San Antonio's River Walk, a riverside promenade that draws millions of tourists annually, traces its history to the Depression. The 3.2-mile strip of hotels, restaurants, stores and office buildings got its start in the 1930s when the Works Progress Administration began to add walkways, dams and bridges to beautify the city and control flooding on the San Antonio River.

Now, River Walk has one of the city's most prominent ties to the current economic collapse. One Riverwalk Place, an 18-story office building on the northern edge of the River Walk, has defaulted on its mortgage, has stopped paying some of its bills and faces foreclosure.