HemisFair '68 (Houston, San Antonio, Anton: military, place, Mexican)

[TexasRedneck]

Mero, if you stop to think of what they endured just getting here and then surviving in those early days, they were ALL spectacular! Some of us are just fortunate enough that we were in the right place at the right time in history. There's a post of the old family homestead in the "Gone but not forgotten" string.

[huckster]

Hemisfair re-vitalized downtown completely , it was beginning to look run down is some of the neighborhoods down there. Relocation made some unhappy Poles , Hispanics, Germans and others. But this was an undertaking that was of international significance. LBJ pulled 26 Central and South American Ambassadors to Washington and then to the LBJ Ranch to get this thing off the ground. A lot of local business people donated a lot of money and there were also corporate donations to get started. Connally and Henry B., H.B. Zachry and many others were involved. That LBJ was in the WHite House was the key. Logistically it was still a huge undertaking.
San Antonio restaurants were still segregated at the time. That had to be changed- you cannot hold a World's Fair at a place like this... San Antonio was considered very much a backward place back then, Hilton wouldn't even consider- putting a hotel here, it was too " backwater " . H.B. Zachry put up the Palacio Del Rio. H.E.B. grocery was a corner market back then, hell my grandfather used to sell the Pecans that fell from his trees
to them for resale.
Yes Hemisfair was more than a significant occurence, it was one of the greatest by way of what it contributed to the modernization and upgrade of San Antonio's downtown area. It is a completely different place from what it was.
You have to remember what it was like downtown back then, and how much has changed. When the winds blew from the southwest one
could smell the odors from the huge stockyards and all of the adjacent rendering plants, Roegleins etc. just south and across the expressway from the Mercado. S.A. was not only considered a southern backwater place, it was one, back then.

Originally Posted by samustang91

Does anyone believe that HemisFair '68 is one of the greatest things to ever occur in San Antonio, Tx in its history.

[Bo]

I suspect that the papal visit probably drew more people to town in a single day than Hemisfair or any other event in the city's history.

It probably doesn't top Hemisfair in significance, but I bet it is in the top 5 events.

[huckster]

Hemisfair was a financial failure.

Originally Posted by Bowie

I suspect that the papal visit probably drew more people to town in a single day than Hemisfair or any other event in the city's history.

It probably doesn't top Hemisfair in significance, but I bet it is in the top 5 events.

[Merovee]

Originally Posted by huckster

Hemisfair re-vitalized downtown completely , it...

Thank you, posts like this give me a deeper sense of history and understanding. A financial failure but a cultural success in my estimation after reading your post.

Originally Posted by Bowie

I suspect that the papal visit probably drew more people to town in a single day than Hemisfair or any other event in the city's history.

It probably doesn't top Hemisfair in significance, but I bet it is in the top 5 events.

True. I do wonder what events others would consider for the other three spots to fill out their top five lists if they also included the papal visit and HemisFair.

Another thing of note is that the World's Fairs right before ours were New York '64 and Montreal '67 with the latter being considered the greatest World's Fair of the last century.

I also read that the MLK assassination happened only two days before it began so that most likely put a damper on the climate.

I will add our first skyscraper boom as one that should make the top five list. Not only did we get the Milam Building, the first air-conditioned high-rise in the United States, but also our iconic, and previously mentioned Tower Life Building which for decades defined our skyline.

As a bit of trivia if it was not for the Stock Market Crash and subsequent Great Depression our city would have went ahead and added more buildings to our skyline but all those plans were canceled. One can only wonder about the what ifs?

In either case I think we have a great future ahead of us, the city which develops last, develops best, learning from the mistakes of other cities who have already reached their growth limit and potential.

[huckster]

The building of the Olmos Dam and the floodgates on the River downtown.

Originally Posted by Merovee

Thank you, posts like this give me a deeper sense of history and understanding. A financial failure but a cultural success in my estimation after reading your post.



True. I do wonder what events others would consider for the other three spots to fill out their top five lists if they also included the papal visit and HemisFair.

Another thing of note is that the World's Fairs right before ours were New York '64 and Montreal '67 with the latter being considered the greatest World's Fair of the last century.

I also read that the MLK assassination happened only two days before it began so that most likely put a damper on the climate.

I will add our first skyscraper boom as one that should make the top five list. Not only did we get the Milam Building, the first air-conditioned high-rise in the United States, but also our iconic, and previously mentioned Tower Life Building which for decades defined our skyline.

As a bit of trivia if it was not for the Stock Market Crash and subsequent Great Depression our city would have went ahead and added more buildings to our skyline but all those plans were canceled. One can only wonder about the what ifs?

In either case I think we have a great future ahead of us, the city which develops last, develops best, learning from the mistakes of other cities who have already reached their growth limit and potential.

[gy2020]

# 1 Fall of the Alamo
# 2 13 Day Seige of said Alamo
# 3 Battle of Bexar, General Cos looses Alamo and ticks off brother-in-law, Santa Anna
# 4 Seige of Bexar
# 5 Battle of Conception
# 6 Grass Fight
# 7 Mayor Juan Seguin saves San Antonio from being ployed under by the govt under Huston. Goes to Sam Houston and Houston turns back Huston. San Antonio saved in circa 1840.
# 8 Barbed wire fencing demonstrated in Plaza. Changing landscape of farms and ranches.
# 9 Legalization of "Red Light District", 1886, making cowboys and perloined ladies happy.
# 10 Shooting of Jack Harris by Ben Thompson in 1882 followed by shooting of Ben Thompson and King Fisher at the Vaudeville in 1884. Both shootings made the headlines across the US.
# 11 Building of the Grand Opera House, 1886
# 12 Hot Wells Hotel
# 13 Building of the Palace Theatre on Alamo Plaza around 1926.
# 14 Building of the Majestic Theatre (#5 in SA), 1929
# 15 Star Film Ranch at the Hot Wells Hotel (first film Production company in San Antonio)
HemisFair, somewhere beteween 16 and 20.

[huckster]

Should be the shooting of Jack Harris.

Originally Posted by gy2020

# 1 Fall of the Alamo
# 2 13 Day Seige of said Alamo
# 3 Battle of Bexar, General Cos looses Alamo and ticks off brother-in-law, Santa Anna
# 4 Seige of Bexar
# 5 Battle of Conception
# 6 Grass Fight
# 7 Mayor Juan Seguin saves San Antonio from being ployed under by the govt under Huston. Goes to Sam Houston and Houston turns back Huston. San Antonio saved in circa 1840.
# 8 Barbed wire fencing demonstrated in Plaza. Changing landscape of farms and ranches.
# 9 Legalization of "Red Light District", 1886, making cowboys and perloined ladies happy.
# 10 Shooting of Jack Harris by Ben Thompson in 1882 followed by shooting of Ben Thompson and King Fisher at the Vaudeville in 1884. Both shootings made the headlines across the US.
# 11 Building of the Grand Opera House, 1886
# 12 Hot Wells Hotel
# 13 Building of the Palace Theatre on Alamo Plaza around 1926.
# 14 Building of the Majestic Theatre (#5 in SA), 1929
# 15 Star Film Ranch at the Hot Wells Hotel (first film Production company in San Antonio)
HemisFair, somewhere beteween 16 and 20.

[Soviet]

I wonder what my life would have been like today if my family emigrated to America in 1792 instead of 1992.

[huckster]

You either- would be very much older or wouldn't exist at all.QUOTE=Soviet;16850383]I wonder what my life would have been like today if my family emigrated to America in 1792 instead of 1992.[/quote]