The original lawsuit was filed on March 26.
SAN ANTONIO — The Conservation Society of San Antonio is headed to the 15th Court of Appeals to try and stop the demolition of the Texas Pavilion/Institute of Texan Cultures building.
The original lawsuit was filed on March 26, but the District Court granted “pleas to jurisdiction” from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the City of San Antonio (COSA), which meant that the arguments were not heard and demolition continued.
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“We continue to try to make our voice heard, and to temporarily halt demolition so our arguments can be heard,” said Lewis Vetter, President of the Conservation Society. “We are asking the 15th Court of Appeals to allow us to show evidence demonstrating that UTSA and COSA did not follow the law regarding this demolition.”
Some of the exterior walls have been removed since the original lawsuit was filed, as well as the bridge that connected parking to the structure. The fountain that symbolized how Texas’ identity converged from many cultural influences was also demolished.
When asked about the demolition, UTSA claimed that work was only remediation, but within a week of the lawsuit, crews were removing giant concrete wall panels with a backhoe.
The Conservation Society says that no public comment took place before their decision to demolish this historic resource, which actually belongs to the taxpayers of Texas.
“UTSA and the City see demolition of this historic structure as a required piece of the multi-billion-dollar Project Marvel,” says the Conservation Society. “The Conservation Society of San Antonio has repeatedly said that the structure could be a part of Project Marvel.”
The Conservation Society has been pushing for public hearings regarding the building’s future since 2022, and was able to list it on the National Register of Historic Places and as a State Antiquities Landmark in 2024.
“Because of these designations, certain procedures need to be followed, and UTSA has not played by those rules,” said Vetter.