The suit names the University of Texas at San Antonio, owners of the building, and the City of San Antonio as defendants.
Speaking at the Bexar County Courthouse, about a mile from Hemisfair where work crews appear to be on site, Conservation Society President Lewis Vetter said the group has been fighting for the building for over a decade.
Last year, the group was successful in adding the former Texas Pavilion to the National Register of Historic Places, which UTSA had opposed, and obtaining a State Antiquities Landmark designation.
Built as the Texas Pavilion to showcase the state’s cultures for the fair, the three-story rectangular building designed by Caudill, Rowlett & Scott is an example of the Brutalist architectural style popular after World War II.
The Texas Legislature allocated, through two bills, a total of $10 million to build the Texas Pavilion.
“This building has huge significance in the city’s history, beginning with HemisFair ‘68 and continuing as the Institute of Texan Cultures and the Folklife Festival for over half a century,” Vetter said. “It’s the only downtown landmark designed by a Mexican American architect.”
But while a listing on the National Register makes any redevelopment of the building eligible for historic tax credits, there are no restrictions on what a non-federal owner can do with the property, including demolition.
Deed records show the city transferred ownership of the building to the University of Texas System in 1967 with a use restriction that required the university to provide attractions for visitors to the city and state. UTSA took over administrative control of the building in 1973.
After a five-decade run, UTSA closed the museum nearly a year ago, moving its exhibits and collections into storage as it prepares to open a temporary museum at Frost Tower ahead of establishing a permanent home, likely near the Alamo.
The Texas Historical Commission issued a demolition permit late last year and a contractor appears to be working at the site, which is now barely visible through construction fencing.
UTSA spokesman Joe Izbrand said demolition has not begun. “There is some abatement work currently underway and once that’s done we’ll have a better sense of [the] timeline for next steps,” he said.
As for the lawsuit, Izbrand said it is UTSA’s policy not to comment on pending litigation.
“Our efforts to redevelop the Texas Pavilion property have been and will continue to be in compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” he said.
The 180,000-square-foot building is situated on property identified as key to the city’s plans for a sports and entertainment district anchored by a proposed new Spurs basketball arena.
The Conservation Society contends that the structure could be repurposed to support that goal. But also charges that UTSA is “acting as a proxy for the city,” to get the building torn down, Vetter said. “That’s obviously their plan in Project Marvel.”
A member of the Conservation Society of San Antonio holds a sign outside of the Bexar County Courthouse opposing the demolition of the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures on Wednesday morning. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report A special provision in the State Historic Preservation Act allows UTSA to do what it wants with the building, he said. “The city or anyone else that was working on that building would not have that loophole.”
Citing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act , which regulates the use and protection of historic structures, Vetter also said he doesn’t think the city is aware that it’s skipping some federally required reviews prior to demolition.
City spokesman Brian Chasnoff said that the Conservation Society did not provide a copy of the suit before filing, and issued a statement from the City Attorney’s office:
“We continue to work with UTSA on the acquisition of the property and fully support UTSA’s efforts to find an appropriate location for the Institute of Texan Cultures given the cultural and historical significance of the collection.”
Vetter said the group filed the petition to pause the project before it’s completely razed, leaving the land vacant until something can be built there.
A pause would allow time for the city and UTSA to get more community input on the building’s future, he said.
It would also prevent any further and irreversible deconstruction of a historic building.
“I’d hate to see us have, again, something that we had the opportunity to talk about, learn about, and then say, well, that was six months ago — it’s too late,” he said.
