The Women’s Pavilion

Architect:                      Cyrus H. Wagner – San Antonio, TX
Exhibit Designer:          Alvin Colt – New York, NY

“Man the adventurer, explored the new untracked wilderness but it was woman, the home-maker, who civilized it”. (HemisFair Guidebook, 1968)

Located next to the Eastman Kodak Pavilion, this venue celebrated the contributions of women in society. The pavilion featured an exhibit showcasing some of the many contributions women make in a variety of different parts of society.

Above is a video produced for SAGOV’s – Office of Historic Preservation for the 2013 Promanade event which was held on site at the pavilion.

 

Pavilion Design

Below are pictures of the original architectural model created by the architect. (Click on images for a closer look)

After the Fair

The dream of the pavilion was to remain as an active venue for the promotion and advancement of women’s issues long after Hemisfair closed. However, within a few years ownership of the venue was transferred to the Institute of Texan Cultures (the Texas Pavilion during HemisFair) which used the building as a storage facility until the mid 2000’s.

The Women’s Pavilion at Hemisfair Park

 During HemisFair’s 40th anniversary celebration on April 6, 2008 a group of ladies, some who were involved with creation of the venue announced the creation of “The Women’s Pavilion at Hemisfair Park, Inc.”. The mission of the organization is to raise funds for the restoration & reopening of the long since abandoned venue and to continue the original mission of promoting contributions and issuess of women in society: past, present and future. Since 2008 the organization has completed design plans for renovating and expanding the original building and has begun the next phase of raising funds for the project.

Here is a link to a presentation: New Life for the Women’s Pavilion. File courtesy of Bonnie Ayer at The Woman’s Pavilion at HemisFair Park.

Images

Below are architectural renderings of the proposed renovations of the pavilion (Click on images for a closer view).