Established in 1718 as the original Spanish military settlement at a remote site upstream on San Pedro Creek, the settlement was moved in the early 1720s to this more protected location between the creek and the San Antonio River. The presidial captain's office and residence, the Comandancia, stood on the east bank of San Pedro Creek facing the Plaza de Armas. After the Texas Revolution in 1836, the plaza became a thriving commercial center with stores, saloons, theaters, and an open-air market featuring the chili queens. Until the early 1870s, city and county business was conducted jointly in a plaza building known as the Bat Cave, and after the county moved elsewhere, the city remained there until the adjoining city hall was completed in 1891. As nearby businesses continued to attract shoppers, the Plaza de Armas and the Plaza de las Islas to the east, where the new county courthouse was built, entered a new era as centers of government.
