The Alamo — once dubbed the worst tourist trap in Texas — is about to shed much of the schlock that greets visitors to the holiest of Lone Star shrines.
The site of the famously doomed 1836 stand of a tiny band of Texans and Tejanos against an overwhelming force of Mexican soldiers has long been crowded by garish storefronts and amusement outlets. So much so that Business Insider declared the San Antonio site the state’s worst tourist trap in 2017, triggering outrage from locals.
But as part of an effort by state officials to “restore reverence and dignity” and “remove 21st century distractions” from the streets around the old Spanish mission, Phillips Entertainment Inc. has agreed to remove Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, a Guinness World Records Museum and Tomb Rider 3D Adventure Ride and Arcade.
The buildings, to be vacated by the end of October, will house an Alamo museum, according to statement by the Texas General Land Office, which is leading the makeover. Terms of the agreement between Phillips and the GLO weren’t disclosed.
“Our goal is to tell the story of the battle of 1836 and showcase Texas’ bravest Defenders who gave their lives for freedom,” Land Commissioner George P. Bush said in the statement. “This agreement is an instrumental step forward in restoring reverence and dignity to the sacred Alamo grounds.”
