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Glossary of Terms and AcronymsBrackenridge Park Termsacequia: An irrigation ditch or canal with Middle Easter origins. “One of the most significantaccomplishments of the Spanish Colonial residents of San Antonio was their construction ofa complex and expansive system comprising dams, gates, and irrigation canals. Togetherthese systems, known as acequias, enabled the missions to thrive and determined settlementpatterns.”1 The original acequia network in San Antonio provided water to five Spanishmissions spread along the San Antonio River. Later additions to the network provided waterto settlers who were not associated with theAcequia Madre de Valero: Construction of this canal began in 1718 or 1719. Whenthe mission it sourced moved, the Mission San Antonio Valero (the Alamo), newconstruction was carried out beginning around 1723 or 1724 to supply water tothe Mission San Antonio Valero.2 The acequia originated from a diversion dam inthe San Antonio River at a location in Brackenridge park and “ran southeasterlytoward Broadway and south to [the] mission before returning to the San AntonioRiver below today’s downtown area.”3 Remnants have been located near the WitteMuseum. It is the first acequia in the city’s original acequia system, and it is likelyremnant along many portions of the eastern edge of Brackenridge Park.Upper Labor Acequia: Between 1776 to 1778, the Upper Labor acequia wasconstructed and “twenty-six long, narrow parcels (suertas) running from theacequia to the river were awarded to those who financed the ditch.”4 The UpperLabor Acequia was constructed to provide irrigation to settlers; it was not part of theoriginal system of acequias constructed to serve the missions. Remnants have beenlocated in the northwestern area of Brackenridge Park, in the San Antonio Zoo, andin the southwestern area, in Davis Park.1 “Mission Trails Historic Sites, Acequias,” Sanantonio.gov, accessed January 8, 2020, Acequias.2 “Mission Trails Historic Sites, Acequias.”3 Maria Watson Pfeiffer and Steven A. Tomka, “Brackenridge Park,” National Register of Historic Places, TexasHistorical Commission, San Antonio, TX, June 15, 2011, 8.4 Pfeiffer and Tomka, “Brackenridge Park,” 36.Reed HilderbrandSuzanne Turner AssociatesBrackenridge Park Conservancy485
appendix aBalcones Escarpment: A rugged limestone terrain that forms a fault line which delimitsthe boundary between sub-arid conditions of the Great Plains to the west and subtropicalconditions of the Coastal Plains in the east. This line separates Texas Hill Country fromthe flat and fertile Blackland Prairie. Fissures along the escarpment allow water to trickledown to the Edwards Aquifer below, creating the rechargeable source of water from whichnumerous springs, and the San Antonio River, flow.5diversion Dam: A structure “designed to divert water from a watercourse such as awaterway or stream into another watercourse, irrigation canal, stream, water-spreadingsystem, or another waterway.”6 In Brackenridge Park, diversion dams were constructed todivert water from the San Antonio River into acequias.Alamo Dam: The Alamo Dam dates to c. 1719-1724, and was constructed “on theeast bank of the river to divert water into the ditch [acequia] that served MissionSan Antonio de Valero (the Alamo).”7Upper Labor Dam: “The Upper Labor dam diverted water from the river’s westbank into an acequia that ran southwesterly through today’s San Antonio Zoo andnear the alignment of Rock Quarry Road (now North St. Mary Street). It worked inconjunction with the Upper Labor Acequia and dates to c. 1776-1778. During parkrenovation in the 1990s, the dam was partially excavated and documented andthen covered for protection. The stone-lined channel remains intact and is visiblein both the park and within the boundary of the San Antonio Zoo.”8Edwards Aquifer: “an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rockthat is between 300-700 feet thick The San Antonio segment of the Aquifer extends in a160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast, andis between five and 40 miles wide at the surface The San Antonio segment is where mostof the major natural springs occur, where much of the use by humans takes place, and wherethe issues are most hotly debated.”9faux bois: French term meaning false wood, “refers to the artistic imitation of wood orwood grains in various media, but typically cement. The craft has roots in the Renaissance In Mexico and Texas, this style is sometimes known as ‘el trabajo rústico’ (the rustic work). Itis often characterized by a realistic look in both composition and coloring, as well as a morefinely detailed finish than comparable European work.Dionicio Rodríguez: Mexican artist Dionicio Rodríguez was an internationallyknown sculptor and “a skilled practitioner of the technique;” his faux bois