The Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) on Wednesday voted to recommend a cultural heritage designation for San Antonio’s own Silk Road.
The area that includes Wurzbach Road, between Fredericksburg Road and Northwest Military Highway, has for years been known as a place to find a variety of Mediterranean, North African, Chinese, Japanese and Indian markets and restaurants.
With a dense population of resettled refugees from the Middle East and South Asia, it’s also home to the Center for Refugee Services and the nonprofit, Culturingua.
Located just east of the South Texas Medical Center, the area could become San Antonio’s fourth named cultural heritage district if the City Council approves the recommendation.
HDRC Commissioner Roland Mazuca complimented the city’s Office of Historic Preservation staff for bringing the nomination forward, “for honoring the cultural contributions and … culinary contributions of our immigrant population that represents so many different aspects of our city and helps us be a more cosmopolitan city.”
Commissioner Jimmy Cervantes also praised the designation. “There are some norms and values and laws that are different over there from here, but this actually goes a long way to showing appreciation to those who have fought and worked in support of this country, especially those who recently migrated here over the last 10, 20 years,” he said.
San Antonio cultural heritage districts
The city’s cultural heritage district designation was established in 2005 to honor and recognize designated corridors for their heritage and the cultural stories told there.
A cultural heritage district is an area with a collection of tangible and intangible resources that contribute to the community’s sense of place and cultural identity.
Other designated cultural districts in San Antonio include Jefferson Heights, the Historic Highway 90 Corridor and the Hockley-Clay Cemetery.
Named after the network of trade routes that connected Eurasia and North Africa for over 2,000 years, San Antonio’s Silk Road is a modern-day exchange of global goods, ideas, religions and cultures — and languages.
The City of San Antonio’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility found the most commonly spoken languages besides English in the area include Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, Telugu, Tamil, Pashto, Chinese, Dari, Hindi and Tagalog.
Many of the area’s family owned businesses are centered around food and regional cuisines, the largest of which is the Ali Baba International Food Market.
In a nomination document prepared for the cultural heritage designation, Ali Baba owner Ashraf Nahil was quoted as saying: “When they come here, they feel like, ‘Wow, you took us back home. Wow, we feel like back home. Wow, when you grind the coffee, it smells like back home.’”
The designation also comes with a recommendation that several businesses in the district receive “History Here” markers, including the Cielo Community Gardens at the House of Prayer Lutheran Church and the shopping center in which Ali Baba and restaurants like Naara Cafe and Baklövâ Bakery are located.
The city could also recognize businesses like Golden Wok, India Palace and Dahlia Thai Cuisine and the nonprofit Center for Refugee Services, by adding them to its Legacy Business Program, and bring other pedestrian, signage and art installations to the area, according to the nomination documents.
Culturingua, the local nonprofit that works to cultivate, promote, and preserve Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian cultural, linguistic, and artistic heritage, has also advocated for more green spaces in the district, and proposed adding the Rock Creek Drainage Easement to the city’s linear greenway trail system.
