3d alamo tour

300 Alamo Plaza

San Antonio, TX 78205

Open today 9 a.m to 5:30 p.m

The Alamo Launching Real-Time Virtual Tours on August 31

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Download PDF

Contact: Kevin Femmel Alamo Trust , Inc. [email protected] Office (210) 225-1391x3005 Mobile (210) 836-8616

Remember the Alamo without having to leave the comfort of your home with a guided, virtual tour of the Shrine of Texas Liberty.

In the Alamo's A Story Bigger Than Texas: Virtual Alamo Tour , viewers will learn about the site's history from an Alamo Tour Guide, where viewers can ask questions and engage with our history experts in real-time. Each tour lasts 1 hour, and will cover the 300-year history of the Alamo from its time as a Spanish mission in the 1700s, to the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, Texas's annexation into the U.S., and iconic Alamo defenders like Juan Seguin, David Crockett, James Bowie, and more.

"We have been working on adapting our guided tours for a virtual setting since the grounds closed due to COVID-19 in March," Alamo CEO Douglass McDonald said. "Our team has designed this virtual tour to be as interactive as possible, and we are excited to be able to engage again with visitors who are unable to make it out to the site due to the pandemic," McDonald added.

Tickets for a virtual Alamo tour can be purchased for $10 on theAlamo.org starting Monday, with tours being conducted daily at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tours will be conducted via Zoom, with Alamo staff practicing social distancing throughout the tour. Virtual tour tickets can be refunded if cancelled one business day prior, and if onsite weather prevents a tour from being conducted the ticket price will be refunded.

With Alamo grounds now open, visitors can always take a free self-guided tour during normal business hours. The Church remains closed to the public, and we hope to have an update to share on when the Church will reopen soon. Please follow Official Alamo on Facebook for updates.

About Alamo Trust, Inc. | Located in the heart of San Antonio, the Alamo serves as a sacred memorial to all those who lived, fought and died there. Visitors pay homage to the heroes of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, a defining moment in Texas History. Alamo Trust , Inc., or the Alamo, tells that story of Texas independence, as part of its 300-year history to over 1.6 million visitors every year. To visit the Alamo is to witness living history, experience authentic artifacts and admire an iconic landmark that shaped the country. Visit thealamo.org.

Seeing the Once and Future Alamo in 3D

“Remember the Alamo” is the well-known battle cry that inspired the Texian Army to victory over the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 and ultimately led to Texas independence.

Engineers working on a project to restore the original site of the battle of the Alamo and preserve its viewshed are using 3D GIS visualization of the site as part of the restoration plan.

The original Alamo site—the Mission San Antonio de Valero—has been venerated for more than 180 years and visited by millions each year. Over the years, neglect and the mining of collapsed structures for building materials continued obliterating the site. Because of its location in the growing downtown section of San Antonio, Alamo and Houston streets were built across a portion of the original battleground. Later, the construction of a government facility, commercial buildings, hotels, tourist attractions, and conservation efforts further encroached upon this hallowed ground.

In honor of the 300th anniversary of the mission in 2024, the City of San Antonio and the Texas General Land Office have worked on the development of a major renovation plan for the site that accurately reflects the location of its 4.2-acre compound and historic buildings at the time of the battle of the Alamo.

The Mission San Antonio de Valero had been hastily converted into a makeshift fort. The garrison was composed of a large walled courtyard where the famed battle took place and a small number of outbuildings that included a chapel, storage rooms, animal pens, and the Long Barrack that provided living accommodations for the soldiers. Three-foot-thick walls surrounding the site were between 9 to 12 feet in height.

A Texas firm, Pape-Dawson Engineers, joined the group responsible for designing the reimagined Alamo site. The company led the archaeological effort to establish the exact location of the west and south walls of the compound. It also provided topographic surveying and laser scanning to document existing conditions and provide a historical basis for the concepts of redevelopment presented in the master plan for the Alamo Plaza site.

Michael Garza, GIS manager at Pape-Dawson Engineers, has been using ArcGIS for more than 15 years. As a San Antonio native, he took a personal interest in the plan to redevelop the Alamo Plaza as it appeared at the time of the 1836 battle.

“The Alamo is the most popular attraction in Texas,” said Garza. “The site gives our city an enormous sense of pride.”

