San Antonio Riverwalk Museum Reach

Visit Historic Pearl Brewery with Urban Twist, Museum by the River

Aug 17, 2009

When searching for a Texas travel destination, the new expansion of the San Antonio Riverwalk offers something for everyone in the family.

An updated and modern stretch of the San Antonio Riverwalk, called the Museum Reach, welcomed visitors for the first time on May 2009. While the original Riverwalk – which is known for its festive ambiance and river cruises – still remains a visitor hotspot, the new northern section aims to give a more laid back, hip, and scenic experience.

The Museum Reach is the first step toward a Riverwalk expansion plan that will include more visitor-friendly riverside pathways by 2014. The southern stretch will reach to four of the city's Spanish colonial missions.

In the mean time, there's plenty for visitors to explore within the Museum Reach.

Historic Pearl Brewery Gets Modern Makeover

The Pearl Brewery has been part of San Antonio history since 1883. And when the beer stopped flowing in 2001, it's future as a city landmark was uncertain. But in 2002, a San Antonio investment company bought the 22-acre property and redevelopment plans began.

It didn't take long until the Pearl Brewery and its adjacent former warehouse (the Full Goods Building) reopened with a new mission - to become the anchor of the Riverwalk's new Museum Reach, and be a place that both out-of-towners and locals could enjoy. Today, though the old brewery and Full Goods is still a work in progress, the space has converted into a hip, urban space that houses:

Visitors can also enjoy a Farmer's Market every Saturday, rain or shine from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays on the Museum Reach are quiet, mainly because most of the shops and restaurants are closed. Urban residences and office spaces are also a big part of the renovated Pearl.

Visitors can also ride on Texas' only lock and dam system, which resembles a mini Panama Canal, as well as enjoy unique art installations all along the new stretch. Future plans for the Pearl include an amphitheater carved out of the river's banks that will seat 1,000 people.

Bat Watching

Pearl Brewery condo owners are not the only ones calling the new Museum Reach area home. About 8,000 Mexican free-tailed bats have colonized under the Interstate 35 bridge at San Antonio's Camden Street. Visitors can wait on the riverside paths or sit on the benches that line the bridge at about 8:15 to 8:45 p.m. and watch the bats emerge.

San Antonio Museum of Art

There couldn't be a more scenic location for a museum in San Antonio. Visitors can cruise to the Museum of Art on a river taxi. The building itself is a work of art, since it once housed the historic Lone Star brewery, built in 1884. Though the museum boasts an extensive collection, its best known for its:

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