Cenotaph panels to be inspected this summer
Specialists plan to drop cameras inside the 56-foot-tall monument to gauge weather damage to ‘The Spirit of Sacrifice’
SAN ANTONIO — Engineers and stone specialists will remove the top panels of the Alamo Cenotaph this summer to visually inspect the historic 56foot-tall structure.
They'll also drop cameras inside to gauge damage to the 1930s monument. The location of the piece, titled “The Spirit of Sacrifice” and featuring the carvings of artist Pompeo Coppini, has been a source of controversy — at one point grinding to a halt plans for a $400 million, public-private makeover of the historic mission and battle site.
But Alamo officials emphasized during an update this week to the Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee that the memorial to the nearly 200 Alamo defenders will not be moved from its spot in the northern section of Alamo Plaza, as was once proposed.
For several years, officials have documented shifts and cracks in the Cenotaph's exterior marble panels. In August or September, crews will place scaffolding around the structure and remove the top to assess damage to the interior, including a concrete frame, possibly caused by rainwater penetration. Previous studies found that the damage, if left untreated, could result in a public safety hazard and fracturing of the sculpted images.
“The stones are shifting a little bit. We have to do something to help the Cenotaph without moving it,” said Tom Butler, associate vice president of Broaddus & Associates, the project's program manager.
Previous plans to move the Cenotaph 500 feet south of its current location were met with strong opposition from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Texans. The city and Alamo Trust had asked for a permit in 2020 to deconstruct, repair and reassemble the marble-exterior Cenotaph on a new frame near the Menger Hotel.
Proponents of the move said it would provide needed open space in the plaza for programming. But the Texas Historical Commission voted 12-2 against relocation of the monument, and several fundraisers backed out of the project.
Under new leadership and a “reset” announced in March 2021 by Mayor Ron Nirenberg, the project was reworked to keep the Cenotaph in place. Since then, the Alamo renovation has regained momentum.
Alamo officials assured the committee the Cenotaph will be treated with care as they examine the damage.
Information gathered during an expected two-month inspection of the monument will guide the Alamo Trust and the city in developing a repair plan.
In other updates on the project:
Former Councilwoman Rebeca Viagran, tri-chair of the citizen panel, said the new “reverent zone” noise restrictions in place for this year's Fiesta street parades had mixed results. While some bands and floats stopped playing live or amplified music when entering the historic mission-fort footprint, others didn't.
Leaders of the Alamo project will resume discussions on the matter with the Fiesta Commission and parade organizers.
A yearlong study of moisture movement inside the walls of the Alamo Church is near completion and will guide repairs and preservation of the fragile, nearly 300-year-old structure, Butler said. Experts have been injecting high-strength grout into voids inside historic walls at the complex.
Project leaders are about to enter a “detailed design phase” for the Plaza de Valero, the pedestrian area immediately south of Alamo Plaza. A planned exhibit re-creating the main gate of the mission-fort is in design. East Crockett Street has been converted to a paved and landscaped pedestrian area between the Alamo and Menger Hotel.
A design team is working through challenges to preserve the historic Crockett and Woolworth buildings on the west side of Alamo Plaza as part of a 100,000-square-foot visitor center and museum. The museum is set to open in time for the 190th anniversary of the Battle
of the Alamo on March 6, 2026.