existsthroughout Brackenridge park, including in Miraflores Gardens and in the SanAntonio Zoo. The work includes footbridges, benches, tables, entry gates; this workdates between the 1920s – 1940s.5 David Malda, “Landscape Narratives and the San Antonio River,” in River Cities: City Rivers, ed. Thaïsa Way(Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, 2018), 252.6 “Dam, Diversion,” USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed January 8, 2020, nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE DOCUMENTS/nrcs143 026012.pdf7 Pfeiffer and Tomka, “Brackenridge Park,” 8.8 Pfeiffer and Tomka, “Brackenridge Park,” 10.9 Gregg Eckhardt, “Hydrology of the Edwards Aquifer,” The Edwards Aquifer Website, accessed June 3, ge Park Cultural Landscape Report San Antonio
glossarylow-water Crossing: A structure designed provide a bridge across a water body. It isdesigned to be submerged during high water flows, and to provide a safe vehicular passageduring low water flows.10 There are two historic low-water crossings in Brackenridge Park.Avenue A Low-Water Crossing: Constructed as a WPA project in 1939 andlocated in the southern portion of the park. This crossing is no longer functional asa connection, because the road it would have connected people to (on the easternside of the San Antonio River), is no longer operational.Tuleta Drive Low-Water Crossing: Constructed in 1917 and located near the SanAntonio Zoo entry area, provides access across the San Antonio River, uniting theeastern and western sides of the park.San Antonio Missions: “a group of five frontier mission complexes situated along a12.4-kilometer (7.7-mile) stretch of the San Antonio River basin The complexes were builtin the early eighteenth century and as a group they illustrate the Spanish Crown’s effortsto colonize, evangelize and defend the northern frontier of New Spain. In addition toevangelizing the areas [I]ndigenous population into converts loyal to the Catholic Church,the missions also included all the components required to establish self-sustaining, socioeconomic communities loyal to the Spanish Crown.”11Critical to the missions were the system of acequias, with the earliest acequia, the AcequiaMadre Valero, beginning in present-day Brackenridge Park.Water Works Raceway: “a straight, earthen ditch with sloping sides constructed todeliver water from the west bank of the river to the Water Works pump house. As originallyconstructed, the ditch measured approximately 40 feet wide and 650 feet long. The racewaywas designed with a nine-foot fall that provided power to drive turbines and pumps. Waterre-entered the river at the pump house. Today the raceway is abandoned and dry.”12Park Planning/Park History TermsCity Beautiful: Movement that grew from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition inChicago. The City Beautiful Movement shifted the role of the city as a symbol of economicdevelopment and industrialization to one of beauty and aesthetics.13Chicago World Fair 1893: Also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition, theexposition was intended to introduce Americans “to the products of men’s handiwork andmechanical skill” from around the world.14municipal park (large municipal park): “Land usually encompassing 500 or more acresowned and managed by municipalities and designed to relieve the stress of urban living bybringing the perceived benefits of the countryside into the city. Often picturesque in character,many of these parks include orchestrated experiences of spatial sequences characterized by10 “Low-Water Crossings,” US Forest Service, accessed November 1, 2019, www.fs.fed.us/td/pubs/pdf/LowWaterCrossings/Hi pdf/2 Chapter1.pdf11 “San Antonio Missions: Nomination for Inscription on the World Heritage List PDF,” 159-61, San Antonio, TX,January 2014, whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1466.pdf.12 Pfeiffer and Tomka, “Brackenridge Park,” 10.13 “City Beautiful Movement,” The New York Preservation Archive Project, New York Preservation Archive Project,accessed June 3, 2019, ment/.14 Norman T. Newton, Design on the Land: The Development of Landscape Architecture (Cambridge, MA: BelknapPress of Harvard University, 1978), 365.Reed HilderbrandSuzanne Turner AssociatesBrackenridge Park Conservancy487
