Gone but not forgotten in San Antonio!

[Willsatx]

Originally Posted by OzzyRules

Does anyone remember the old Hemisfair grounds the way they were in the 1970's? It was truly like a ghost town of an old amusement park or something. There was a cool little children's playground with really cool, futuristic kinds of swings, slides, etc. There was also this huge pavilion type of outdoor eating area. The one time I went there there was only one small snack bar still operating, with about a hundred picnic tables still there, under a huge covered area. Very sad. I know the area has been renovated since then.

If I recall I think they even had a few rides out there right?

[OzzyRules]

Rides? Possibly. But I don't remember anything other than whatever may have been brought in during Fiesta or the Texas Folklife Festival.

I just remember going there a few times as a kid during the off season. Of course, the off season was basically anything after 1968. Kind of weird when you think about it. It's like, what was the place for anyways, after the World's Fair was over with?

[irnag]

Originally Posted by OzzyRules

Does anyone remember the old Hemisfair grounds the way they were in the 1970's? It was truly like a ghost town of an old amusement park or something. There was a cool little children's playground with really cool, futuristic kinds of swings, slides, etc. There was also this huge pavilion type of outdoor eating area. The one time I went there there was only one small snack bar still operating, with about a hundred picnic tables still there, under a huge covered area. Very sad. I know the area has been renovated since then.

Yes, I do. If you and I are thinking of the same thing it was a snack bar roughly in the middle of the park and I believe it had two monorail lines on each side of it. And the covered area was right in front of the concessions.

[940]

I remember seeing the old monorails there and thinking, as a kid, "why can't I ride that instead"...that site was just a shell of itself but it still had me interested. I never really understood why those areas weren't open back then for everyone to enjoy.

[Willsatx]

If I recall I think the monorail parts were removed around 20 years ago.

[johnrex62]

I was very young at the time and somewhat overwhelmed by the sights and sounds, but I remember the food court with all the picnic benches and the monorail line from my visit to Hemisphere in '68. It was close to the future pavillion and Disney pavillion since I still had my icecream cone when I got to the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck phones where you could talk to the "actual" cartoon characters. I can recall vividly to this day the smell of the fried foods, powdered sugar and ice cream. I was very upset that I could not ride the monorail because my Mom was afraid of heights and the recent publicity about the train falling off the rails a few days before.

On later return trips there were a lot of little "shops" and buildings that I did not recall from the fair trip. I assumed they were there but just not interesting to me or perhaps were support or administrative offices in some sections. I think there was a renovation some years ago to the core areas of the park where these building were. Does anyone know if they are still there?

In the early 70's a guy ran a Vietnam War museum out of one. My elementary school took us on a field trip to see it so that we could be informed on how to identify a landmine and what to do if we found one in our neighborhood. I searched for years and only found rusted tin cans and beer tabs! No landmines at all in south SA.

[irnag]

I have tried to find some stuff about the park on the internet the way it was layed out, but to no avail. There is great stuff about the New York Worlds Fair in '64. If you think Hemisphere was a shame, it made out a lot better than New York. I think the best link was that one I believe 940 had about the construction and signts and sounds of the fair. I think if they would have run the monorail to La Villita that thing might have had a chance. I remember for a while during NIOSA they would use Hemisphere for rock concerts. Back to Hemisphere, I remember there was a building that had a big eye by the entrance, it used to freak me out. I remember the Indian? dancers that used to climb way up on a pole and jump off and twirl around on ropes. I remember the water ski shows cause my dad wanted to see the bathing beauties. I was 5 at the time and they sparked no interest for me. I rode the monorail and survived. I didn't think any incidents for the monorail happened until after the fair was over. I remember the monorail operated several years after the fair had ended. I remember when it was hot, you could go to the middle of the Institute of Texan Cultures and lay down on the middle of the floor. You can probably still do that today.

[Willsatx]

Originally Posted by irnag

I have tried to find some stuff about the park on the internet the way it was layed out, but to no avail. There is great stuff about the New York Worlds Fair in '64. If you think Hemisphere was a shame, it made out a lot better than New York. I think the best link was that one I believe 940 had about the construction and signts and sounds of the fair. I think if they would have run the monorail to La Villita that thing might have had a chance. I remember for a while during NIOSA they would use Hemisphere for rock concerts. Back to Hemisphere, I remember there was a building that had a big eye by the entrance, it used to freak me out. I remember the Indian? dancers that used to climb way up on a pole and jump off and twirl around on ropes. I remember the water ski shows cause my dad wanted to see the bathing beauties. I was 5 at the time and they sparked no interest for me. I rode the monorail and survived. I didn't think any incidents for the monorail happened until after the fair was over. I remember the monorail operated several years after the fair had ended. I remember when it was hot, you could go to the middle of the Institute of Texan Cultures and lay down on the middle of the floor. You can probably still do that today.

Try this.

hemisfair 68 - Google Search

[johnrex62]

A few years ago I was sitting in the Atlanta airport and got a chance to talk with a guy who was on the crew that built the Tower of the Americas for Hemisphere. He told me about the raising of the platform. The thing that stood out most in his mind about working on it was when it got to the top and they were to fix it to the base, there was a 3 inch seperation between the platform and the tower pedestal they had to step across. He said he had no issues with working at the top of the tower, but the step across made that 3 inches seem wider than the San Antonio River. It was too small for anything to fall through, as all their tools were pretty large in addition to their feet being larger than 3 inches, but it felt like your whole body might fall through. He said it took days before he felt comfortable with stepping across that gap.

[dakotajonmac]

The local PBS station KLRN has a series of documentaries about "old" San Antonio. They really spark the nostalgia in me. Thought you'd like some info on them so I'm including the address if anyone wants to check them out.

SAMarketPlace: KLRN Learning Place Store