The site before HemisFair ’68

What some people may or may not know about the site of the 1968 World’s Fair – HemisFair ’68 is that prior to the Fair the site was residential neighborhood. Many of the structures were built in the late 1800’s and some dating back to before the American Civil War (1861 – 1865). The reasoning used by city leaders & fair organizers at the time was to argue – “By the early 1960’s the area had been regarded by some as a blighted area; as some residents had moved out, others were not able to maintain their homes and the overall trends at the time was to move out of downtown in to the newer suburbs.” Part of the reasoning was to qualify for funding from the newly created Urban Renewal Agency under then U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

One of the most well-known reasons for having a World’s Fair in San Antonio was to create a tourism industry which was nonexistent at that time, but it was also to revitalize the downtown area with that site in particular. 

Although the argument as “Urban Renewal”, it is important to note that fair site was still an active neighborhood with residences, small businesses, houses of worship, a school and even a Coca-Cola plant. Once the site was acquired in part thru eminent domain, a process was put in place to note which properties would be saved for reuse for the Fair and which ones would be cleared. In the end, only 20+ structures were saved.