The neighborhood of Olmos Park is located around the Olmos Dam, built in 1927 after a catastrophic flood in 1921. It is a peaceful, beautiful collection of spectacular homes and yards. From the mysterious, winding wonder of Contour Drive to the stately homes on Divine Road, Olmos Park is known for its beauty and traditions.
Olmos Park, across the dam from Alamo Heights, is known for flooding, especially before construction of the new dam. Students at Alamo Heights High School knew that if there were a significant storm, their Olmos Park companions would not be at school that day. Once upon a time, people drove back and forth across the dam, it's stone sides not unlike the many beautiful stone homes on Divine Road or Olmos Drive. Early on, lights shaped like the Alamo graced the wall of the dam, but people kept shooting out the Alamo lights until they were no longer replaced. The old dam was replaced and is no longer an avenue for cars, but it is an attractive view nonetheless from I37. Though we can no longer drive across the dam, Olmos Park seems otherwise frozen in time, and it seems to have changed little over the last 98 years or so.
Earlier in its history, during the summers, ice cream trucks, or even the occasional strolling Mariachi band, moved up and down the streets, past gorgeous homes with their beautiful, well-kept lawns. Children played outside in the summer, but everyone knew that when the gaslights came on, it was time to go home. Although the gaslights were replaced in 2011, the look and feel of the old lights remain. On warm days, people still walk, bike, and spend time outside in the neighborhood. Tradition matters in Olmos Park.
The park itself is also a place of memory. For decades, after a rain, Alamo Heights students have gone to Olmos Park to play in the mud. Surrounded by flood plain, much of the area around the park and up Divine Road and Park Lane remains mostly undeveloped. Wild, green trees and brush lend a secluded, countryside feeling to the houses on the other side of Park Drive.
Unchanged also are the spectacular homes. Every street is different in this community. Although H.C. Thorman developed the land in the 1920s, there is a wide variety of architecture. Huge, stone houses are side by side with the occasional English-style cottage or Mediterranean mansion. Delicate redbud trees grace the lawns each spring, and some yards have magnificent azaleas, white and pink, bursting from their beds. Magnolia trees and majestic oaks can be found throughout the area.
In the past, as well as today, a drive through Olmos Park was not complete without a visit to the circle - Alameda Circle, of course. This is perhaps the most impressive spot in Olmos Park. Huge, stately homes surround the small park, where each April the King Antonio Party is held on the first Sunday of Fiesta. The annual 4th of July Parade is also featured here.
All over the area, there are lovely surprises, perhaps an enormous, ivy-covered stone wall, or a yard with pieces of modern art. A drive down Divine Road seems to end suddenly with a bright, expansive view of Trinity University, and the San Antonio skyline just beyond. It is easy, in Olmos Park, to forget that a large, bustling city surrounds it.
Also from Divine Road, turn onto Dick Frederick, which leads to Contour Drive, one of the most beautiful drives in the area. Winding carefully around sharp curves, one can see the well-kept yards, walls covered in bougainvillea, and, of course, the gorgeous homes.
The yards are an incredible part of the unique nature of Olmos Park. Whether stately and manicured or wild and woodsy, it takes significant work and skill to maintain these beautiful yards. Although lawns may not seem to change, lawn care technology certainly has. No one would use an old push mower just because it is traditional. Why not maintain old world charm with new world technology? Lawn Love is a modern, innovative lawn care provider. Install the app or visit the website today. Just enter a zip code for a custom price, as well as services available in the area. Pick and choose the services that satisfy your needs, and you can relax while Lawn Love takes care of your yard for you.
