San Antonio is the second largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh largest city in the United States. Located in the northern part of South Texas and the American Southwest, San Antonio is the epicenter of Tejano culture and Texas tourism. The city is the seat of Bexar County with a population of 1,328,984 as of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate. It was the fourth-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000-2006.[1] Its metropolitan area has a population of 2,031,445 based on the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, making it only the 28th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S and third in Texas (behind Dallas and Houston). The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there are mostly only sparsely populated areas outside of the city.
San Antonio was named for the Portuguese St. Anthony, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. The city has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City-Base, with Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley right outside the city. Furthermore, Kelly Air Force Base (now Port San Antonio) operated out of San Antonio until 2001, when the airfield was transferred over to Lackland AFB and the remaining portions of the base became an industrial/business park. The decision to close Kelly and consolidate its resources came from the 1995 Base Closure and Realignment Commission report to the president. San Antonio is also home to the South Texas Medical Center, the only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region.
Famous for the River Walk, the Alamo, and home to the Sea World San Antonio and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. San Antonio is also home to the first museum of modern art in Texas, known as the McNay Art Museum.
