Alazán-Apache Courts

San Antonio had the largest Mexican population in Texas in 1930 and most were unskilled laborers with low-paying jobs.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=124}} Because of the poverty that most people of Mexican descent lived in, there was a "miserable standard of living."{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=125}} In 1930, only 30% of Mexican Americans were homeowners in San Antonio, as compared to 40% black and 50% white homeowners.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=126}}

Alazán-Apache Courts was funded by the United States Housing Authority (USHA) in September 1937.{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mpa01|title=Alazan-Apache Courts|last=Zelman|first=Donald L.|date=9 June 2010|website=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=20 September 2017}} It was originally created to house "exclusively Mexican residents."{{Cite book|title=Tejano South Texas: A Mexican American Cultural Province|last=Arreola|first=Daniel D.|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2010|isbn=9780292793149|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RX_tNHHnGGIC&q=%22alazan+apache+courts%22&pg=PA146 146]|language=en}} The project had the support of a local priest, Father Carmelo Tranchese, who was the pastor of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. He was also one of the five commissioners on the newly created San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHS).{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=134}} The project also had support from Mayor Charles K. Quin, Congressman Fontaine Maury Maverick, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the new group, Liga de Leales Latinoamericanos (League of Loyal Latin Americans).{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=136}} The funds set aside by the USHA in 1937 were eventually able to be released when the city of San Antonio passed a resolution agreeing to the stipulations of the USHA on May 5, 1938.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=137}} When the project nearly stalled, Tranchese wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, describing the conditions of the people in the area and asked for her support.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbLCgc6PulEC&q=%22alazan+apache+courts%22&pg=PA70|title=Mexican Americans and World War II|last=Noboa|first=Julio|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2005|isbn=9780292706811|editor-last=Rivas-Rodriguez|editor-first=Maggie|pages=70–71|language=en|chapter=A Portrait of Lanier High School}}{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=139}} Tranchese's decision to write Roosevelt paid off, with the first lady ensuring that the projects would go ahead.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=139}} Work began by demolishing the substandard homes already occupying the site. New buildings were constructed in 1939.{{Cite news|url=http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/SAHA-gets-federal-tax-credit-for-Wheatley-Courts-11814064.php|title=SAHA gets federal tax credit for Wheatley Courts rehab|last=Selcraig|first=Bruce|date=12 August 2017|work=San Antonio Express-News|access-date=2017-09-20}}

The first tenants were allowed to start living in completed buildings in August 1940.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=141}} The buildings were made of hollow tile and concrete and covered an area of about sixty acres.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YS7TAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Alazan-Apache+Courts%22&pg=PA8|title=When Mexicans Could Play Ball: Basketball, Race, and Identity in San Antonio, 1928–1945|last=García|first=Ignacio M.|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2014|isbn=9780292753778|pages=8|language=en}} Rent for the buildings in the community was based on income and by the mid-1940s, there were around 4,500 residents, half of which were children. The buildings had the "rare amenity of a private bathroom."{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8EvBgAAQBAJ&q=%22Alazan-Apache+Courts%22&pg=PA184|title=The City in Texas: A History|last=McComb|first=David G.|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2015|isbn=9780292767461|pages=184|language=en}} All of the 2,554 single-family units were open to all tenants by the end of 1942.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=141}} By 1945, there were around 4,994 people living in the project.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=141}} While the project tried to rehouse people who had been displaced by the projects, families whose income was too high to qualify were not given any help to relocate.{{Sfn|Zelman|1983|p=145}}

In 1969, the project was described in a piece published by the Arizona Daily Star as a place "where some 6,000 Mexican Americans live in wretched poverty and frequent hunger."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13891834/arizona_daily_star/|title=Mexican-Americans, Indians Suffer Most Hunger in Nation|last=Bigart|first=Homer|date=1969-02-19|work=Arizona Daily Star|access-date=2017-09-20|pages=5|via=Newspapers.com}} Plans to renovate the community went out for a contract bid between four different Mexican American contractors in 1970.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13892060/san_antonio_express/|title=SAHA Grants Delays|date=1970-12-11|work=San Antonio Express|access-date=2017-09-20|via=Newspapers.com}}

In the 1980s, 99% of the residents were Hispanic and it was claimed that this was due to "voluntary segregation."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13892167/the_galveston_daily_news/|title=Voluntary Segregation Claimed|date=1988|work=The Galveston Daily News|access-date=2017-09-20|via=Newspapers.com}}