Garza was interested in the work done by Pape-Dawson’s archaeological crew members at the site, especially when they determined the location of the Alamo’s long obscured walls. He convinced the company to let him contribute to the project by visualizing the site as a precise 3D model using GIS. This model would not only aid those involved in the reconstruction project but could also provide an accurate historical perspective for those visiting or researching the Alamo.

“First, a basemap was created for the 3D models by clipping an image of the Alamo Plaza site from Pape-Dawson’s existing aerial data, and then  [Trimble’s]  SketchUp was used to create the bare earth courtyard where the battle took place,” said Garza.

“A 3D historical model of the Alamo compound already existed in Trimble’s 3D Warehouse, which is an open-source library of SketchUp images. We compared this model with several artist renditions of the Alamo for the 1836 time period and determined that it was historically accurate,” said Garza. “We then resized and repositioned this model to match the exact location of established artifacts on the basemap, such as the west wall bricks found by our lead archaeologist Nesta Anderson.”

Garza’s team got the information needed to create 3D models of the missing buildings and walls from artists’ renderings of the Alamo from that period, as well as from a sketch used as part of the Mexican battle plan that was made by one of General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s senior officers. Footprints of the existing buildings around the perimeter of Alamo Plaza came from a GIS layer the team received from the City of San Antonio that included building footprints and heights.

Garza described the process used to produce the 3D models of the buildings and walls. First, the missing 2D footprints were created in ArcGIS Pro, extruded in 3D, converted to multipatch features, and saved in the project’s geodatabase. Extrusion heights were based on the recorded building height found in the GIS database or, in the case of those buildings that had been destroyed, on historical research.

The multipatch feature was exported as a COLLADA file, a 3D interchange format that is compatible with SketchUp. In SketchUp, textures were added to building facades to make them appear realistic. Textures for the facades were created from photos of building exteriors and walls taken by the team. The team made sure the images overlapped so they could be accurately applied to the 3D models in SketchUp.

Each SketchUp-enhanced model was brought back into ArcGIS Pro as a Keyhole Markup Language (KML) file, converted back to a multipatch file, and reprojected for positioning purposes. All 3D buildings were added to the basemap using the Layer 3D To Feature Class tool in ArcGIS Pro to create a photo-accurate, geolocated 3D model of the Alamo Plaza site.

“The final interactive piece provides past, present, and future views of the Alamo Plaza. It was published as a web scene in ArcGIS Online to make it easily accessible from any web browser and compiled into a story map so that a written narrative could enhance it,” said Garza.

See the Esri Story Maps app, “ The Alamo: The mission, The Battle, The Legend ,” created by Pap-Dawson Engineers.

About the author

Jim Baumann

Jim Baumann is a longtime employee at Esri. He has written articles on GIS technology and the computer graphics industry for more than 30 years.

Related Content:

• historical maps
• visualization

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8 Things You Must Know Before Visiting The Alamo

You can’t go to San Antonio without visiting the Alamo. Nope. Not possible. I mean, it could be done. Would I suggest skipping the Alamo on a first-visit? Absolutely not.

The Alamo is San Antonio’s most famous attraction, a “must-see” with a special, all-caps emphasis on the MUST. Touristy? Yes. Worth it? Definitely.

You must have a million questions buzzing through your head right now. What is the Alamo? Why is it so famous? Why should I even care about an old Texan building? Don’t worry, I’ll answer them all…eventually (I have this really wonderful habit of going on side tangents).

Think of this post as a mini travel guide to the Alamo. Everything you need to know before your first visit to this iconic museum and shrine is right here.

Table of Contents

Know The Real History Of The Alamo Before Visiting

The history of the Alamo begins in February, 1836 .

Imagine, for a moment, that you are Katniss Everdeen, a kickass heroine who volunteers as tribute for what can only be a losing battle.

Most everyone else in this battle is stuck up and tough. The kind of rough-and-tumble people who wouldn’t hesitate before slicing your throat.

After all, this is a matter of property. This is a matter of pride. This is a matter of survival.

And right now, you know your chances of winning are slim to none, but you go into battle anyways because this is the right thing to do .

The volunteers who fought at the battle of the Alamo were just that – real-life Katniss Everdeens.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t remember the story of the Alamo before visiting. I remembered the name. I didn’t remember the spirit. And yes, this is while hearing the word (or rather seeing the word) “Alamo” twenty times a day.

