Two San Antonio streets will soon honor a couple of beloved locals — a late drag queen and a NFL football star.
Splashtown Drive between Interstate 35 and Copeland Drive on the East Side will be renamed “Willie Mitchell Drive.” Mitchell made it to the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs twice in his eight-season run, including the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967.
A half-mile stretch of North Main Avenue near downtown will be called “Erica Andrews Memorial Way” to honor an award-winning drag queen who lived in San Antonio from 1992 through 2012. The section will be in the center of the city’s Pride Cultural Heritage District, which is known for its high-volume of LGBTQ+ bars and businesses.
“Erica’s memorial way represents both preservation and progress,” said Luis Vazquez, executive director of the San Antonio LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. “It honors an important part of LGBT history while contributing to the revitalization and economic vitality of North Main.”
The City Council approved both name changes by a vote of 10-0. The measures were on council’s consent agenda — a long list of noncontroversial items approved in a single vote. Councilwoman Misty Spears was absent from the meeting.
Andrews was known for mentoring young performers. She won the International Queen beauty pageant in Thailand and Miss Gay USofA, and she was featured in a documentary called “Trantasia” in 2006.
Mitchell grew up on the East Side and is a 1959 graduate of Phillis Wheatley High School, now called the Young Men’s Leadership Academy. He helped launch the nonprofit San Antonio Fighting Back, which promotes education and addresses violence and drug abuse.
Mitchell was honored with a standing ovation at Thursday’s council meeting. Several of Andrews’ friends and family spoke fondly of the late performer ahead of the City Council vote.
Jacquelyn Ali cheered the renaming on behalf of the United Homeowners Improvement Association.
“Mr. Willie Mitchell is a longtime East Side resident whose life reflects both extraordinary accomplishments and meaningful service,” Ali told council members alongside Mitchell and a handful of supporters.
The roadway between West Ashby Place and West Cypress Street that will honor Andrews won’t be formally renamed and will not force business owners on the stretch to change their addresses. Memorial designations are symbolic.
The street that will bear Mitchell’s name is less than a quarter mile and won’t prompt address changes because the surrounding properties’ addresses aren’t tied to that road.
Each of the projects cost about $5,000, largely to pay for a handful of signs. The changes will be paid for with discretionary funds from the offices of council members Sukh Kaur, who called for the Erica Andrews Memorial Way, and Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, who pushed to honor Mitchell.
New signs will go up on the roads in the next couple of months.