SAN ANTONIO – >> Click here for an interactive view of Know My Neighborhood: Thompson.
The impressive, techie-looking Boeing Center at Tech Port sits on the edge of the Thompson neighborhood on the Southwest Side of San Antonio. It’s also where the area’s progress largely ends, according to Thompson Neighborhood Association president Rudy Lopez.
“We’d like to see more of those people moving into our neighborhood,” Lopez said.
The neighborhood is six miles southwest of downtown, located between U.S. Highway 90 and Port San Antonio. The Union Pacific railroad tracks and Lackland Air Force Base serve as its east and west boundaries, respectively.
Kennedy High School sits in its boundaries and generations of neighbors wear Rocket Pride on their sleeves, but there is also concern they’ve been overlooked and taken for granted.
As San Antonio grows, residents said they don’t see plans to improve Thompson.
Drainage is an issue, neighbors said, but the city wants to clear houses to benefit other neighborhoods. Sidewalks, curbs and lighting in Thompson aren’t common on many streets.
Still, there is hope here. Hope that the boom at Port San Antonio will open the eyes of others to the potential and promise of this Southwest Side gem.
In this episode of “Know My Neighborhood,” KSAT explores the good, the bad, and the frustrating of Thompson, and why residents are standing together to fight the city and to show the passion and sacrifice of generations who have called this area home.