The Alamo is unavoidable in Texas. Go into any tourist shop (even in the middle of the Panhandle) and you find at least one t-shirt sporting a picture of the iconic UNESCO Heritage Site .

You’ll find mugs colored the famous beige hue and posters parading the glamorized stony statue outside. You’ll hear the name Davy Crockett thrown around by locals answering tourists’ questions.

Go down further to San Antonio, the home of the Alamo, and you know this is the pride of Texas.

It’s strange to think about this. The Alamo has a complicated history. Most of the famous defenders were slave owners. The ideologies of some of our so-called heroes are blood-curdling to hear. Yet, I’ll admit, they fought against Mexican oppression and epitomized “strong-will” and “bravery”.

The battle of the Alamo is a multifaceted story , marked by shades of gray, and not a rose-colored pink.

It’s a series of twisted myths that have been blown into a glorified tall-tale.

The term “The Alamo” doesn’t clearly refer to a fort or a mission or a battle anymore .  The current usage of the word is hazy.

But I believe it’s safe to say, that at its core, The Alamo is a series of historic moments that, in time, spawned lessons that lasted centuries.

Know The Address Of The Alamo And Where To Park

The Alamo is located at 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Texas 78205. Surrounded by a steady block of shops each sporting some kind of arcade or game or souvenir (Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks, Tomb Raider 3D, just to name a few attractions near the Alamo), the historic plaza district is a crowded tourist hub.

By early morning, the street parking lot behind the Alamo gets filled up quickly. But luckily, there are plenty of other parking options.

Where to park when visiting the Alamo?

• There is meter parking at Travis Park Plaza (roughly $2.00 for 2 hours of parking and keep in mind, it’s a ten minute walk from there to the Alamo)
• St. Mary’s Street Garage is nice and safe but a little bit on the pricier side at $10 (right next to Travis Park Plaza)
• There is a parking garage at the corner of 498 E Houston St and Losoya St (again, $10 on weekends, less well-kept, but slightly closer to the Alamo)
• If you are staying at a nearby hotel, you can keep your car parked there and walk (unless you’ve eaten too much delicious Tex-Mex and can’t take another step like me)
• Some hotels further out also offer shuttle buses to the Alamo (check at the front desk of whichever hotel you are staying at)

Know The Alamo Visiting Hours

The Alamo is open from 9AM to 7PM during peak season and 9AM to 5:30 PM, otherwise . It’s open on most holidays, with the major exception being Christmas Day.

During peak-season, the Alamo is crowded.

Imagine your body being pulled through the stink and sweat of herds of people. Gross, right? I know. It’s no secret that I’m all in favor of peace and quiet.

So when is the best time to visit the Alamo?

Off-peak season . Traditional off-peak season is between September to May, but visiting between March to April is best. The weather starts to heat up a little (I know, this is Texas. It should be warm year-round. I really wish it was.) and the Alamo courtyard starts to fill up with shades of green.

On a side note, try to visit in the morning, on a weekday, between 9AM and 11AM to avoid school groups during the Fall and Spring.

Know The Alamo Admission Cost

The Alamo is free.

Wait, there is a free attraction in San Antonio?

Cue the party poppers and screams of joy.

Is there a catch? No.

Reader Provided Update: Visiting the Alamo Church is still free, but reservations are now required. Here’s the link to reserve your tickets .

If you want, you can purchase an audio guide for $9.00 . The money from your purchase goes to the upkeep of the grounds. Think of the audio tour as an optional donation.

There isn’t a whole lot of information printed inside the museum itself, so the audio tour is a really great way to get an emotional and educational perspective (if you can’t tell by now, I loved it and think it is worth every penny).

But if you are on a tight budget, feel free to skip the tour. The Alamo audio tour is a luxury, not a necessity .

Know The Rules Of Visiting The Alamo

The Alamo is a shrine that commands a sense of respect. As a result, there are certain rules that should be followed.

• You can’t take pictures inside the Alamo , so silence and pocket your phone (phone use isn’t allowed either so this is a win-win).
• You can’t wear hats in the Alamo (this includes cowboy hats, fedoras, pretty Instagram hats that I’m far too fond of….)
• You can’t bring food or drinks inside (empty out your water bottle before-hand and fill it up later)

Know These Top 3 Things To Do In The Alamo

Forget the nearby complex. There are so many things to do in the Alamo itself.

