RSVP: Required!  conserve@saconservation.org or 210-224-6163.

Live Stream: https://www.bexar.org/668/Commissioners-Court-Live-Broadcast

This symposium will explore the rich civil rights history of Bexar County with a special focus on Alamo Plaza, including the Woolworth Building. During the ’60s national Sit-In Movement, San Antonio’s Woolworth was the epicenter of the voluntary and peaceful integration of seven downtown lunch counters on March 16, 1960. Baseball great Jackie Robinson touted this event as “a story that should be told around the world.”  So, now we are!

Click here for details, including how to RSVP (required).  Can’t attend?  Watch on live stream.

Learn why the Woolworth Building is necessary to tell the full history of Alamo Plaza.  Discover how you can support preservation of this endangered State landmark.

Presenters include: Everett Fly, FASLA; Dr. Tara Dudley, University of Texas at Austin; Dr. Bruce Winders, Bexar County; Dr. Todd Moye, University of North Texas; and Dr. Kathryn O’Rourke, Trinity University.

About the World Monuments Watch List

The 2020 World Monuments Watch helps communities protect their irreplaceable sites for future generations. The Woolworth Building is one of 25 international sites (and just one of three in the U.S.) on the 2020 Watch list.

We are included in this powerful World Monuments Fund video, and have been featured in the New York Times, and on CNN.  Many thanks to Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff for his steadfast support!

See additional media coverage at Latest Woolworth Building News.

Please continue to contact the State officials listed further down this page and help share our story on social media with these tags and handles:  #WorldMonumentsFund #WMF

Twitter and Facebook: @worldmonuments, Instagram: @worldmonumentsfund

2019 Milestones

October – Woolworth Building selected as one of 25 World Monuments Watch sites for 2020! This international listing recognizes that our site combines great historical significance with contemporary social impact.

Our ofrenda for Mary Andrews, a local Civil Rights heroine, won second prize at Muertos Fest in Hemisfair.

August – The Society of Architectural Historians wrote to Gov. Greg Abbott supporting our cause. Read the letter.

The Coalition for the Woolworth Building enthusiastically welcomed the San Antonio Branch NAACP as an official affiliate.

July – View video – Conservation Society Executive Director Vincent Michael and historian Everett Fly, representing the Coalition for the Woolworth Building, discussed the importance of preserving San Antonio’s Civil Rights sites with Randy Beamer on WOAI News 4.

May – the Texas Historical Commission gave San Antonio an extra reason to celebrate May as Preservation Month.  Members voted unanimously to approve the Woolworth Building’s State Antiquities Landmark designation.  This honor not only officially recognized the building’s ties to national Civil Rights history, but granted the building an additional level of protection under the Texas Antiquities Code.

However, even as we celebrate this milestone, we must stay active as preservation advocates.  None of the building’s historic designations – local, state, or national – can prevent demolition.  Only ongoing, visible, and vocal public support for preservation may help persuade the GLO to reuse the Woolworth Building as part of the new Alamo museum.

The Woolworth Building stands as a visible link to an important Civil Rights achievement.  In 1960, it helped San Antonio become the site of the first peaceful, voluntary lunch counter integration of the national sit-in movement.  Learn more.