New museum to showcase San Antonio's West Side history
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Construction is underway at the future Museo del Westside. Photo: Megan Stringer/Axios
A new community museum in the works will share the stories of everyday West Side residents, with the aim of preserving and uplifting working class Mexican American history.
Why it matters: The West Side regularly loses buildings, both historic and commonplace, which harms the fabric of the neighborhood and leads to displacement, preservation advocates say.
- When buildings go down and people leave, their history is left behind, Antonia Castañeda, professor emeritus of history at St. Mary's University, tells Axios.
What they're saying: "The West Side is a pivotal part, central, to the making of San Antonio," Castañeda says. "It's one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city."
State of play: The Esperanza Peace & Justice Center has been working on the museum, called the Museo del Westside, since 2008, director Graciela Sánchez tells Axios. But it wasn't able to obtain the funds to rehabilitate the building until 2021.
- Construction began last summer on the 2,300-square-foot museum. Organizers hope to open it next year, Sánchez says.
Details: The museum will feature individual and family stories interwoven with bigger picture views on culture and struggles and will include artifacts and oral histories.
- The goal is to show how West Side neighbors worked, played and came together in community. They want to exhibit the stories of a broad spectrum of community members.
Context: A 2021 report from researchers at the University of Texas Law School found that the city of San Antonio ordered the demolition of more single-family homes from 2015-2020 than other large Texas cities — and that many of those homes are in the largely Mexican American near West Side.
- In many cases, the demolished homes were deemed by city officials to be unsafe for habitation.
- City officials have disputed the report, saying its data is flawed and it lacks context.
- "The West Side has consistently been at the margins because of policies and politics of the city," Castañeda says.
Zoom in: Work on the museum is underway at the former Ruben's Ice House at the corner of South Colorado and Guadalupe streets. The local landmark was originally a residence and later became the M & E Grocery Store around 1950, per the Esperanza.
- About a decade later, the owners converted the building to an ice house and restaurant named after their eldest son, solidifying it as a community gathering place.
- It closed in 1987 after the owners grew ill.
What's next: The Esperanza wants to work with area schools to figure out how local children can engage with the Museo del Westside to learn the hyperlocal history of their neighborhood, Sánchez says.
The bottom line: "History matters, and being visible and telling your own story in your words matters," Castañeda says. "And that is what the museum is about."