The “Father of the Riverwalk” is finally honored and rings the bell bearing his name
Robert H.H. Hugman was honored at a ceremony on the stage of the Arneson River Theater on this day 42 years ago.
He earned the name “The Father of the Riverwalk” because of his initial vision for the lazy waterway, how it would benefit San Antonio, and bring life to the downtown city area.
Born in San Antonio in 1902, he studied Architecture, and following a visit to New Orleans, he was inspired to create something special for the San Antonio River. He developed a concept he called “The Shops of Aragon and Romula” which he hoped would persuade the city to embrace the river, instead of letting it continue as a drainage ditch…or worse….to be paved over and become a traffic thoroughfare.
His grand vision was presented to Mayor C.M Chambers and other city leaders on June 28th 1929. In his presentation, Hugman told the group that his plan was to have the river “ barred to vehicular traffic, yet holding the best shops, clubs, banks, and cafes…prosperous, yet alluring with its shadowed doorways and quaint atmosphere.”
As history shows, he was fired from the project during the construction, however, at the urging of restauranteur Frank W. Phelps, Hugman finally received the long-overdue honor for his dream for the San Antonio Riverwalk.
At the ceremony on the stage of the Arneson River Theater, Robert Hugman rang the largest of the bronze bells behind the stage, on which was inscribed “In honor of Robert H.H. Hugman, concept architect, San Antonio River” He passed away less than two years later on July 22 1980. Robert Hugman’s memory lives on today along the Riverwalk with a bridge, a stone bench, an office balcony, and a dam all bearing his name, and his legacy lives on as thousands of admirers marvel at the San Antonio Riverwalk today.
Resources
Vernon G. Zunker, A Dream Come True: Robert Hugman and the San Antonio River Walk , V.G. Zunker Publishing, 1995, ISBN 0963923501
Fisher, Lewis F. Riverwalk: The epic Story of San Antonio’s River, Maverick Publishing Company, 2007, ISBN 978-1-893271-40-1
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