‘Like coming back home’: Alamo reopens historic church to visitors
The Alamo usually is a magnet for tourists, but a sixth-generation Texan was the first in line for the reopening of the historic mission church Thursday.
“It gives me peace,” said Elaine Milam Vetter, 68, holding back tears. “It makes me feel like things are going to be OK.”
Vetter is a descendant of both Ben Milam, a hero of the Texas Revolution, and Collin McKinney, a drafter and signatory of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Her father brought her to the Alamo when she was a child, and she and her husband, Lewis Vetter, brought their kids and grandkids to the site, making sure to visit several times a month.
That was before COVID-19. “It’s like coming back home,” Lewis Vetter, 69, said.
The Alamo buildings and grounds were closed soon after the pandemic hit in March; the site slowly has been reopening as the spread of the virus has eased. Guests were welcomed back to the Alamo grounds two weeks ago; then the gift shop opened.
The nearly 300-year-old church had been closed for six months; it reopened at 9 a.m. Thursday. The Long Barrack, which functions as a museum, remains closed for conservation work.
On a typical prepandemic day, Alamo officials said, the church would see 5,000 visitors, sometimes as many as 10,000. On a busy holiday, such as the Fourth of July, as many as 50,000 people have walked through the fragile structure.
Now, the Alamo’s caretakers are limiting visitors to the
church to 750 a day — a maximum of 50 people every 30 minutes — using a reserved-time ticket system. Access still is free. To visit the church, guests must reserve a time online by visiting TheAlamo.org and clicking on “book your tour,” and then “Alamo Free Timed Entry.” The church is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, and masks are required.
The church had 350 tickets reserved Thursday, and additional sightseers reserved time on a walk-up basis, Alamo spokesman Kevin Femmel said.
Guests can purchase an audio tour, which costs $7 per person or $6 for military personnel and dependents. Listening equipment is sanitized between uses.
Thirty-minute history talks are available in the Cavalry Courtyard five times a day. Admission to one of the talks is $10 for adults and $5 for children, with a $1 military discount.
Although there is no limit on how many people can visit the grounds, staffers monitor the area to ensure social distancing and other safety precautions are being followed.
When the Alamo grounds were closed in March, the Vetters were bummed. Elaine missed visiting the church during its most tranquil time, in the evening.
“It’s more than a museum, it’s an environment,” she said. “This is San Antonio.”
Even after the pandemic, the Alamo might retain the timed ticketing system, to keep things more organized and so visitors don’t have to wait outside in the sun, said Sheila Mayfield, the historic site’s director of marketing and communications.
Visiting the Alamo was an educational opportunity for 10-year-old Cheyenne Tricker from Clarksville, Tenn.
The girl wore a face mask decorated with likenesses of a dog and cat. She said she was surprised the Alamo still was standing, considering all it had been through.
Her parents, Tom and Jozette Tricker, admired the church’s architecture and marveled at the many and varied activities conducted at the site over the years. After the Spanish mission era, it hosted a military garrison, stables, a blacksmith shop and a wholesale grocery business.
“It’s a great home-school lesson,” Jozette said.
For those who aren’t comfortable visiting the Alamo in person just yet, virtual tours are offered twice a day — at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The virtual tour costs $10 and lasts an hour, with the opportunity to talk to a tour guide in real time.
To book a tour, go to tickets.thealamo.org/events.