appendix awinding roads and paths, woodlands, artificial lakes, large expanses of lawn, and groves oftrees planted to guide movement and control sight lines, as well as architecture planned toharmonize with the landscape. These parks often promoted passive recreation and manyincluded such diverse amenities as zoos, outdoor theatres, golf courses, and public gardens.They were created as democratic manifestations of the benefits of a free society, with thegoal of reforming public health crises and contributing to economic vitality and the growthof modern cities.”15sustainable park: Sustainable park development arose in the mid-1990s. The model ofsustainable park development generally includes three attributes: “(1) self-sufficiency inregard to material resources and maintenance, (2) solving larger urban problems outside ofpark boundaries, and (3) creating new standards for aesthetics and landscape managementin parks and other urban landscapes.” Sustainable park development usually involvescitizen participation, ecological education, and related policies to support the effectiveness16and stewardship of these parks. Brackenridge Park is not currently a sustainable park, but itis engaging in work towards sustainability, and its preservation should include embracing anew chapter as a sustainable park.Works Progress Administration (WPA): A New Deal agency established in 1935 underFranklin D. Roosevelt to employ people during the Great Depression. Headed first by theReconstruction Finance Administration and by the Works Progress Administration (WPA),depression-era projects updated the infrastructure, installed new recreational areas andbuildings, and virtually remade the landscape of some parks. The agency was renamed“Works Projects Administration” in 1939.During this period, approximately 90,000.00 was earmarked for projects to improve theinfrastructure of Brackenridge Park and its zoo, and Koehler Park. Investments includedthe construction of rock retaining walls along the San Antonio River to control erosion. Thecity forester, Stewart King, who became a noted landscape architect, supervised a project tobuild a drive—Tuleta Drive—from Broadway to the recreation area at Brackenridge.17World’s Columbian Exposition 1893: Also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, theexposition was intended to introduce American “to the products of men’s handiwork andmechanical skill” from around the world.1815 “Large Municipal Park,” The Cultural Landscape Foundation, TCLF, accessed November 1, 2019. park/large-municipal-park.16 Galen Cranz, The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1982).17 Pfeiffer and Tomka, “Brackenridge Park,” 65.18 Newton, Design on the Land, 365.488Brackenridge Park Cultural Landscape Report San Antonio
glossaryCultural Landscape TermsCultural Landscape: In 1984, the National Park Service (NPS) defined cultural landscapeas “a geographic area, including both cultural and natural resources and the wildlife ordomestic animals therein, associated with a historic event, activity, or person, or exhibitingother cultural or aesthetic values.”landscapes.19There are four NPS-designated types of culturalDesigned Landscape: A landscape “consciously designed or laid out by alandscape architect, master gardener, architect, or horticulturist according todesign principles, or an amateur gardener working in a recognized style or tradition.The landscape may be associated with a significant person(s), trend, or event inlandscape architecture; or illustrate an important development in the theory andpractice of landscape architecture.”20Ethnographic Landscape: A landscape that contains “a variety of natural andcultural resources that associated people define as heritage resources. Examplesare contemporary settlements, religious sacred sites and massive geologicalstructures. Small plant communities, animals, subsistence and ceremonial groundsare often components.”21Historic Site: A landscape that is “significant for its association with a historicevent, activity, or person. Examples include battlefields and president’s houseproperties.”22Vernacular Landscape: A landscape “that evolved through use by the peoplewhose activities or occupancy shaped that landscape. Through social or culturalattitudes of an individual, family or a community, the landscape reflects thephysical, biological, and cultural character of those everyday lives. Function plays asignificant role in vernacular landscapes.”23integrity: “The historic integrity of a cultural landscape relates to the ability of the landscapeto convey its significance ” Aspects included in determining a cultural landscape’s level onintegrity include assessing “cohesiveness, setting, and character of a landscape, as well asthe material, composition, and workmanship of associated features Historic integrity isdetermined by the extent to which the general character of the historic period is evident.”2524National Heritage Area (NHA): A Congressional designation for a ‘lived-in’ landscape thatmay occur in urban, rural, or wilderness areas. NHAs are “places where natural, cultural,and historic resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. Throughtheir resources, NHAs tell nationally important stories that celebrate our nations diverseheritage. NHAs are lived-in landscapes. Consequently, NHA entities collaborate with19 “Understand Cultural Landscapes,” National Park Service, htm.20 Charles Birnbaum, “Protecting Cultural Landscapes: Planning, Treatment and Management of Historic Landscapes,”Technical Preservation Services, National Park Service, accessed November 2, 2019, scapes.htm.21 Birnbaum, “Protecting Cultural Landscapes.”22 Birnbaum, “Protecting Cultural Landscapes.”23 Birnbaum, “Protecting Cultural Landscapes.”24 Robert Page, Cathy A. Gilbert, and Susan A. Dolan, A Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports (US Department of theInterior, National Park Service, Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, Washington, DC, 1998), 71.25 Page, Gilbert, and Dolan. Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports, 71.Reed HilderbrandSuzanne Turner AssociatesBrackenridge Park Conservancy489
