HemisFair'68

The records of the San Antonio Fair, Inc., document the planning, lobbying, financing and construction of HemisFair '68. The records consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, committee reports, financial records, newspaper and magazine articles, press releases, photographic materials, blueprints, maps and plats, artwork, oral history interview transcripts, scrapbooks of clippings and ephemera, and audiovisual materials (film and sound recordings). Most of the records predate the opening of the fair.

The Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) was established in 1965. Originally housing the Texas Pavilion at HemisFair '68, it was designed to study the ethnic groups that settled in Texas. The ITC Library was established in 1965 as a repository for books and images of artifacts being collected by researchers preparing exhibits for the Texas Pavilion. This collection spans the years 1965 through 1994 and includes materials relating to HemisFair '68 that were collected by the ITC Library. Materials include photographs, transparencies, printed materials, newspaper clippings, souvenir items, essays, and other materials.

Image: Statement by H.B. Zachry for Second State Appropriation for HemisFair (Folder 2:7)

William Sinkin was the first President of San Antonio Fair, Inc., serving as president from 1963-1964 and as Honorary Co-Chairman of the Board from 1964-1968. The Community subseries of the collection documents Sinkin's leadership roles in HemisFair. Several newsclipping scrapbooks chronicle HemisFair and portray the extent and type of media coverage that the Fair attracted from preliminary planning in 1962 through its 20th anniversary in 1988. (More Sinkin material is available in the Executive Officers Series of the San Antonio Fair, Inc. Records.)

Image: Page with Reuse Plan map from HemisFair Scrapbook, 1964 (Box 16)

Vivian Johnson Hamlin Terrett spent most of her adult life as a resident of San Antonio, Texas, where she was an active member of civic and cultural organizations. She received numerous citations for her work. Printed material, correspondence, reports, photographs, scrapbook material, and artifacts, 1966-1990, document Vivian Johnson Hamlin Terrett's work in civic and cultural organizations in San Antonio, Texas, notably the Woman's Pavilion at HemisFair '68 and the San Antonio Bicentennial Commission. There are also personal items in the collection.

Image: Woman's Pavilion informational packet with handwritten quote, undated (Folder 1:15)

UTSA Libraries Special Collections also holds a collection of HemisFair '68 memorabilia, donated by various members of the community. Items include souvenir books and maps, license plates, salt and pepper shakers, posters, ashtrays, plates, glasses, coffee mugs, and a Tower of the Americas decanter, among other items.