HemisFair'68: The Forgotten Rubble By: Sydney Grona

“1968 was a year right out of hell. There were so many hideous, tragic things that happened that stained our country." -Lady Bird Johnson

Celebration to Destruction

HemisFair’68, according to the Texas State Historical Association, was a fair held in San Antonio from April 6 through October 6, 1968 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio and resulted in the creation of some of the most popular places in San Antonio, such as the convention center and arena as well as the Tower of the Americas. This was the idea of local business leaders, inspired by merchant Jerome K. Harris, who wanted to create a fair to celebrate the cultural heritage shared by the nations of Latin America and San Antonio. But in order to do so, a price had to be paid. In 1964, during the preparation of the fair, it was decided that the best place the host the fair was a place called “Germantown” due to its close proximity to the river and the fact it was a slightly more run-down-looking, lower-income neighborhood. In the 1800's Germantown was, according to the HemisFair website, a melting pot of immigrants with more than 300 dwellings. This 92-acre area, which was needed for HemisFair'68, was currently occupied by a community of Mexican, German, Polish, and African-American residents. So it was decided that forceful evictions would take place to gain access to the land due to the setup of HemisFair needing it. This displaced a total of 2,239 residences and 686 businesses and demolished 1,349 structures.

Despite the effort depicted in the video to keep from destroying the trees, the buildings and historical figures did not get the same show of compassion. According to the Texas State Historical Association, O'Neil Ford, who was the primary architect for HemisFair'68, was released from his contract in September 1966, two years before the fair, because of the committee's disdain for his plan to save 120 historic structures on the site. They only ended up saving around 20.

Out of the approximately 700,000 people in San Antonio, over 1,600 people were displaced due to HemisFair'68.

The Stories...

(HemisFair Before Construction)

...Behind the pictures

(HemisFair During Construction.)

The Downfall of a Narrative

HemisFair'68 was a time of destruction. Although many popular places were created as a result, such as the convention center and the Tower of the Americas, the detrimental impact through the eviction of families, demolishment of buildings, and repurposing of homes outweigh this. HemisFair'68 was an event created to celebrate San Antonio and showcase the cultural heritage shared by San Antonio and Latin America under the theme "Confluence of Civilizations", as told by KUT News. In the process though, they destroyed more of San Antonio's culture and civilizations, as portrayed through the destruction of Germantown. This narrative illustrates how large-scale projects can often lead to the destruction of lower-income communities.