appendix acommunities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.”26There are currently 55 NHAs in the United States.National Park Service (NPS): “A bureau within the United States Department of Interior.The NPS preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the nationalpark system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”27In 1981, the National Park Service “first recognized cultural landscapes as a specific resourcetype,” and “more than any other organization or agency [the NPS] provided the mostsignificant direction to the nascent cultural landscape preservation movement.” In 1984,the NPS published Cultural Landscapes: Rural Historic Districts in the National Park System, a28document that “spelled out criteria for identifying and defining cultural landscapes.”29National Register of Historic Places (NR or NRHP): The comprehensive list of districts,sites, buildings, structures, and objects of national, regional, state, and local significance inAmerican history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture kept by the NPS underauthority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.National Register Nomination: The technical document used by any individual or agencycompleting the process to nominate a property for inclusion on the National Register ofHistoric Places list.Landscape Preservation Treatment (Treatment Plan): The National Park Service(NPS) uses the term “Treatment” to describe the management plan that results from CLRanalysis of a landscape’s historical context, site history, existing conditions, significance,and integrity. The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties and theGuidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes prescribes four treatment approaches:Preservation: requires “retention of the greatest amount of historic fabric,including historic form, features, and details as they have evolved over time.”Reconstruction: establishes a framework for “recreating a vanished or nonsurviving landscape with new materials, primarily for interpretive purposes.30Rehabilitation: “acknowledges the need to alter or add to a cultural landscape tomeet continuing or new uses while retaining the landscape’s historic character.”Restoration: allows for “the depiction of a landscape at a particular time in itshistory by preserving materials from the period of significance and removingmaterials from other periods.”regional vernacular landscape: A vernacular landscape that is composed of regionalor local materials and/or a character or quality that is distinctive to the place in which thelandscape occurs.26 “What Is a National Heritage Area?,” National Park Service, htm.27 National Park Service Definitions, nps.gov/dscw/definitionsdc n.htm.28 Arnold R. Alanen and Robert Z. Melnick, “Why Cultural Landscape Preservation?,” Preserving Cultural Landscapesin America.29 Alanen and Melnick. “Why Cultural Landscape Preservation?”30 The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and Guidelines for the Treatment ofCultural Landscapes, US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC, 1993.490Brackenridge Park Cultural Landscape Report San Antonio
glossarysignificance: the historic “meaning or value ascribed to a structure, landscape, object, orsite” that is a cultural landscape.31statement of significance: “Every CLR has a written statement of significance that explainsthe relationship between the cultural landscape and specific historic contexts, NationalRegister criteria, and period(s) of significance.”32urban cultural park system: A “designated historical area in a community which has beenrevitalized to interpret the community’s role in the cultural development of the region andstate.” An urban cultural park system may achieve Congressional designation as an NHA.33World Heritage Site: The formal and international “designation for places on Earth thatare of outstanding universal value to humanity.” This designation is made by the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The San Antonio34Missions Park is included on the list of World Heritage Sites.Landscape Ecology Termsecological restoration (eco-restoration): The process of assisting the recovery ofan ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed (Society for EcologicalRestoration). Ecological Restoration seeks to restore function, not necessarily a historiccommunity.restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration.ecosystem function: The foundational processes of natural systems which are nutrientcycling, energy capture and hydrologic processes.35ecological health measures ecosystem function by evaluating the integrity of primaryprocesses. Healthy ecosystems can self-repair, retain resources (soil, water, nutrients),and the living part of the system exerts control over primary processes (nutrient cycling,energy capture, hydrologic processes). Unhealthy ecosystems cannot self-repair, tend tohemorrhage resources and primary processes are inoperable or mediated only by abioticfactors like topography.3631 Page, Gilbert, and Dolan. Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports, 68.32 Page, Gilbert, and Dolan. Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports, 71.33 Jeanne S. Fagan, “New York State Urban Cultural Park System” (master’s thesis, Rochester Institute of Technology,1992), accessed October 7, 2019, scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer https://www.google.com/&httpsredir 1&article 5977&context theses.34 “What Is World Heritage?,” unesco.org, accessed November 1, 2019, whc.unesco.org/en/faq/19.35 Michelle Bertelsen, Brackenridge Park Ecological Site Assessment (San Antonio: Lady Bird Johnson WildflowerCenter at the University of Texas at Austin, 2019).36 Bertelsen, Brackenridge Park Ecological Site Assessment.Reed HilderbrandSuzanne Turner AssociatesBrackenridge Park Conservancy491
appendix alow impact development (LID): “a set of interventions designed to repair hydrologicprocesses. The goal of LID is to reduce runoff and improve water quality by capturingand treating it in a series of dispersed, but interconnected, systems such as rain gardens,bioswales and filters strips.”37bioswales: “linear bioretention features that convey water and are constructedand vegetated to provide filtration and infiltration.”38filter strips: “function as pass-through devices that do not hold water for asignificant amount of time, rather cleansing the water as it moves through theelement Frequently installed along roadways, parking lots and trails, filter stripsprovide the first level of filtration.39rain gardens: “soil and plant-based filtration devices that remove pollutantsthrough a variety of physical, biological and chemical treatment processes. Raingardens allow water to be retained in a basin shaped landscape area with plants andsoil where the water is allowed to pass through the plant roots and soil column.”40These spaces are designed spaces that include many components; they can appearhighly naturalized, or highly structured and designed, but their design is intentionalto support their function.invasive species: “non-native (or alien) species to a local ecosystem whose introductioncauses economic loss, environmental damage or harm to human health. Invasive speciesgrow and reproduce rapidly and establish over large areas, largely because they lack naturalpredators, competition and exposure to disease-causing agents from their home range.”Their spread takes over ecosystems, decreases biodiversity, and threatens survival of nativeplants and animals.41riparian corridor: “protective bands of vegetation lining a river. The width of the bufferpartially determines the ecosystem services it can provide.”42 A wider buffer (100-300’)provides full ecosystem services, and a narrower buffer provides fewer ecosystem services.The riparian corridor in Brackenridge Park is in poor ecological health.373839404142492Bertelsen, Brackenridge Park Ecological Site Assessment.Bertelsen, Brackenridge Park Ecological Site Assessment.Bertelsen, Brackenridge Park Ecological Site Assessment.Bertelsen, Brackenridge Park Ecological Site Assessment.“Combating Invasive Species,” accessed January 8, 2020, .Bertelsen, Brackenridge Park Ecological Site Assessment.Brackenridge Park Cultural Landscape Report San Antonio
glossaryAcronyms Used in ReportBPCBrackenridge Park ConservancyCLRCultural Landscape ReportLIDLow Impact DesignNHANational Heritage AreaNPSNational Park ServiceSARASan Antonio River AuthoritySTASuzanne Turner AssociatesUNESCOUnited Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural OrganizationWFCLady Bird Johnson Wildflower CenterWPAWorks Progress AdministrationReed HilderbrandSuzanne Turner AssociatesBrackenridge Park Conservancy493
the Mission San Antonio Valero.2 The acequia originated from a diversion dam in the San Antonio River at a location in Brackenridge park and “ran southeasterly toward Broadway and south to [the] mission before returning to the San Antonio River below today’s downtown
