“Chili Queens, Hay Wagons and Fandangos” by Lewis F. Fisher
In the late 1800s, before San Antonio entered the modern era, its plazas were wonderful places. Before the streets were paved, hay vendors in mule-drawn carts trundled on to Military Plaza, kicking up dust. Vendors sold earthenware. Dealers sold firewood. They sold vegetables. Birds, too.
Saloons lined these public places.
The chili queens, who cooked up chili con carne, frijoles, tamales and other hit-the-spot meals, etched their names in San Antonio lore by serving up grub in these plazas in the evenings. Picnic tables were situated by the outdoor kitchens in the middle of the plaza.
In the early days, particularly Military Plaza, where City Hall now sits, there were bull fights, cock fights and medicine purveyors.
Images of these plazas have been collected in the new book “Chili Queens, Hay Wagons and Fandangos: The Spanish Plazas of Frontier San Antonio,” the latest by S.A. historian Lewis F. Fisher. Flipping through the book, perusing these fascinating photos, you get a sense of wonderment over how things use to be in our downtown.
Back in the day, people were just as fascinated by these places, which is fascinating unto itself. In 1877, when the railroad started to run through San Antonio, tourists flocked here to experience the foreignness of these plazas.
In 1856, Central Park architect Frederick Law Olmsted wrote about Military Plaza about the “jumble of races, costumes, languages and buildings.” He said that only New Orleans compared with San Antonio in its “odd and antiquated foreignness,” Lewis writes.
Tourists had these pictures taken. Photographers like Henry A. Doerr and Frank Hardesty made good money taking pictures of tourists in these plazas. Because they were tourists, the photos were often found in collections outside of San Antonio. Fisher has hunted down these images, and, in “Chili Queens, Hay Wagons and Fandangos,” has crafted a book that expounds on a legacy that’s only been touched on previously.
Fisher’s book, however, is more than a picture book. It’s a great history lesson, explaining how, in 1890, San Antonio left the Old West era, and started to become modernized. Mule-drawn streetcars were replaced by electric streetcars. Streets were paved. Big commercial buildings started to go up around the plazas.
“Chili Queens, Hay Wagons and Fandangos” is the latest from Maverick Publishing Company, and is a must own for anyone with a remote interested in San Antonio history.
Photo: S.A. photographer Henry A. Doerr took this picture of a wagon in front of his early Commerce Street studio.
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