The Legacy of HemisFair Fact Sheet Page: 2
This text is part of the collection entitled: Rescuing Texas History, 2009 and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UT San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.
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* Marshall T. Steves, first vice president of HemisFair,
headed the underwriting campaign. Within less than six
months, the campaign reached its goal of $6 million.
In 1965, U.S. Rep. Gonzalez successfully passed through
Congress a resolution calling for federal sanction and
participation which resulted in foreign countries
participating in the fair. Subsequently, he authorized
bills to establish a study commission to plan and
authorize the type of federal exhibit for the fair
which passed the Congress. The $6.5 million Federal
pavilion housed the "Confluence Theatre."
* Acquisition of the HemisFair site was financed with a
$10,333,614 federal grant. The relocation of 390
families was financed with a $12.5 million federal
relocation grant. Public dollars spent on improvements
to the site totaled over $107 million. Public and
private dollars invested in the HemisFair project
totaled $170 million, demonstrating remarkable
cooperation between citizen support, public initiative,
private enterprise and government assistance.
* The $10.5 million Convention Center was approved by
citizens by a three-to-one margin in a $30 million
bond package, the largest city issue up to that point.
* A $1.9 million river extension and beautification
project rechanneled the San Antonio River to the Henry
B. Gonzalez Convention Center. 40,000 cubic yards of
dirt were moved in 20 days. Four new bridges were
built to span the San Antonio River. The result was a
new image as a metropolitan city and reawakened River
Walk development that still continues even today.
* The city also issued a $5.5 million bond to construct
the Tower of the Americas, which was the dominant
structure at the fair. The 622-foot tower was designed
by O'Neil Ford & Associates.
Gov. John Connally secured approximately $10 million in
state funding to build the Institute of Texan Cultures,
which was the largest single exhibit at the fair.
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The Legacy of HemisFair Fact Sheet, text, 1993; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth65765/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UT San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.