After 18 months of being closed to the public, the Institute of Texan Cultures, a museum dedicated to exploring Texas’ cultural heritage, has officially reopened at its new location in Frost Tower.
After more than 50 years housed at the Texas Pavilion — one of the only remaining structures built for the 1968 HemisFair — the museum was shuttered in 2024 amid concerns over structural deterioration and rising maintenance costs, with UT San Antonio announcing plans to relocate the institution.
The Paisano spoke with Monica Perales, Associate Vice Provost at the Institute of Texan Cultures, who said, “We do have a new location, but all of the things that the ITC has been known for — telling the stories of the people in Texas, sharing that culture with the greater state and the world, engaging storytelling — all of that is the same.
“We are just now doing it in this location, and we are excited to see this as the opening of a new chapter. We are carrying the torch forward.”
The pavilion, designed by architect William M. Peña, was granted to UT San Antonio after the World’s Fair end to accommodate the ITC. In February of 2024, the UT Board of Regents granted the City of San Antonio conditional approval to purchase or lease the property. Though the pavilion was deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places that same year, the university declined the nomination, later proceeding with the demolition of the site in 2025.
The decision was initially met with significant pushback from the Conservation Society of San Antonio, which petitioned to designate the building as a State Antiquities Landmark and filed a lawsuit against UT San Antonio and the city to halt demolition. A deal eventually struck between the parties, and the project progressed as planned.
Plans to redevelop the downtown area into a large-scale sports and entertainment district began circulating publicly in early 2024. Though highly contested, Project Marvel was ultimately approved by the San Antonio City Council last November. The project includes plans for a new Spurs arena on the former Texas Pavilion site, which spans a 13.5-acre parcel, as well as an expansion of the Henry B. González Convention Center, a new hotel tower and upgrades to the Alamodome.
“It’s an exciting point for the history of the museum,” head curator at the ITC, Bianca Alvarez, said. “I see this very much as our sandbox and an incubator space for ideas and experimenting with content or innovative ways of presenting material.”
The modernization, spearheaded by UT San Antonio, took about a year and a half to complete. The institute now occupies a smaller footprint, moving from 180,000 square feet in the aging pavilion to an 8,000-square-foot space featuring two galleries centered on core Texas stories.
Alvarez confirmed that all artifacts formerly housed at the Texas Pavilion are now stored at a newly constructed, climate-controlled Archives and Collections facility in Leon Valley.
“Collection stewardship is a priority for us,” she said. “Preserving not only the stories, but the artifacts for generations to come.”
While the institute is awaiting a permanent residence, the museum is currently located on the first floor of Frost Tower. Perales added that admission is free for all UT San Antonio students, faculty and staff.