A trip to the Alamo can take a couple of hours if you savor every moment and inch of the complex and grounds. So that you truly get a sense of what there is to do here, I’m going to take you on a mini-tour.

Oh goodness, what is she doing?

It’s okay, don’t be shy.

Take A Tour Of The Shrine

When visiting the Alamo, we have to see the shrine. No excuses. So let’s step inside, shall we?

Inside, the first thing that grabs our attention are the flags – flags lined against the top of the ceiling, flagpoles lined along the side of the walls. These are the home flags of the volunteers. Many aren’t from Texas. Some aren’t even from the US.

Our feet move slowly over the floor. Fragments of the bodies of some of the unnamed volunteers are buried underneath us. The experience is almost haunting. There is a certain sadness that skirts the once-Spanish mission.

We can tell the battle was bloody. We can tell that it was a cruel defeat. But we know the Texans weren’t dejected. The void in their spirits is filled with revenge.

Stroll Through The Courtyard

Are you okay with the tour so far? Yes. Okay, then. Next up, the courtyard.

As we cross the courtyard and wander into the next piece of the story, we are transported to a tale of victory and vengeance. We learn more about the prickly battles that followed. We learn more about the mission origins.

We learn how Texas truly gained its independence.

Check Out The Gift Shop

And that concludes our tour, ladies and gentlemen. Onto the gift shop. Now, I don’t normally advocate visiting the gift shop at tourist attractions but I have to make an exception for the Alamo.

Our feet pad across the green and eventually, we find ourselves in the Alamo gift shop.

At first, this seems like memorabilia madness. Stuffed toys. Playing Cards. Baseball caps. But in the center is a giant diorama of the battle, laid out inexplicable detail with tiny figurines. Every piece of the battle is right there, in front of us.

As we turn to leave, we can hear the tune of our Mockingjay. “Remember the Alamo” it sings.

Quick Summary:

• Visit the Alamo shrine first
• Stroll through the courtyard
• See the complete diorama at the gift shop

Know That The Alamo is Worth Seeing

There is a common debate about whether the Alamo is truly worth visiting. In my opinion, yes. Absolutely.

To show you, I’m going to take you back outside to the sidewalk.

From our vantage point, a rectangular, grey cenotaph meets our eyes. The base shows Lieutenant Travis and soldiers who were killed in battle. Underneath the concrete mass lie some of the brave defenders.

From the side, we can barely make out the outline of a woman with a garland. She is the spirit of Texas.

In the middle, still on the other side of the road, is a small Spanish-style building . It doesn’t look like much. It has a faded, stone exterior. It’s old and unassuming.

This is the Alamo.

“Wait, are you sure this is the Alamo?” you ask.

I nod my head.

You scratch your head and twirl your fingers.

The Alamo looks like a doll-size replica of a graceful structure. It’s small. Tiny, in fact. We could walk through the museum and brush through the surface in a few minutes.

But the beauty of the Alamo is not in the intricacy of the structure or it’s size but in the stories it carries.

And we’re here to learn. And to listen. We’re here to see myths debunked and facts drawn to life.

That’s what makes this UNESCO World Heritage Site a giant. And that’s why the Alamo is absolutely worth visiting .

Did you enjoy this post about visiting the Alamo? Let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear from you. P.S. This is my very first blog post so any feedback would be much appreciated.

Editor-In-Chief

Anshula grew up with a love of stories and places. Thirty-five states and 100 bookstores later, she's made her hobbit home in Middle Tennessee. Her Tookish side still takes over and leaves her chasing window seats, literary destinations, adventure books, sunrise coffee, and indie bookshops. She's appeared as a travel source on HuffPost, Reader's Digest, and MSN.

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That was incredibly well done and informative!

I’ve lived in Austin for so many years, yet I’ve never stepped foot in the Alamo. Pathetic, I know. This will change this weekend, as my husband and I are taking our nine year old son to San Antonio this weekend.

Thanks for a great blog entry! This has made me really excited to get my Texas history game on!

I lived in San Antonio for a short time and visited the Alamo a few times. Before I visited the first time, I went to see the movie “The Alamo” at the movie theater in the River Walk Mall. I learned the history of the Alamo and was much more informed when I toured the Alamo. Thank you for post.

