1968 World's Fair - The HemisFair '68 in San Antonio, Texas 

Went to HemisFair'68 during summer with parents on vacation…13 years old…Johnny Cash was performing at the Lone Star Pavilion to a crowd seated at tables drinking beer…just walked up and asked him to play Folsom Prison Blues…he did it!!!

I love that I can call this home. Born and raised and now living on the north side of the city.

The Riverwalk existed decades before the World's Fair.

I was on foot patrol with the SAPD at that time. Spent a lot of time over there. I was 23 and single, need I say anymore. Lots of beautiful young ladies taking in the fair. Many changes have taken place over in that area. I very seldom go downtown anymore. Too crowded and I'm too old now.

Born and raised in San Antonio. Looked better back then.

Went there with my parents and little brother when I was 11. We had great fun!

thank you for sharing! born in raised in san antonio and my dad tells me stories about this ALL the time!!!🥰 we actually have one of the sky gondolas from the fair in our front yard!

I was there at 16 years old. It was something for a kid that had never been to San Antonio.

I was there when I was four years old with my Mom, Dad, and sister. Some of my earliest memories are from Hemis-Fair: Riding the riverboats with my family; A weird bucket hat with a purple visor and design printed on it that said, "I never saw a Purple Cow..."; Mexican folk dancers, Having to share a stroller with my younger sister, Relentless sun and heat, and a strange animated mural inside a building of what I swear was a harlequin riding a dragon. The older I get, the more distant and bittersweet the memories are.

I was 10, lived in big D (Devine) went to the fairground a lot

i was born and raised in SA and was 18 at the time of the fair. I went dozens of times during that 6 months; my mom was getting tickets as low as $1 each! Little is left of the original fair buildings except the tower, US pavilion, and Institute of Texan Cultures, and a few historic buildings that had been incorporated into the fair. I recently found att the pictures I took there and digitized them, first time I'd seen them in years! Fun times for ol' San Antonio.

My father was a general contractor in San Antonio at the time of HemisFair. He built two of the pavilions. One was the AT&T building, which is shown in the video and the other, as I recall, was the Canadian pavilion. I was working for him at the time and probably visited the pavilions during construction. Later I briefly worked at one of the food booths.

Before they cleared all that stuff out of there. It was my brothers and sisters playground. Lots of running around exploring and hide and seek when it was pretty much all abandoned. The city has done lots of reworking of the area. Lots of great memories there. Thank you so much for this video that gives a glimpse into what was there before it was left to sit and eventually redone over. I believe the only thing left from 68 fair at hemisfair park is the tower and Texan cultures building. Though there is talk of that coming down (Texan cultures building) as well

San Antonio is a beautiful city. If it wasn’t for the hot and humid suffocating weather days between May and September it would be perfect. I remember as a kid, June, July and August were the hottest (especially August) months of the year. So, if you visit San Antonio, it’s better if you do it between October and February or even March. Respect to the people working on the roads during hot season and roofers, construction workers. At least you’re not spending hours under the sun. But San Antonio is a beautiful city and most people still smile at you and they’re approachable if you need to ask them something. There are plenty of places to visit and learn about history, mainly Spanish, Mexican and American culture and heritage.

I was 4 years old and i remember this mexican Musical Show a family The Mora Arriaga's that was a great show

I went during a break from a journalsm class at Trinity U I was taking as the editor for my HS yearbook 1968-1969 of Olton Tx…and remember seeing Archie Bell and the Drells…also a video phone way way ahead of the times, but of course the view from that tower, mane🎉

I was there! 😊

Great job with the World's Fair content! Would love for you to do one on Expo 67 in Montreal!

Thank you for sharing! Such fond memories!

I was 8, I remember the mini monorail derailing, it made the front page.

I saw Van Halen at Hemisfair Arena. It was the last show before being demolished.

I have a set of Hemisfair license plates on my 68 Buick.

Finally got to San Antonio in 2018 - the river walk, the Alamo & having drinks at the hemisphere tower (did go to the space needle tower in Seattle for an anniversary & learned about the '68 fair tower)

Thanks for the history lesson

Interesting - sad story about the accident. I’ve never been to San Antonio. The Riverwalk sounds great! TFS

Thank you for that nice tour. It’s a tour of memories for me. I grew up in San Antonio and went there two times, as I remember. It was a fun time as I was a teen. I’ll never forget it!

Those were special times in history!

That area in San Antonio is still worth seeing.

Thanks for posting this; I've never heard of this fair. Oddly, the 1964/65 New York exposition wasn't officially a world's fair, but HemisFair '68 was.

Thanks for the memories. When I was a senior, My high school choir from Richardson performed there. It was amazing!

Visited three times, once with my parents, the other two times with my big sisters who were driving age. The first time to use a computer terminal at one of the Pavilions, ( Maybe the IBM Exhibit).

I lived in Texas during the summer one year and cannot imagine how friggin’ hot it had to be.

We were there to visit the fair in early June. Got up one morning and went to breakfast and saw the headline on the newspapers in the vending box outside the restaurant that he had been killed the night before. We had had the tv on in our room watching the live broadcast of his speech and turned it off just before it happened. So sad. 😔 About the Riverwalk...I remember going to see a show at the Arneson River Theater in La Villita with my mom & dad. They were long since split up by the time Mom & I went to Hemis-Fair, so either the Riverwalk was already a thing before the fair, or it may have been improved or enlarged for the fair. I know its been expanded even further since then. I have always loved the Riverwalk and the Alamo, but I haven't been in decades. 😕

64/65 Fair was the Gold Standard. 68 was pretty nice.

My whole family (parents and 4 kids from age 16 to 12) went. Unfortunately my parents looked at it as solely an educational experience for us, taking us through the different country pavilions. Didn't go on a single ride, no ride on the monorail, etc.

I can say, I was there

We went in '68 . I was six then I still remember it was cool . Some interesting venues .

Somewhere in the family home is a picture of a toddler me in a stroller at the event. As you can imagine I don't remember the event.

great video

My grandparents took myself and my siblings and cousins to HemisFair 1968.

I know it's been said already but just to reiterate, the San Antonio Riverwalk was not a result of the 1968 World's Fair

The year I was born

The city government is about to tear down the Institute of Texan Cultures to build a taxpayer financed stadium for sports. (May, 2024). What little remains of Hemisfair is at the whim of developers and politicians.

👍

Why did it got demolished ?

When the people were in better health physically.

I remember it and I found it boring as a child. I think my parents avoided the rides and food. I saw some songs and dances, and had a monkey kiss my hand after giving it a coin, and very hot temperature. That's about it. LOL

Yeah they kicked people out of there homes to build this 😢

I don't miss those ridiculous hair styles.