Old Villita and La Villita Continues

Old Villita is reissued by Wings Press in celebration of the Tricentennial of the founding of San Antonio, Texas on May 5, 1718. It was originally published in 1939 by the City of San Antonio as part of the American Guide Series (Federal Writers Project, under the Work Projects Administration). It was overseen and edited by the mayor of San Antonio, Maury Maverick, Sr. Earlier in the 1930s, U.S. Congressman Maverick had worked closely with his friend, President Roosevelt, to implement FDR's New Deal policies. His 1937 autobiography, A Maverick American, was something of a Depression-era bestseller. Among the many progressive acts in his life — which included securing W.P.A. funds for the initial development of the San Antonio Riverwalk — he was proudest of the restoration of La Villita, the 18th century settlement from which the city of San Antonio grew. Maverick's grand daughter, Lynn Maverick Denzer, wrote La Villita Continues, the story of the "Little Village" from its restoration to its present incarnation as La Villita Historic Arts Village. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, La Villita serves as a lively arts and cultural hub at the center of downtown San Antonio. Denzer's watercolors enliven the pages, along with historical photographs and documents.