Those Places Thursday: HemisFair '68 and the Tower of the Americas, 1968 and 2007

In a post earlier this week, I mentioned HemisFair '68, the World's Fair for 1968, which was held in San Antonio, Texas.  My family visited the fair (which ran from April 6 through October 6) on August 15, and I bought the postcard above and sent it to my pen pal, who kindly saved it for me.  On the back, I wrote,

HemisFair was great!  We didn't get to see everything, though.  The best things were the Italy and Texas Pavilions, the IBM and Coke Pavilions, Tower of the Americas, the Laterna Magika show, and the roller coaster on Fiesta Island.

Here are some photos I took at the fair, with descriptions from the Souvenir Book of Hemisfair '68:

"Coca-Cola Company brings theater to the fair.  Here, in its 500-seat theater, the company presents the puppets of Sid and Marty Krofft in a special play called Kaleidoscope." (page 17)

"IBM: Lakeside:. Key feature of the IBM Lakeside Pavilion, one of two the corporation has constructed on site, is a light-hearted informative movie explaining the operation of modern computers." (page 20).  I'm not sure if this is the Lakeside or the nearly-identical Durango Pavilion which "houses a unique, computer-operated loom that will weave a sample of cloth for the visitor." (page 21)

Mexico's pavilion had a small outdoor performing stage over the water, a "floating theater."  Today, this pavilion houses the Instituto Cultural de Mexico.

I took two photos at the "Paper and People" exhibit.  I haven't found any information about this (so far) in official HemisFair information available online, but an article called  "HemisFair Isn't Biggest, But 'Best',"  from the Abilene Reporter-News, April 23, 1968, page 20 said, "PAPER AND PEOPLE is an unusual exhibit reviewing the development of paper from the second century B. C. in China to 'way out' art using paper with its many textures and forms."  I also found it in the San Antonio Light, April 22, 1968, page 6, in an article called "HemisFare," (continued from page 1), under the heading "Theme Exhibits," as "Paper and People - A world of paper, from furniture to art. (In Plazas del Mundo.)"

"Paper and People also shows up on the Official Souvenir HemisFair 1968 Map under "Theme Exhibits/Structures" in Las Plazas del Mundo, which was where the national pavilions were.  It was located at the western end of the fair grounds. Along with all the new structures housing foreign pavilions, many of the 19th century homes and commercial buildings preserved on the site were remodeled and served as restaurants, pavilions, and shops during the fair.

Then of course, there is the Tower of the Americas, the signature structure of HemisFair, and, next to the Alamo, the most recognized structure in San Antonio today.  Those of you going to San Antonio for the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2014 Conference (#FGS2014) in late August can easily walk to the Tower from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center (the original part of which was built for - you guessed it - HemisFair '68).  The admission fee includes unlimited access to Flags Over Texas Observation Deck, and the Skies Over Texas 4D Theater Ride during operating hours.  You can also enjoy lunch or dinner at the tower's restaurant.

Breathless and me at the top of the Tower of the Americas in April 2007

There are also some beautiful water features in HemisFair Park, near the Tower and the Convention Center.

This one is called the Hemisfair Mini-Monorail Monument, because it incorporates concrete structural elements from the original monorail at the fair:

As is the case with all World's Fairs, the HemisFair '68 site has changed over the years. Twenty-four historic structures incorporated into HemisFair '68 still exist today, the oldest ones dating to the 1840s.  Many structures put up just for the fair are gone, but others remain, some with their original usage, others with new uses.  The two buildings making up the USA Pavilion, for example, were constructed with the intention of turning them into the federal courthouse and judicial training center that they are today.  The city is currently in the midst of a plan to transform this area further.

A really great general website about Hemisfair '68 is http://www.worldsfair68.info/.  More information about the history of the site is available here: http://www.sanantonio.gov/planning/pdf/hemisfair/04a_site_history.pdf and here: http://www.sanantonio.gov/planning/pdf/hemisfair/09b_site_inventory.pdf.


© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Pape Girls, Spring 1963

Bobbie, Judy, Donna, and Terrie

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Travel Tuesday: Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, 1968 & 1978

The Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, is an awesome museum and educational center.  It began its life as the Texas Pavilion at HemisFair '68, the World's Fair for 1968.  The following year, it became part of the University of Texas System.  Today, it is one of the campuses of the University of Texas at San Antonio

My family attended HemisFair '68, and I took this photo from the top of the Tower of the Americas, which also still stands today.  I'll write more about HemisFair and the Tower on Thursday.  We of course visited the Institute (aka Texas Pavilion), which, according to page 15 of the Souvenir Book of Hemisfair '68 , "tells the story of Texans, who they are and where they came from."  Page 8 of the HemisFair '68 souvenir booklet adds,  "Does the idea of a Jewish conquistador, a German tamale-maker or a Polish cowboy strike you as odd?  Taking the stories of such individuals, the huge Texas Pavilion shows how 25 nationalities helped tame the state, and shoots down some tired Texas myths along the way."

Institute of Texan Culture (aka the Texas Pavilion) from the observation deck of the Tower of the Americas during HemisFair '68 in San Antonio, August 1968.  Fiesta Island can be seen in the foreground.  Durango Street (now César Chávez Boulevard) is in the upper right corner.

Ten years later, in 1978, I had a summer internship at what was then San José Mission State and National Historic Site, (then) operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).  We had an opportunity to participate in the seventh annual Texas Folklife Festival, sponsored by the Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) and held on their grounds.  Along with fellow TPWD staff members from the nearby José Antonio Navarro State Historic Site (now Casa Navarro and operated by the Texas Historical Commission), we provided an adobe-making demonstration at the Festival.  On the cover of the Program Guide for the Festival, held August 3-6 in 1978, we were located at point #34, just off Durango Street (now César Chávez Boulevard) and near Stage 3.

Imagine my surprise to find the photo below today, while looking for images from that demonstration!  That's me on the left, but unfortunately I don't recognize my co-worker.

[Two Texas Parks and Wildlife Employees Mixing Adobe], Photograph, [August 3, 1978..August 6, 1978]; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth285180/ : accessed June 10, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, Texas.

Those of you going to San Antonio for the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2014 Conference  (#FGS2014) in late August have a great opportunity to visit the Institute of Texan Cultures, and I highly recommend that you do!  On Wednesday evening, August 27, 2014, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, join your fellow FGS attendees for some barbecue and the opportunity to explore the Institute at your own pace.  Read more about this special event on the FGS blog.


© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Monday: Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas, 1951

About ten days ago, I completed a series of posts for May about my father's military service in the early 1950s.  I was a bit sad to be done because I had used every photograph in my possession related to that service.  Imagine my joy on my most recent visit with him (he is 85) at the end of May, when he dug out a box with numerous items from his high school, college, and service days, including an awesome photo album he'd put together on that military service!

Here are a couple of my dad's photos from that album's first page, related to his pre-flight (air cadet) training at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, which began February 27, 1951:

On the back of this photograph, Dad wrote, "Note the fine palms.  This building had the best training equipment for pilots in the Air Force.  That is Capt. Rogers' Cadillac on the far right."  A stamp on the back of the photo says April 16, 1951 (the date the film was processed and the print made), although Dad was only at Randolph through the end of March.

I found a photograph of this building at the Portal to Texas History, dated June 8, 1935 (more historic photos of Randolph AFB can be found on this site as well).  A Tour of Historic Randolph, published by the Office of History and Research, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command of the Air Force in May 1995, describes this building as follows:

At the southern base of Main Circle is the Aviation Cadet complex, a focal point of training at Randolph in the 1930s. Facing the street is the Academic Building (Building 900). San Antonio architect Ralph Cameron designed the building, which was completed in 1931 at a cost of $151,000. Here the cadets went through ground school and received instruction in a variety of subjects including weather and the use of the radio. Besides classrooms, the building also contained office space for the instructors and a well-stocked technical library. Today it is the headquarters for Air Education and Training Command with offices for the commander and his immediate staff, as well as for a sizable portion of the Plans and Operations staff.

