Briscoe Western Art Museum

A River Walk landmark, located on the site of the former San Antonio Library and Hertzberg Circus Museum, is transformed into the Dolph and Janey Briscoe Western Art Museum. The reborn museum celebrates the art, people, and history of the great American West with an emphasis on San Antonio and the South Texas region. Its renovation respects the building’s historic architecture, providing 58,000-square-feet of gallery, exhibition, and meeting areas divided between four floors, and the addition of a new multi-use event pavilion featuring dining and catering capabilities. The two buildings—old and new, conceived in different eras—are brought together to create a cohesive and enlivened experience.

The museum design, with the addition of the Jack Guenther Pavilion, quietly does what all great architecture should: It weaves into its context forcefully, yet in a sophisticated, legible manner ... Lake Flato took a site in dialogue with the San Antonio River, Presa Street bridge, and the jumble of different contextual elements and proved once again that architecture can and does present solutions for an ever changing world. Kevin McClellan

The Architect's Newspaper

A sculpture garden serves as an area for respite as well as events. Materials tie together old and new, as the original museum building’s palette of limestone and copper are reinterpreted in the new pavilion. A bridge connects the pavilion to the museum.

The Briscoe Museum is a leader in the field of American Western Art and history, providing innovative exhibitions, educational programs, and other services for the general public, artists, collectors, and museums. The galleries are filled with artwork, photography, and sculptures featuring over 200 original and unique pieces from over 60 leading renowned, contemporary Western artists.

Completing the lower floors is a digital learning lab and expansive reading room used to exhibit art within bookshelves repurposed as hybridized vitrines. New gallery spaces provide ample daylight to showcase the museum’s Southwestern art collection.

Existing Conditions

Restoration & Renovation

A River Walk landmark, the Briscoe Museum was previously the home of the San Antonio Library (1939-1968) and Hertzberg Circus Museum (until 1996).
The integrity of the building’s historic character was both restored and revitalized with exterior renovations completed by Ford, Powell & Carson.
Careful reinterpretation of interior space preserved views to the San Antonio River while creating new views at unique vantage points.
In the original building, previously painted interior trimming and friezes were reverted back to their original colors of gold and silver.