An 18-foot-long, ribbon and flower crammed homecoming mum will function an applicable marker for the return of a San Antonio museum tasked with preserving and sharing Texan cultures and traditions.
The College of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute of Texan Cultures has discovered a brand new dwelling on the Frost Tower — positioned at 111 W. Houston St., Suite 100, going through Camaron Avenue — and can reopen its doorways to the general public beginning on Jan. 29.. Admission will likely be free throughout its opening weekend.
ITC officers hope that new and returning displays, one among which can function the Texas-sized mum, will present new experiences and nostalgic moments for guests.
“I believe what they’ll acknowledge is the dedication to storytelling,” mentioned Monica Perales, affiliate vice provost for the institute. “There will likely be some issues which can be very acquainted; Our iconic neon flag, we knew that needed to include us… And she or he’s been refurbished and is shining much more brightly.”
The long-awaited transfer was a controversial one for the institute because the plans to demolish its unique dwelling on the Texas Pavilion had been met with a lawsuit by those that argued for the preservation of the HemisFair ’68-era constructing.
The Frost Tower suite was initially offered as a brief dwelling for the institute by UT San Antonio officers, who mentioned they had been assessing places close to the upcoming sports activities enviornment growth for its everlasting dwelling. College officers didn’t reply to a request for an replace on future plans.
A transfer within the making
The Institute of Texan Cultures closed its doorways to the general public in 2024. After evaluating the opportunity of holding the museum on the Texas Pavilion, UT San Antonio officers opted as a substitute to discover a new dwelling for the museum and its historic artifacts.
The pavilion was one of many final remaining buildings courting again to the HemisFair in 1968. As soon as the World Truthful ended it started housing the museum. About 96 acres of downtown land that included pavilion, had been then handed alongside to the UT System, however the property wouldn’t be developed for college functions for a few years.
In 2019, the UT Board of Regents accredited a grasp plan for the growth of UT San Antonio within the downtown district. The plan known as for a self-sufficient campus that offered college students a full college expertise with out having to journey to the principle campus on the Northwest Aspect of the town for analysis area or facilities.
The growth gave method to the San Pedro I constructing alongside Dolorosa Avenue, which opened its doorways on Jan. 2023 housing the Faculty of Knowledge Science. San Pedro II, a constructing adjoining to the San Pedro I, is slated to open this spring housing packages within the fields of AI, cybersecurity, computing and information science.
This growth, nevertheless, didn’t embody the about 14 acres wherein the Texas Pavilion sat on. The sale of this portion of the property to the town of San Antonio was as a substitute later accredited by the board of regents in 2025.
Questions over the way forward for the Texas Pavilion arose nicely earlier than the sale as college officers started surveying the potential use or worth of university-owned land. In 2020, college officers started a survey means of the museum and in 2021 the ITC Centennial Initiative explored three eventualities for the way forward for the museum and its location.
Situation one known as for the museum to relocate exterior the Hemisfair District; Situation two known as for the museum to go away the Texas Pavilion however stay within the Hemisfair District; The third possibility known as for it to stay on the Texas Pavilion.
Veronica Salazar, then vp of enterprise affairs and chief enterprise growth officer at UT San Antonio, oversaw this course of earlier than her retirement on the finish of 2025.
College officers moved to demolish the Texas Pavilion and discover methods to remain close to the Hemisfair District, a choice Salazar mentioned concerned greater than a bodily location however the way forward for potential displays.
The unique facility couldn’t be accredited to carry nationwide displays as a result of its measurement, Salazar mentioned in 2024 throughout a bigcitysmalltown podcast interview with Bob Rivard.
“That’s the one important part for the museum,” Salazar mentioned through the interview. “We’ve got a relationship with the Smithsonian, however we will’t carry any of the displays as a result of the ability doesn’t permit for the required necessities… That’s at all times going to hinder the expansion of the museum itself.”
This was a contentious change, prompting a lawsuit from the Conservation Society of San Antonio, which argued for the historic preservation of the construction and pointed to the location’s connection to the Metropolis of San Antonio’s Challenge Marvel. The plan to construct a $1.3 billion NBA enviornment for the Spurs has since been accredited and is underway.
Pleas by the conservation group to halt the demolition had been ultimately squashed, with a choose granting lawsuit immunity to the town and the college. The demotion of the 180,000-square-foot pavilion continued over the spring of 2025.
Shining brightly
Over the previous 18 months, Perales and her workforce, which included pupil staff, had been tasked with the seemingly inconceivable job of rehoming what as soon as slot in a 180,000 square-foot area, into the now 8,000 square-foot location.
With simply over 5,000 sq. toes of gallery area, the workforce needed to get artistic with what and the way they might current displays and the various objects that the museum already possessed.
Museum officers opted for having two predominant galleries: One everlasting that can host “Widespread Threads,” an exhibition that facilities round dwelling and household life, in addition to the tradition, arts, traditions and neighborhood, and a second gallery that can function touring exhibitions twice a 12 months.
The primary touring exhibit is titled “Mumentous: The upsizing of a Texas Custom” that includes the normal homecoming mums. This exhibit was dropped at San Antonio by a collaboration with the Arlington Museum of Artwork.
“For us it’s a chance to attach with the neighborhood, to collaborate with our companions to construct new displays and to strive new methods of telling tales,” Perales mentioned. “So we’re excited to have one thing that’s dynamic and evolving.”
A everlasting dwelling
The Frost Tower location was talked about as a brief dwelling for the museum, with the objective to ultimately purchase or lease a property close to the Crockett Lodge or a Hemisfair-area venue, which is ultimately anticipated to draw a better variety of guests.
Perales couldn’t present updates on the deliberate period of their keep on the Frost Tower, however mentioned they’re transferring ahead with the accreditation course of by the American Alliance of Museums.
Though it’s a rigorous and prolonged course of, Perales mentioned it offers method to many extra alternatives as it could place the museum amongst a few of the greatest within the nation.
“Accredited museums do adhere to the best requirements of collections preservation, neighborhood engagement, transparency,” she mentioned. “These are markers of form of the excessive caliber of expertise that folks will encounter in a museum.”
With the Frost Tower location a couple of blocks away from San Pedro I and II, Perales mentioned they hope college students of all backgrounds get to work together with the museum by both visiting, or collaborating in academic programming sooner or later.
“I’m a historical past professor by coaching,” she mentioned. “I actually consider that nice universities have nice museums. [Museums] are usually not solely the doorway for the general public to come back in and expertise the college, but additionally a means [to give] college students experiences which can be significant, that can assist them be taught and uncover.”
The San Antonio Report companions with Open Campus on larger training protection.
