseback found itself 50 years later with an aerial surveillance unit, radio-equipped patrol cars and an urban expressway system. SAPD in 1901 Traffic Police on motorcycle, c. 1934. 1950 - 1980 SAPD enters the era of Civil Service. City population expands and the Department grows in manpower and modern technology. Above: SAPD Laboratory Car and Equipment, c. 1960 For SAPD, the post-war period brought both stability and change. Mayors had previously controlled the appointment of the Chief of Police/Chief Marshal, with a long list of Chiefs going in and out of office according to the popularity (or whim) of the mayor, who was himself subject to election every 2 years. New SAPD Headquarters on Nueva Street - Original 1962 one-storey building.

With the shift to a Council-Manager form of city government, the position of Chief of Police entered a new period of stability: the longest-serving Chief in SAPD history, Chief Bichsel (19 years) was appointed in 1953; only 5 other men served as chief throughout the rest of the 20th century. The 1950s was also a period of expansion in SAPD, not only of manpower, but also of facilities, with the passage of a bond for a new Headquarters building, an expansion of the crime laboratory, more (and more modern) equipment for officers and support staff, and an increase in professionalism in all areas of the Department. Chief Bichsel's appointment as chief in 1953 and the 1957 Leonard Report (A Survey of the Police Department) are the most significant turning points for SAPD. 1980 - 2000 SAPD in the 21st Century: SAPD enters an era of Community Partnerships made possible through decentralization of services and accountability at all levels. For more history, you may wish to visit the following sites The Alamo : Alamo History from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Homepage.

The Missions : Photos & History of San Antonio's 18th century Missions. San Fernando Cathedral : Brief history of the oldest church in the United States. Alamo Colleges : District Learn more. Now available in the ACES Student tab Alamo Scheduler, a free, web-based, automatic schedule app you can use to organize your class schedule, register for classes and keep track of what’s happening in your life. Alamo College's students who are close to or have completed 15 or 45 hours of college credit are now required to enter an Advising Personal Identification Number (PIN) in order to register for Spring 2017. To obtain the Advising PIN, students must participate in an advising session with their Certified Advisor. The advising session will help the student review their individual success plan in preparation for graduation and give the student an opportunity to ask questions about transfer institutions, graduation planning, job readiness and other concerns. 1801 Martin Luther King Dr. San Antonio, TX 78203 Get the management and office technology experience you need to get ahead. Good health, helping others and loving what you do are often the keys to success! Our programs range from certifications to courses that prepare students for state certification exams.

Pursue a lifelong passion! Learn new skills or start your own business with creative arts courses in Digital Media. Fast track your career in manufacturing and/or logistics at Alamo Colleges. STEM workers drive innovation and competitiveness by generating new companies and new industries.

Question: Which American city has the nickname "Alamo City"?
Answer: SAN ANTONIO