During the months of April through early October 1968, San Antonio hosted an International Exposition. The event was a celebration of the 250^th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio. Using urban renewal and other funds, the City of San Antonio acquired this 90+ acre site to host “HemisFair”. Of the 100+ structures removed from the site during construction, only 24 historic buildings were saved and included in the final design for the park.

Opening in April, 1968, the fair included pavilions from many countries, including a shared, five-nation Central American pavilion. Corporate pavilions also were represented in the park. Although attendance projections approach more than 7 million visitors, the number of actual attendees fell short of that estimate.

Following closure of HemisFair in the fall of 1968, much of the site was transferred to federal or state ownership. However, the City of San Antonio retained land that is now occupied by the Convention Center. During the mid-1980s, a number of unused structures at HemisFair were removed and replaced by water features and playgrounds.

Since 2009, HemisFair Park has been managed by the HemisFair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation. Current plans for the site included adding more commercial and housing developments and transforming the park to mixed use.

Credits and Sources:

               https://hemisfair.org/

               http://libguides.utsa.edu/HemisFair68

               https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utsa/00406/utsa-00406.html

               https://sanantonio.towers.net/2017/06/16/hemisfair-park-master-plan-adds-residential-retail-to-site/