Well done introduction! I am looking forward to visiting theAlamo again after many years with my adult son who will be seeing it for the first time. Thi s article was very helpful, thank you!

Congratulations on a wonderful Alamo meet and greet from Australia. Ever since I was a young lad I have been intrigued by the The Alamo story, notably the courage and heroism of those who stood their ground literally in what they believed. May I praise the respect paid by the author of this passport and particularly the kindly, yet good natured manner in which readers are invited into the text of this subject. I would dearly love to visit this truly historic site but cost and health sadly impede such ambition. Thank you for this incredibly meaningful insight into what surely is a cherished world historic site.

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Your 48-hour tour guide of Moscow this winter!

9 am – Visit the Red Square 

Christmas market on Red Square

The first thing that every tourist should do by default is visit the very heart of Moscow – it’s main and most beautiful (which ‘krasnaya’ actually meant in Old Russian) square! 

There are several ways to explore it:

• Take a selfie with Spasskaya Tower
• Have a warm drink at the Christmas market (which lasts until mid-January)
• Visit Lenin’s Mausoleum
• Shop in the gorgeous adjacent GUM department store
• Visit St. Basil’s Cathedral (and learn that it’s actually several churches under one roof).           

11 am – It’s Kremlin time! 

Inside the Moscow Kremlin

Entering the Kremlin is, actually, a bit of a quest, as it’s a presidential facility with no general access. You need to buy a ticket or, better still, book a guided tour. Inside the Kremlin’s walls, you will find ancient cathedrals, in which Russian tsars used to be crowned and buried, as well as explore the magnificent architecture of the Kremlin that reflects the rich history of the country. And, finally, you could also make a quick visit to the Moscow Kremlin Museums and admire artifacts from various Russian tsarist eras: carriages, thrones, crowns and the most incredible armory and jewelry. 

For more information, visit the official website of the Kremlin . It’s open from 10 am to 5 pm (and it’s closed on Thursdays) in winter.

2 pm – Watch the changing of the Guard

The honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

A very spectacular (and free) thing to do is watch how the honor guard does their ceremonial change at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Eternal Flame, situated in Alexander Garden, right next to the Kremlin wall. Every hour, from 8 am to 8 pm, the 1st Company of the Kremlin (Presidential) Regiment performs this rather old and beautiful tradition. But, be warned, it's often overcrowded. 

3 pm – Enjoy a green oasis just in the center

Florarium in Zaryadye

Just a few steps from the Red Square, you will find the fabulous Zaryadye park. Opened in 2017, it is designed by renowned American architect bureau ‘Diller Scofidio + Renfro’. You can walk among the very cozy botanical decorations and explore Russia’s climate zones, as each of them is represented in dedicated areas, complete with flora from those zones.

The floating bridge in Zaryadye Park

The park also has an underground museum, an “ice cave” and a 3D cinema, where you can take part in a virtual adventure – a flight over Moscow! However, the piece de resistance is a floating boomerang bridge over the Moskva River, one of the best places to take a selfie.

You can also grab a quick lunch or relax with a cup of coffee or tea in the park.

7 pm – Arrange a ballet night

The Bolshoi Theater

Of course, the most fancy way to finish your day in Moscow would be to go to the ballet at the Bolshoi Theater (in a perfect world, to see ‘The Nutcracker’!). However, getting tickets to the Bolshoi is not an easy task and should be done well in advance of your visit. 

But, don’t be upset if you don’t manage to get tickets to the Bolshoi. Moscow has dozens of other options to see a ballet (or opera). No less brilliant performances can be seen in the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater or in The State Kremlin Palace (by the way, this is another way to get a quick glimpse inside the Kremlin!).

10:30 pm – Have a late dinner in a fancy restaurant

Dr Zhivago restaurant

There are not so many other cities with such a big choice of restaurants in a range of tastes and styles. In 2021, the authoritative Michelin guide announced their pick of the best of Moscow’s restaurants. And here’s our guide to all the places with Russian cuisine for any budget. But, if you happen to be in the area of the Bolshoi or Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater, then ‘Dr. Zhivago’ would definitely be a nice option (and it’s open around the clock).

DAY 2 

9 am – grab a moscow coffee.

Winter festivities mood in Moscow

Moscow is definitely a coffee city! You can find coffee shops on every corner and they all offer a huge range of drinks. Try a ‘raf’ coffee, a sweet, creamy drink that was created in Russia, or dare to pick one of the very unusual offers, like cheese coffee or a Soviet candy style one (check out our coffee guide here ).