During the 1980s and 1990s, conditions in the courts began to become neglected during the crack epidemic which led to increased crime and drug activity.{{cite magazine|last=Duff|first=Audrey|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/we-get-all-hyped-up-we-do-a-drive-by/|title="We Get All Hyped Up. We Do A Drive-by"|magazine=Texas Monthly|date=October 1994|access-date=April 10, 2023}}

In the 1990s, it was considered the largest project in San Antonio and faced with issues of serious overcrowding.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13892233/journal_and_courier/|title=Problems at Home in San Antonio|last=Shannon|first=Kelley|date=1993-03-07|work=Journal and Courier|access-date=2017-09-20|via=Newspapers.com}} Some of the buildings were renovated in the 1990s and new buildings were built based on the architecture of the Guadalupe Homes nearby.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dkrpCAAAQBAJ&q=%22Alazan-Apache+Courts%22&pg=PT186|title=San Antonio Architecture: Traditions and Visions|publisher=Trinity University Press|year=2013|isbn=9781595341792|editor-last=Gribou|editor-first=Julius M.|pages=179|language=en|editor-last2=Hanley|editor-first2=Robert G.|editor-last3=Robey|editor-first3=Thomas E.}}

In October 2019, a group of Alazan residents appeared before the San Antonio Housing Commission to speak on many issues, citing illegal evictions, excessive fees, false lease violations, and harassment. The tenants, led by the Historic Westside Residents Association, lobby to preserve the Alazan/Apache homes which are currently set to be torn down and replaced with luxury lofts in a mixed income setting that only allows 10% of its residents public housing tenants. The gentrification of the Westside is a growing debate. In 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the project as one of America's most endangered historic places.{{cite web |last1=Brandon |first1=Elissaveta M. |title=Eleven historic places in america that desperately need saving |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/these-11-historic-places-in-america-desperately-need-saving-180975924/ |website=Smithsonian |access-date=20 October 2020}}

• Ignacio M. Garcia
• Eva Garza{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CE8xiT3pV6QC&q=%22Alazan-Apache+Courts%22&pg=PT615|title=Handbook of Texas Music|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|year=2012|isbn=9780876112977|editor-last=Jasinski|editor-first=Laurie E.|language=en}}
• Orlando Mendez-Valdez{{Cite news|url=http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Basketball-star-and-mayor-talk-lofty-goals-11284708.php|title=Basketball star and mayor talk lofty goals|last=Baugh|first=Josh|date=12 July 2017|work=San Antonio Express-News|access-date=2017-09-20}}
• Lydia Mendoza{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0M_jOFSQBYC&q=%22Alazan-Apache+Courts%22&pg=PT135|title=Everyday Music: Exploring Sounds and Cultures|last=Govenar|first=Alan B.|date=2012-09-01|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=9781603447560|language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite journal|last=Zelman|first=Donald L.|date=October 1983|title=Alazan-Apache Courts: A New Deal Response to Mexican American Housing Conditions in San Antonio|url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117150/m1/159/|journal=The Southwestern Historical Quarterly|volume=87|issue=2|pages=123–150|via=Portal to Texas History}}

• [http://www.saha.org/index.php/find-a-home/public-housing/property-listing?layout=edit&id=449 Official site]
• https://saheron.com/its-like-prison-some-alazan-apache-courts-residents-accuse-saha-of-pushing-them-toward-eviction/
• https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/tenants-protesting-saha-after-bogus-fines-harassment
• [http://docplayer.net/13203809-Los-courts-by-leticia-vela.html htt]
• [http://docplayer.net/13203809-Los-courts-by-leticia-vela.html p://docplayer.net/13203809-Los-courts-by-leticia-vela.html]
• https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Residents-community-organizers-protest-SAHA-s-15694660.php
• https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2020/10/16/san-antonio-housing-authority-and-critics-feud-over-relocation-of-alazan-courts
• https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/protesters-raise-questions-about-new-housing-project-next-to-alazan-apache-courts
• https://www.texasobserver.org/public-housing-san-antonio-alazan-apache/

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Category:Geography of San Antonio

Category:Mexican-American culture in San Antonio

Category:Neighborhoods in San Antonio

Category:Public housing in Texas