Museum

Institute of Texan Cultures

San Antonio · Bexar County · Dedicated 1965 · THC Atlas #4200000365

Texas history, up close and curated.

About this site

Institute of Texan Cultures is a museum in San Antonio, Bexar County, dedicated in 1965. It is one of 18 museums documented in Bexar County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 525 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.4167, -98.4822 near San Antonio. The nearest cataloged historic site is Fourth Ward School (historic place), about 0.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Station, Halff House, and Acequia Madre de Valero.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #4200000365. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.

History

Created by the Texas Legislature in 1965, the Institute of Texan Cultures opened as the Texas Pavilion at HemisFair '68 and was transferred to the University of Texas System in 1969. Housed in a monumental inverted-pyramid building designed by William M. Peña, it became the state's leading center for multicultural education and home of the annual Texas Folklife Festival. Now a unit of the University of Texas at San Antonio, the museum closed and UTSA moved in 2025 to demolish the aging HemisFair structure despite public opposition.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org tshaonline.org kens5.com

📍 29.4167, -98.4822 · San Antonio, Bexar County

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Nearby in Bexar County

Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Station

San Antonio · 1975

Historic Place

Schroeder-Yturri House

San Antonio · 1975

Historical Marker

Acequia Madre de Valero

El Quartel (El Cuartel)

San Antonio · 1967