It’s fine; you’re forgiven. Even frequent visitors to San Antonio feel obliged to make the Alamo their first stop. It’s a kind of ritual, a way of saying howdy to what is, after all, The Alamo City. But with very little additional effort, the Alamo experience (and others like it) can be enhanced with San Antonio sidebars even many locals aren’t aware of. Let’s say you’re standing facing the Shrine of Texas Liberty, waiting for crowds to clear so you can take that perfect late-afternoon shot. (Good luck.) Now, turn to your right…

The Menger Hotel is claimed to be (by the folks at the Menger, of course) the oldest hotel in continuous operation west of the Mississippi. Certainly its history, beginning with the construction of a modest boarding house by German cooper-come-beer-maker William Menger in 1855, is a long and colorful one. Luminaries, the likes of Oscar Wilde, Jenny Lind, Robert E. Lee and Buffalo Bill, were among the guests of the hotel in its later, more elegant, incarnation, and ghosts of many souls, including the locally illustrious Captain Richard King of King Ranch fame, are said to still traipse the hallowed halls. But for our purposes, it’s Teddy Roosevelt we’re interested in. While training Rough Riders south of town for his campaign in Cuba, Roosevelt and his sidekick, Cornelius Vanderbilt, were known to ride their mounts right to the front door of the Menger in order to partake of its fabled hospitality. On occasion, they apparently also dismounted, for the hotel’s Rough Rider bar is thought to be the scene of much recruitment into the hard-fighting (and, we assume, hard-drinking) corps. Though we understand that the dark and paneled bar (a replica of the pub inside England’s House of Lords) has been moved from its original location, it still retains a kind of rough-and-ready appeal that makes it easy to conjure the convivial future President in his wild-oats era. For a libation – or just a look – enter the door across from the side of the Alamo. And be sure to check out the Teddy memorabilia both inside the bar and in the corridor leading to the hotel’s spit-and-polish lobby, itself a reminder of a bygone era.

Now, let’s admit that your Alamo visit also included a tour of the gift shop, and why not: the faux-fur raccoon-skin caps are perfect for the kids and grandkids. But most grown-ups looking for a Texas topper with a little more braggin’ potential are urged to walk the short block west down Houston street to Broadway and from there the half-block north to Paris Hatters at number 119. “Stetson Hats” is emblazoned in neon on the exterior, and within awaits the ten-gallon of your dreams. OK, in these days of slimmed-down swagger, the hats’ holding capacity may be seriously reduced, but the selection is nevertheless no slouch, ranging from modest straws to ultra-luxurious felts of beaver, chinchilla and cashmere with gold- and diamond-buckled bands. (Think $8,000 for this ultra-luxury model.) Equally impressive is the list of clients this local institution has served since its founding by the Cortez family in 1917. Visitors the likes of President Truman and King Juan Carlos of Spain, Matt Damon and Pope John Paul II and ZZ Top and Johnny and June Cash have sported Stetsons, Borsalinos and Panamas, all steamed-to-shape on the J3 Jiffy Hat Steamer that is one of the newer-looking artifacts in a store not (note the slightly moth-eaten buffalo head and the rampant bear short several of his claws) ashamed of its age.

Now that we’re in serious shopping mode, an obvious destination is the Quarry Market shopping center, home of Whole Foods and places such as P.F. Chang’s, Piatti and 20nine Wine Bar on the culinary side, and Whole Earth Provision Company and Lucchese Boots on the retail end. Though Lucchese is no longer headquartered in San Antonio, the famous boot company was founded here in 1883, and we continue to claim it as ours. The smell of burnished leather is immediately apparent upon entering the sleek store, and if you can pry yourself away from the exotically embroidered cowboy (and cowgirl) shirts and the elaborately engraved belt buckles and accessories that first grab your attention, there is a world of lizards, ostriches and ‘gators to be explored – in colors and patterns the animals never knew. A cherry-red, pin ostrich boot will set you back nearly $900, black lizard with a tooled and colored floral pattern around $1,130, and an aggressively nubby ‘gator goes for $2,599. Looking, and maybe even a little discreet fondling, is free, however.

And so is a quick crossing of Jones Maltsberger Road to the Stone Werks Café & Bar, housed in a remnant of the old San Antonio Portland Cement Company headquarters that had operated the original quarry and plant since its founding there in 1908. At the entry to the Stone Werks, the curious visitor will notice an equally curious fence that appears to be wood but upon closer inspection is made of concrete crafted and colored to imitate tree trunks. Nearby, a more elaborate grotto can be found. In need of repair, it’s nevertheless easy to conjure up the form intended by Mexican craftsman Dionicio Rodriguez, who came to San Antonio in the late ‘20s. Employed by what later became the Alamo Cement Company, Rodriguez conceived (and kept secret) the process for forming and tinting his faux bois (though later, local craftsmen developed their own versions, and the San Antonio Zoo has long emulated his work for animal enclosures), and more of his art can be found scattered throughout Brackenridge Park. Enter from Hildebrand to see a particularly fine arbor.

