I was there !!!!Beginning in April 1968 and running through October, HemisFair was an international exposition meant to celebrate the shared cultural heritage of the Americas. The fair was planned around the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio.
The fair was situated on more than 90 acres of central San Antonio, an old part of the city. According to the San Antonio Conservation Society, more than 2,200 homes and nearly 700 businesses were displaced in order to construct the fairgrounds.
More than 30 nations—from both hemispheres—participated in the exposition. A two-dollar admission fee let visitors roam through pavilions representing Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Korea, Mexico, Panama, Switzerland, Venezuela, West Germany, and more. A monorail whisked fair-goers between the educational pavilions and the other attractions, such as water ski shows and amusement park rides.
Over it all stood the Tower of the Americas, a 750-foot-tall spire with a restaurant and observation deck. The tower, along with the convention center and the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures, remain as downtown landmarks.
Today, the HemisFair grounds are being redeveloped into a series of three parks with an accessible playground, numerous art installations, a family theatre, retail spaces, and residences.
📷: UTSA Libraries Special Collections
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