Texas Historical Commission halts plan to move the Alamo Cenotaph

After a marathon Zoom meeting full of highly charged public comment, the Texas Historical Commission shot down a controversial plan to relocate the Alamo's Cenotaph, a key step in redeveloping the historical site.

THC voted 12-2 on Tuesday night to deny San Antonio’s request to refurbish the deteriorating monument and move it a few hundred feet from its current location in Alamo Plaza.

“[San Antonio] worked in good faith to develop a plan with our project partners, including the Texas General Land Office, Alamo Trust and the public to do something truly transformational with this iconic site," Assistant City Manager Lori Houston said in a written statement. "Unfortunately, after tonight’s disappointing vote to deny the restoration and relocation of the Cenotaph, the Alamo Master Plan remains a plan without a project. For the moment the answer to the question of many Alamo visitors — ‘Is that all there is?’ — remains a resounding yes."

Leaders of the $400 million public-private effort to update Alamo Plaza said vote jeopardizes the entire multi-year plan.

“With this failing today and the project not being executed the way it was prescribed as city council voted on it in 2018, it puts the whole the whole project in jeopardy,” District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño told KSAT news after the vote.

Engineers have warned that the Cenotaph, placed on site in 1936 to honor those who died in the battle, is in danger of cracking because of years of exposure to the elements.

Stay on top of San Antonio news and views. Sign up for our Weekly Headlines Newsletter.