“The Alamo is one of the least impressive historical sites I’ve ever visited. There’s very little left of the original compound, and I didn’t get any sense of the historical context of the place.”
I felt the same, but that was in the ‘60s, I was a kid, and had just seen the movie. Very disappointing. Reading the two posts following yours makes me want to revisit.
I think expecting historical sites to be “impressive” misses the point. Battle fields are sacred ground. Jazzing them up to appeal to jaded modern ideas seems to me to cheapen the history of the place. To walk into the Alamo or walk the fields of Shiloh is a spiritual moment that does not need bells and whistles.