Building 900 is also known as Martin Hall:

Named in honor of Major General Frederick L. Martin, an aviation pioneer who served as the first Commanding Officer of Randolph Field from 1931-1934. Just a major at the time, Martin moved from Kelly Field to Randolph in September 1931. Martin later served as commander of the AAF [Army Air Forces] Central Technical Training Command during World War II, but he is best remembered for leading the first "round-the-world" flight in 1924.

On the back of this photo (also stamped April 16, 1951), Dad wrote:

Pre-Flight Barracks (now B.O.Q. [bachelor officers' quarters] for B-29 pilots).  These barracks were very clean and cool and our end room on the 2nd floor, which is not shown in this picture, had the best view.

Here's what the Tour of Historic Randolph has to say about the barracks:

Flanking the Academic Building were the cadet barracks (Buildings 901, 902, 903 and 907). Buildings 901 and 902 were designed by San Antonio architect Emmett T. Jackson and completed in 1931 at a cost of $132,000 each. Both barracks were converted into offices in the late 1950s. Building 902 was extensively renovated in 1992, and contractors filled in the original open arcade. Buildings 903 and 907 were built in 1939 at a cost of $169,000 each. Each barracks had 54 two-man rooms that opened onto arcade verandas that provided some respite from the grueling South Texas sun. Twelve ornamental medallions bearing the Army Air Corps insignia--a white star against a blue background with a small red disc in the center of the star--adorn the front of each building just above the window line on the second floor. Each barracks also had its own orderly room and separate recreation rooms for upperclassmen and lowerclassmen stocked with newspapers, magazines, radios, and pianos. Outside the barracks were tennis, basketball, and handball courts, plus a large swimming pool.

Randolph Field Historic District is a 405-acre area within the Air Force Base that includes 350 buildings, sites, and structures in the Mission Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Spanish Renaissance Revival, and Streamline Moderne or Art Deco styles. It was nominated and declared a National Historic Landmark District in 2001.

For those of you going to San Antonio for the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2014 Conference (#FGS2014) in late August, you won't be surprised to learn that San Antonio is Military City USA.  Besides Randolph, there are a number of other bases and forts in the area, some of which have museums and other areas open to the public.  In addition, a number of San Antonio hotels, restaurants, and attractions offer discounts for active and retired military personnel.


© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Dietz Kids, 1971

My first cousins Regina, Richard, and Robert in 1971, while they were students at St. Isaac Jogues School in Glenview/Niles, Illinois.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Society Saturday: San Antonio Research Opportunities During #FGS2014

The Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2014 Conference, “Gone to Texas,” will be held in San Antonio, August 27-30. In addition to an extensive program that includes sessions on records, methodology and researching in Texas and neighboring states, you can take advantage of some of the research facilities in San Antonio. Here are two of the best:

San Antonio Public Library, San Antonio, Texas / Zereshk /  CC BY-SA 3.0

Located on the sixth floor of the San Antonio Central Library, the Texana/Genealogy Department includes 65,000 microfilms, 77,000 books, 150 drawers of archival files, 75 map drawers, and 300 cubic feet of archival collections. Visit this research facility at 600 Soledad Street in downtown San Antonio.  You can buy a one-day pass for VIA Transit and ride the Blue (305) Circulator bus from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center to the Central Library and other sites of interest (like the Alamo).

San Antonio Genealogical & Historical Society Library; photo courtesy Sandra Crowley

The San Antonio Genealogical & Historical Society, one of the co-hosts for #FGS2014, has a  library located at 911 Melissa Drive in north-central San Antonio, houses a vast collection of books, periodicals, maps, vertical files, microfilm, and family history volumes for San Antonio, Bexar County, and all 50 states. The library will be open extended hours for research during the conference: Thursday, August 28, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, August 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, August 30, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m; and Sunday, August 31, from 1 to 5 p.m.  Consult the library catalog at http://www.rootsweb.com/~txsaghs2/ 

Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Streff Kids, ABT 1960

Some of my first cousins:  Rho (holding Paul), Mare, Bud, Beth, and Tom.  Since Paul is just a baby, I think this was taken about 1960.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Those Places Thursday: The Alamo in San Antonio, Over the Years

It's a silhouette instantly familiar to any Texan - the Alamo.  An absolute must-see for those of you going to San Antonio for the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2014 Conference in late August.  It's an easy walk from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, site of #FGS2014, or you can buy a one-day pass for VIA Transit and ride the Red (301) or Blue (305) Circulator buses to the Alamo and other sites downtown.