10 am – Take a river cruise

Winter boating along the Moskva River

Another exciting way to explore Moscow is to observe it from the water. Boats cruise along the Moskva River all year round. Most begin their route from the Hotel Ukraine, one of Stalin's ‘Seven Sister’ skyscrapers, and will bring you back to the same spot after passing the medieval Novodevichy Convent, Moscow State University and Luzhniki Stadium, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and giant monument to Peter the Great and many other sightseeings. 

It’s always at optimum temperature inside the boat, which also has huge panoramic windows. Select boats also offer a full dining experience, so it is also a nice place to have breakfast or lunch.

If you are not a water person, then discover other, unusual sides of Moscow – pick one of the activities we’ve prepared for you here ! 

1 pm – Visit ‘Russia’ Expo and taste a bunch of Russian regional cuisines

Russia Expo at VDNKh

Until April 2024, the Soviet-era VDNKh exhibition park is hosting the huge ‘Russia’ expo, with tons of activities and expositions devoted to Russia, its culture, science and nature. Check out our special guide on what to do there!  

An entire ‘House of Russian Cuisine’ has been opened at the expo. You will find 15 food stands with flagship dishes from Kamchatka, Siberia, Karelia and other regions of Russia. Imagine trying a range of cuisines and dishes in one place without even having to travel anywhere, be it Altai pelmeni, Tula kalach or Caucasian pies! A perfect place to grab some lunch.

House of Russian cuisines at VDNKh

The VDNKh exhibition park is a great place to visit, in general! Its pavilions are the perfect example of Stalinit Empire style architecture and you can almost feel as if you’ve traveled back in time! You will also find several interesting museums in the park – devoted to space exploration, Russian history and even a ‘Special Purpose Garage’, which showcases the various vehicles used by the country’s leaders. 

'Sun of Moscow' wheel

And, finally, you can ride Europe's tallest panoramic wheel – ‘Sun of Moscow’ – that will give you panoramic views of the city – from a height of 140 meters!

5 pm – Ice skate with view & mulled wine

Ice skating rink on Red Square (GUM department store on the background)

Ice skating is one of the most popular and affordable activities in Moscow. There are several great ice skating rinks in picturesque locations that are open all winter long. One of the biggest rinks in Europe is also at the aforementioned VDNKh or you can visit the one in Gorky Park, another very popular Moscow spot, or the small, but fancy rink – right on Red Square! 

All the parks offer ice skate rental, so the only things you need are warm clothes, a charged phone to record your memories and a good mood!  Moscow also gets dark at 4:30 pm in winter and hundreds of lights are switched on, turning the city into a giant fairy tale! 

A mulled wine with a view

And, if you are not a sports person, we’ve picked several other unusual activities that you could do in Moscow instead. For example, did you know that there is an entire district of dacha (countryside) houses, just 10 minutes from the center, surrounded by giant new highrises? How about taking a stroll there and feeling the early Soviet atmosphere?

8 pm – Warm up & laugh out loud

After all these outdoor activities, what could be better than a warm cozy bar with a hot drink and nice company? Moscow is a city full of entertainment for all tastes. So, if you know the Russian language or want to practice it, go to a theater or catch a stand-up comedy show. Moscow even has comedy shows in English, where you can hear both Russians speaking fluent English or foreigners (including Brits and Americans) who live in Russia speaking in broken or heavily-accented Russian (Check their show dates on the ‘ Moscow English Comedy ’ Telegram channel)!

11 pm – Finish by partying the night away!

Propaganda club in Moscow

Moscow never sleeps, as you might have heard. Which means there are plenty of bars and nightclubs where you can have a drink (or two or three; be sure to check out how Russians make Black Russian and White Russian cocktails) and chat with incredibly different people. Have fun and don’t miss your flight (or miss it and stay longer in the best city in the world!)!

That's it! See you soon in Moscow

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Scottie Scheffler's record streak ends with miss from 1 foot, 10 inches at Texas Children's Houston Open

World no. 1 cards second-round 70 to end streak of consecutive under-par rounds at 28.

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HOUSTON – Scottie Scheffler’s record streak ended Friday with a miss from 1 foot, 10 inches. But he could still earn his third straight TOUR title this weekend.