His best-known work, however, is the triple-tree bus shelter at Broadway and Patterson streets. And as we’re now on our way back downtown via Broadway, a tip of the Stetson you’ve just acquired is suggested. (So is a quick detour into nearby Central Market, often referred to as the “food museum” by visitors astonished at the array of cheeses, produce and specialty goods.) Continuing down Broadway, a thoroughfare whose early streetcar line encouraged the development of now-posh Alamo Heights, we quickly come to the Witte Museum, a treasure-trove of local and natural history. (Don’t miss the kid-focused Tree House, a current-day homage to Rodriguez and his craft.)

We’ll keep on shoppin’, and suspect you have already targeted Rivercenter Mall, built around the basin of a River Walk extension and framed by the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. But we’re going to suggest an antidote to shopping in a nearby structure built more than 100 years before the mall: St. Joske’s. A little explanation is now required. Before the arrival of Dillard’s, the Alamo Plaza anchor of the mall, there was Joske’s, a locally owned department store. And before Joske’s, there was St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, built in 1868-71 for the German Catholic congregation living in the immediate vicinity (primarily the neighborhood that is now HemisFair Park). When Joske’s was in a period of expansion decades ago, it attempted to buy the church. The congregation refused, and the store simply built around the handsome gothic revival structure – hence the sobriquet St. Joske’s. Handsomely restored both inside and out, this quiet oasis, softly illuminated by stained glass windows created in Germany, is both a testament to tenacity and an architectural exclamation point in a commercial setting.

If the German neighborhood that became HemisFair offers little but a few houses as a reminder of its prosperous past, neighboring La Villita, the village that developed in the early 1800s as a high-ground refuge from river flooding, survived intact; it is doubtless on your agenda as much for its history as for shops such as the Neuva Street contemporary art gallery. But unless you’re breaking in new boots, we also suggest a stroll a few blocks south along South Alamo Street to the Old German-English School adjacent to the Fairmount Hotel (itself renowned for its Guinness Book of World Records move, on rollers, to its current location). Now serving as a conference center for the Marriott Plaza San Antonio Hotel, the two buildings flanking a tranquil center courtyard were erected in 1859-60. Classes were taught in both English and German, the school year was eleven months, and students attended school six days a week – under discipline as demanding as the curriculum. (Don’t bother trying to impress your teenagers with these facts, however.) Many prominent San Antonians passed through the school’s halls before the public school system took over the buildings in 1890.

Many of those prominent citizens came from neighboring King William, San Antonio’s premier historic district. We know it’s already on your schedule – and well it should be; the eponymous main street is lined with impressive structures, most built by the German burghers who gave the district its former (and fond, we’re sure) name of Sauerkraut Bend. Start with the Wulff House at 107 King William St., now the headquarters of the San Antonio Conservation Society, pay particular attention to the house at 245 (it was built by a member of the Joske’s department store family we mentioned earlier), and pay special homage to the last owner of the Norton-Polk Mathis house at 401 King William. Walter Mathis was responsible not only for the restoration of this elegant home, but also for inspiring the revival of the entire historic district. Don’t stop your tour with the old Steves homestead at the end of King William Street, however; this stately home-come-museum is fascinating, but we’re urging just one more effort on your part, the short transit to  the Blue Star Arts Complex just across the river – within spittin’ distance, we swear.

Blue Star is a relatively recent development sprung from the skeleton of a former warehouse/manufacturing center. At its heart is the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, an exhibit facility dedicated to works by local and regional artists. Clustering around it are artist’s studios and galleries (the Joan Grona Gallery, San Angel Folk Art shop and the Satellite Space gallery for the University of Texas at San Antonio are among the must-sees), and living spaces. All are thoughtfully serviced by the Blue Star Brewing Company, offering suds and sustenance after the trek you’ve made in boots not made for walkin’ (at least not when new). So you won’t now object to one final effort.

Nearby artist Gini Garcia makes to-die-for blown glass lighting and sculpture at her store, Garcia Art Glass. It’s just a few steps across the seldom-used railroad tracks that issue from the Pioneer Flour Mills, to Say Sí, the handsome new exhibit/teaching facility, crafted from a former warehouse, whose mission is to both bring art awareness to local school kids and to encourage them to create it themselves – in media ranging from animation and filmmaking to drawing, painting and ceramics. The inaugural exhibit/sale featured art by established artists and Say Sí alumni alike, and the distinction was often hard to make. Consider Say Sí a sign that a city once renowned for its history is now just as likely to be noted for its future. Oh, and think of it as the southern terminus of yet another walking tour – this one of the River Walk. But that’s another article.