The San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and Museum
Re-opens May 8
The San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, Museum and Battleship Texas are happy to announce the reopening of all facilities to the public on May 8th at 9:00 a.m.
On March 17th, the entire Historic Site was directly impacted by a massive fire and petrochemical release at a neighboring facility and has been closed since that time. During the past few weeks, air quality and soil samples have been monitored and the Site is finally deemed safe and ready to re-open. Skeleton staffs were admitted to the area the week of May 1 and have been working diligently to ready the entire Site for reopening.
The forced closure of the Museum and subsequent cancellation (for only the second time in 35 years) of the San Jacinto Day Festival & Battle Reenactment occurred at the time of the year when the Museum is at its busiest. In addition, several school trips for thousands of Texas school children were canceled. Over a quarter of annual ticket sales usually occur during this time period which has had a major negative effect on the budget of the Museum.
In order to compensate for the $200,000 lost revenue, the Museum is launching a Revenue Recovery Campaign on May 7th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at John Manlove Marketing & Communications in Pasadena. The Board Chair and President of the San Jacinto Museum, mayors of nearby cities and the Site Director of the State Park will be in attendance to answer questions about the effect of the long closure of the Museum and Park. Photo ops in front of a green screen with the monument will be available along with artifacts from the Museum and Battleship will be on display. This event is open to the public and the media.
Larry Spasic, President of the San Jacinto Museum of History stated that, “I and my staff are going back to work as an act of good faith that Texas, Texans, and all honorary Texans from across the country and globe will help our museum recover and see us through this challenging circumstance. Throughout history, Texans have always been up for a good challenge!”
The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational association operating without state or federal funding. The Museum charges no admission fee to the Museum or to the Park.
Financial support is more important than ever at this time. For those interested in contributing to the campaign they can go to www.SanJacinto-Museum.org/support_Us/Donate or mail their gift to: San Jacinto Monument, 1 Monument Circle, La Porte, TX 77571 attention: Larry Spasic.
Battleship Texas (Courtesy Texas Parks & Wildlife Department)
In this March 18, 2019 file photo, a plume of smoke rises from a petrochemical fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, Texas. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department says the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site in La Porte will reopen Wednesday, May 8, 2019 after nearly two months since the fire forced its closure. The complex includes the Battleship Texas, the San Jacinto Monument and the San Jacinto Battleground. Reprinted from the Houston Chronicle https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/texas/article/San-Jacinto-site-near-Houston-to-reopen-after-13825169.php
Photo: David J. Phillip, AP