Scheffler made double bogey on the par-4 18th in the second round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, carding an even-par 70 at Memorial Park Golf Course. He had entered the day on a streak of 28 consecutive rounds under par on the PGA TOUR, marking a modern-era record.

Scheffler’s second shot at No. 18 on Friday flew into a bunker beyond the green, which he splashed out to 6 feet. His par putt caught the right lip and spun to 1 foot, 10 inches past the hole. His bogey putt also caught the lip before he tapped in for double bogey and an even-par second round at an increasingly firm Memorial Park.

The good news for Scheffler: He’s still positioned this weekend to chase his third TOUR title in as many starts, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 2017. Scheffler will enter Saturday’s third round at 5-under 135, four strokes back of Tony Finau, who matched a course-record 62 on Friday (a record previously shared by Finau and Scheffler).

Scottie Scheffler's double bogey ends under-par streak at Texas Children’s

After that closing double bogey, Scheffler signed autographs for his home-state fans and even demonstrated a bit of self-deprecation when meeting the media.

“No, I do that all the time,” Scheffler quipped when asked if the missed bogey was due to a mental lapse. “That happens a lot to me.

“No, yeah, frustrating lapse in judgment there,” he continued. “You never really know what's going to be up there around the cup on 18. Yeah, just hit something and knocked the second one offline. Felt like I hit a good putt on the first one, maybe went just barely through the break, so obviously it was a bit frustrating hitting a good putt and it not going in. Second one I guess just hit a little fast and didn't see a spike mark there.”

Akshay Bhatia held the TOUR’s previous record of consecutive under-par rounds (27), which Scheffler surpassed with an opening 5-under 65 this week at Memorial Park.

Tiger Woods holds the record of consecutive rounds at par or better (52), set across the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Scheffler’s current streak of rounds at par or better – up to 29 – remains intact.

Scheffler opened Friday with a bogey at the par-4 first hole before rallying in trademark fashion with birdies on Nos. 3, 4 and 8 – including a chip-in birdie from behind the par-4 fourth green. He bounced back from a bogey at No. 11 with a birdie at No. 12, and he rallied after a bogey at No. 14 with a birdie at No. 17. In between, he saved par at the par-5 16th after his second shot kicked off the bank into the water. He pitched to 9 feet and drained the putt.

That closing double bogey ended his day on a sour note, but his spirits were re-centered by the time he met with fans and the media. He said that he battled hard but that conditions were challenging (a sentiment validated by the scores, as several names on the first page of the leaderboard moved backward as Friday afternoon progressed).

“If you took an average wind speed, it probably wouldn't have been that crazy, but when it's gusting from 10 to 30 (mph) all day, it makes everything you're doing out there pretty challenging,” he said afterward.

“I think that's why sometimes you see stuff like that happen on 18, that's mental fatigue, that's really all that is, just a lapse in judgment. … I did my best to get some rest last week. I feel rested right now. I'm obviously a touch frustrated with how I finished, but overall I'm still in the middle of the tournament.”

With only a few players ahead of him on the leaderboard, he certainly is.

Alamo Drafthouse Explores Sale

By Rebecca Rubin

Rebecca Rubin

Film and Media Reporter

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Alamo Drafthouse , the Texas-based theater chain that’s popular for its in-theater dining and fan-forward approach to moviegoing, is exploring a sale.

Several Hollywood studios were approached to assess their interest in buying the company, according to two sources. It’s unclear if the talks are ongoing or how close the company is to a potential acquisition.

A representative for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas declined to comment.

As a whole, the domestic box office has yet to restore to its pre-pandemic glory. Last year’s strikes forced Hollywood to delay several blockbusters, so exhibitors are facing another shortage of big-screen releases. Ticket sales are 10% behind 2023, which isn’t great because that year was also a downturn from pre-COVID times. With studios pumping out fewer and fewer movies, analysts don’t expect the movie theater industry to fully recover until 2025, at the earliest.

Alamo Drafthouse is known for its extensive in-theater dining options, offering patrons a from-scratch food menu, local beers on draft and craft cocktails, all brought to seated guests by stealthy servers trained to not disrupt the movie experience. The cinema chain is also notable for its No Talking/No Texting policy, strictly enforced so patrons can watch films free from distractions.

Deadline first reported news of the potential sale.

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