The photos above and at left were probably taken in the summer of 1944, when my mother, Geraldine Margaret Guokas, was 15.  Looks like her family of origin made a trip from their home in Houston to San Antonio, as there are other pictures from other locations in the city when Mom and her mother and siblings are wearing the same clothes.

In the photo above, Mom is at left with her younger sister Jo Ann in the middle and her older brother Charles Peter III (1927-1999) at right.

In the photo at left, Mom is again at the left, with her mother (my maternal grandmother) Sara Melzine Wolfe Guokas Archibald (1907-1997) in the center, and my aunt, Mom's sister Jo Ann (now Sister Jean Marie Guokas) at right.

Below are photos from four of the visits I've made to the Alamo (so far) in my lifetime. (On my latest visit in April 2014, I took a photo of the nearby Cenotaph.)

summer 1969

January 1980, with my first cousin Donna Pape

summer 1997

Grandkids Adam and Heidi Brown, stepdaughter Kim Gresham Williams, and grandson Drew Brown, June 29, 2012

April 6, 2013

On the visit with the offspring in 1997, my then-young son was having trouble visualizing the battle, particularly since the Alamo today is surrounded by development, and much of the original mission walls and buildings (so important in the battle) are gone.  To get a better feel for the battle, you might want to do what we did - go to the AMC Rivercenter 11 Theater (even closer to the Convention Center) and see the 48-minute IMAX movie Alamo: The Price Of Freedom.  I'd also suggest visiting Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo or one of the other Spanish mission sites in southern San Antonio to see what the Alamo complex might have looked like at the time of the battle.  I'll write more about Mission San José and the other missions in a future post.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Pape Girls, 1970s

My cousins Terrie, Donna, Bobbie, and Judy, sometime in the 1970s.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Travel Tuesday: San Antonio River Walk, ABT 1944

The picture to the right is of my maternal grandmother, Sara Melzina Wolfe Guokas Archibald (1907-1997), in the center with the hat, and her daughters Jo Ann Guokas (left) and my mother Geraldine Margaret Guokas Pape (right).  My mother was 15 when this photo was taken, which makes it about 1944.  They are on one of the pedestrian bridges on the San Antonio River Walk, which had opened to the public just three years before.

It took me a while to figure out just which of the many pedestrian bridges on the River Walk this was.  The picture below, taken in April 2010, shows a building with similar window designs in the background.  I still did not know what it was, though.  It seemed vaguely familiar.

Some sleuthing in Google Images helped me figure out the building is today's Mokara Hotel & Spa, formerly the Watermark Hotel & Spa, which is across the street from the historic La Mansion Del Rio hotel, where Breathless and I stayed in April 2007.

The Watermark was a renovation of the 1900 L. Frank Saddlery Company building. The Saddlery made custom saddles and leather goods for John Wayne, Pancho Villa, and Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, as well as for the U.S., British, and French armies in World War I.  The hotel, which opened in December 2003, added four stories to the original four story building that can be seen in the background of the photo of my grandmother, mother, and aunt.

River Walk Bridge / Stuart Muzzy / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The River Walk (aka Paseo del Rio) is a must-see, must-do in San Antonio for those of you attending the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2014 Conference.  It's easily accessible from the Henry Gonzales Convention Center, site of #FGS2014 - just head down to the River Walk level.  If you don't want to walk, there are tour boats and river taxis available too.  What started as a 1920s flood control project for the San Antonio River has morphed into a gorgeous public park (mostly designed by R. H. H. Hugman) with numerous shops, hotels, restaurants, and other attractions.  Special events are often held along the River Walk - during #FGS2014, look for the Labor Day Arts & Crafts Show, from 11 AM on August 29 through 8 PM on September 1.

Pedestrian Bridge over San Antonio River, San Antonio, Texas / Patrick Feller / CC BY 2.0

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.