Beginning in 1849, the U.S. Army leased the Alamo site from the Catholic Church, having repaired the abandoned buildings to store supplies. The Army built a gabled roof over the walls of the former church and the adjacent convento, which had both been open to the sky. They added a bell–shaped stone parapet to the front of the church to conceal the roof's gable end (Nelson, 71–72).

The U.S. Army lost the Alamo, troops, and supplies to secessionists in 1861. After the Civil War, federal troops returned and continued to use the Alamo for storage until the completion of the supply depot (The Quadrangle) at Fort Sam Houston, around 1879 (Nelson, 83).

1.) Looking east toward the Alamo church and convento (at left). Three covered wagons wait in the courtyard, while the U.S. flag flies from the Alamo's distinctive parapet.

2.) This photo depicts the interior of the Alamo church, looking east. The rafters supporting the gabled roof are visible because the wooden second floor added by the U.S. Army has been removed.

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Alamo website

Courtesy of the San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation, Raba Collection.