UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures 801 E. César E. Chávez Blvd., (210) 458-2300, texancultures.utsa.edu First opened as the Texas State Exhibits Pavilion during Hemisfair ‘68, the Institute of Texan Cultures now operates as a museum under the wing of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Through exhibits, events and outreach programs, the Institute of Texan Cultures celebrates the various peoples from around the world that have made their home in the Lone Star State. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Michael Barera

San Antonio’s Project Marvel appears to be charging ahead.

The University of Texas at San Antonio this week received approval from the Texas Historical Commission to raze Hemisfair’s Institute of Texan Culture’s building, the Express-News reports.

The approval comes about a month after City Council was briefed on plans for a massive downtown sports district, dubbed Project Marvel by insiders, which would include a new Spurs arena where the ITC building currently stands.

Although specific details, including when such a new arena might open remain murky, it’s been no secret that the city and UTSA, the owners of aging 18,000-square-foot ITC building, want it gone.

In February, the UT Board of Regents gave the city of San Antonio the exclusive option to buy or lease the 13.5-acre downtown property — possibly for a new NBA arena.

However, those plans were put on hold in October when the Texas Historical Commission designated the building a state antiquities site. That meant UTSA couldn’t raze the structure without approval.

“Everybody like a fair fight, and I don’t think we’re in one… we stand for Texas history, we don’t stand for the University of Texas or any of its affiliates,” one commissioner said during the October meeting. “We don’t fold like tacos. We fight.”

However, the promised fight didn’t materialize — at least not in a public manner — and the Texas Historical Commission issued UTSA a demolition permit this week.

The ITC was built in 1968 and used as the Texan Pavilion during Hemisfair ’68, San Antonio’s World’s Fair. However, the building has fallen into disrepair and is in need of $74 million in repairs, according to one analysis.

UTSA plans to relocate the ITC to a new building somewhere downtown. In the meantime, portions of the institute’s collection will be housed at Frost Tower. Those exhibitions are expected to open in late 2025, according to the San Antonio Report.

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This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...