I have always loved castles.
When we lived in Paris, we would spend our summers on the Costa Brava in Spain. (We also spent our winter vacations in Germany, where I tried to kill myself on skis, but that’s a whole other story.)
The villas we rented in Spain were huge, roomy, and nearly empty (and unbelievably cheap according to my mother), but I didn’t care where I slept. My hours were taken by sitting on the edge of the sea, staring off at the Mediterranean and thinking about El Cid or dreaming about a prince sailing to rescue me. During that last summer, we had a rented house not far from a ruined castle. The only part left intact was a keep, and I was warned not to go inside and certainly don’t take the curving steps to the top.
Please. That’s like handing a sucker to a kid and telling him not to lick.
Sometimes, I wonder if my love of castles began in that place. Or maybe it began earlier.
I was in sixth grade when I first saw Commanche Park here in San Antonio. We lived not far from there, and a few friends and I rode our bikes to the bottom of the hill and climbed up to the top. One of them actually climbed the tower, but that was one keep I didn’t visit.
Remember my post last week about the photographer Steve Michaels? He took these beautiful pictures.
Here’s the San Antonio’s Parks and Recreation Department’s information about Commanche Park:
“The site once comprised 1,476 acres and was owned by one James Conn in 1847. The property changed hands a number of times after that. One notable owner was Mirabeau Lamar, second president of the Republic of Texas. Lamar’s deed referred to the property as “the hill known as Comanche Lookout.” Lamar’s heirs owned the property, but never occupied the site.”
In 1890, two German brothers bought the land, farming it until one of them sold part of the property to Col. Coppock in 1923.
Col. Coppock began building a structure, but work halted when he died in 1948.
The site is now owned by the City of San Antonio and is a hiking trail and city park.
Strangely enough, I live only about two miles from Commanche Park right now. My sixth grade self would never have imagined that.
When I see the tower, I smile and remember my early love of romantic places. How about you? Do you love castles? Or are you affected by other romantic spots?
