The Woman’s Pavilion was not part of the original plan for Hemisfair ’68. Beginning in 1966, a group of San Antonio women organized and raised money independently to create a space recognizing women’s contributions to society. Fair organizers provided little financial support, and the project’s original $2 million ambition was dramatically reduced. Designed by San Antonio architect Cyrus Wagner, the four-level, 12,000-square-foot pavilion finally broke ground in October 1967, only months before the fair opened.
Unlike most structures built for world’s fairs, the Woman’s Pavilion survived. After Hemisfair closed, various plans for its permanent use failed to materialize. It later housed a health education center and was eventually used largely for storage. Multiple proposals to restore and reactivate it have followed over the decades. The building still stands at Hemisfair and is one of the relatively few surviving women’s pavilions from the history of international expositions, but it remains unused rather than operating as the permanent women’s center once envisioned.
