There’s always plenty to learn about our city’s past, including its unequivocally colorful leanings.
Those with an interest in San Antonio history will have the chance to do just that with the Thousand Oaks Library’s Tuesday, Sept. 23, presentation “Happy Foundation Archives: Preserving San Antonio’s LGBTQ Past.”
The Happy Foundation is named after Arthur P. “Hap” Veltman, a local entrepreneur and developer who died of complications from AIDS in 1988. Veltman was key in the development of the River Walk, the Blue Star Arts Complex and the Bonham Exchange, along with other projects that ultimately shaped San Antonio as we know it.
This is a massive opportunity for local historians — amateur or otherwise — to explore decades of LGBTQ+ archives closely guarded by Hap’s partner: the weird and wonderful artist and activist Eugene “Gene” Elder, who died in 2019.
Free, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, Thousand Oaks Library, 4618 Thousand Oaks Drive, (210) 207-9190, mysapl.org.
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This article appears in Sept. 18-Oct. 1, 2025.