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21-590: The Witte Museum is named after San Antonio businessman Alfred G. Witte, who bequeathed $ 65,000 to the city for construction of a museum of art, science, and natural history to be built in memory of his parents. The first director of the Witte Museum was Ellen Schulz Quillin . The catalyst for the Museum was an extensive collection of natural history specimens owned by Henry Philemon Attwater , which San Antonio educator and botanist Ellen Schulz Quillin purchased for

42-553: A fundraising initiative in response, Quillin built the Reptile Garden on museum grounds, using donated labor and materials. Live snakes, turtles, lizards, and alligators were to be displayed. This somewhat bizarre tourist attraction opened on June 8, 1933. Despite the gimmicky snake-handling demonstrations and turtle races, the Reptile Garden became a research facility for antivenom experimentation and it attracted international scholars. The Reptile Garden also bolstered

63-475: A goal of LEED certification , which it attained through designs which are environmentally friendly and sustainable. Valero Energy contributed $ 4 million toward the expansion, which funded the glass-enclosed Valero Great Hall , an entry and lobby space featuring replicas of an Acrocanthosaurus atokensis , a Tyrannosaurus rex , and a suspended Quetzalcoatlus with a forty-foot wingspan. The ribbon cutting and grand opening took place on March 4, 2017, and

84-528: A number of expansion projects since assuming the leadership role in 2004: In 2012, the Robert J. and Helen C. Kleberg South Texas Heritage Center opened to the public as a permanent home for the museum's South Texas collections, exhibitions and public programs, combined with the latest museum technology. The collections are links to the area's heritage and include saddles, spurs, basketry, branding irons, historical clothing, land grants, art and firearms. In 2014,

105-527: The University of Michigan in 1918 and did postgraduate work at the University of Texas from 1920 to 1922. She married Roy W. Quillin, an employee of Mobil and amateur ornithologist and oologist , on July 29, 1927. The couple had no children. Ellen Quillin taught in the San Antonio public school system from 1916 to 1933; from 1923 to 1933 she was director of nature study and science. She

126-542: The Cacti Native to Texas in 1931, and followed that up with several books on cactus horticulture. A series of nine children's books on nature and science appeared in the 1930s. Quillin co-authored The Story of the Witte Memorial Museum, 1922-1960 in 1966. Ellen Quillin died on May 6, 1970, of an apparent heart attack, at her home in San Antonio. She was survived by her husband. William A. Burns

147-605: The Piper Memorial Wing, which houses temporary exhibits. 1970s: Thanks to the dedicated efforts of William A. Burns, museum Director from 1962 to 1970, The Lone Star Hall of Wildlife and Ecology opened to the public in March 1971 with dioramas of Texas wildlife. 1980s: Several major exhibits were added, including the Texas Wild and Ancient Texans . 1990s: The H-E-B Science Treehouse opened overlooking

168-783: The San Antonio River, offering interactive science and physics exhibits to a growing number of students visiting the Witte. 2000s: In 2003, The Hertzberg Circus Collection was transferred from the San Antonio Public Library to the Witte Museum, fulfilling the wishes of owner Harry Hertzberg as expressed in his will. The oldest and one of the largest public circus collections, it includes artifacts, programs, prints and photographs, as well as sheet music, videotapes, professional journals and published manuscripts. Current President and CEO Marise McDermott has overseen

189-538: The Witte Museum campus; the limestone home of banker John Twohig , an Irish born pioneer San Antonio merchant, and the plastered stone home of José Francisco Ruiz , who was the city's first schoolmaster and one of two native Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. 1960s: Several new historic exhibits and improved art galleries were added, including the McFarlin Jewel Room and

210-569: The Witte's finances for ten years. On closure of the Reptile Garden, the collection of live snakes was donated to the San Antonio Zoo . Quillin served as assistant director (1942–1950) and acting director (1950–1952) of the San Antonio Art Institute, an art school that operated from the 1920s to 1992. Ellen Quillin published several scholarly books, articles, and popular works on local botany. The first of these

231-702: The building of new galleries to house them, as well as a Reptile Garden , which was the vision of founder Ellen Schultz Quillin. The Reptile Garden not only provided a source of revenue for the Museum but provided income to South Texas ranchers and laborers who sold their rattlesnakes and rat snakes to the museums for $ 0.10-$ 0.15 per pound. The two log cabins on the property were constructed by participants in President Roosevelt 's National Youth Administration program and are frequently used to teach students about pioneer life. 1940s: Two historic San Antonio houses were moved from their original locations to

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252-478: The charter of the museum association. The Witte is devoted to natural history, the history of Texas, and the arts. Quillin was elected the first director of the Museum, a post which she held until May, 1960. On her retirement, she continued as director emeritus, until her death in 1970. The 1930s brought the Great Depression and a challenging economic climate for the Witte and its patrons alike. As

273-429: The city of San Antonio for $ 5,000. When the growing collection grew too large for the high school where it was housed, Schulz and her supporters appealed to the city council for funds to build a new museum. With those funds and a $ 65,000 bequest from Alfred G. Witte, a new building was constructed. Established under the auspices of The San Antonio Museum Association, it was known as the Witte Memorial Museum until 1984, when

294-709: The museum began a $ 100 million renovation of more than 174,000 square feet of space to include the Naylor Family Dinosaur Gallery and Dinosaur Lab ; Valero Great Hall ; McLean Family Texas Wild Gallery ; and Kittie West Nelson Ferguson People of the Pecos Gallery , as well as a new 350-car parking garage. Led by Founder and President Patrick Gallagher , the design team of Gallagher & Associates created exhibit graphics, video animations, updated dioramas, touch screens and interactive displays, and numerous sound installations. This project had

315-569: The name was simplified to the Witte Museum. In addition to natural and historic artifacts, the Witte collection included paintings, sculptures, drawings and other works of art. In 1970, museum director Jack McGregor proposed establishing a separate art museum. In 1972, with the support of several key museum trustees, the San Antonio Museum Association acquired the former Anheuser-Busch brewery, which would be renovated and remodeled. The San Antonio Museum of Art opened to

336-512: The public on March 1, 1981. The Witte Museum Texas Art Collection focuses on works created by artists living and working in Texas as well as work by artists representing its history and culture. 1930s: The Witte Museum's support of archeological research in the canyons of Big Bend and the Lower Pecos area resulted in important research findings and a growing collection of artifacts and led to

357-471: Was 500 Wild Flowers of San Antonio and Vicinity in 1922, with photographs by the author. Her most important work, Texas Wild Flowers: A Popular Account of the Common Wild Flowers of Texas , appeared in 1928. The book included folklore and history of the plants, their economic uses, and typical locations. With Robert Runyon , she produced Texas Cacti: A Popular and Scientific Account of

378-642: Was an American botanist, author, and museum director who helped establish the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas . She was the museum's director from 1926 to 1960. Quillin also wrote several field guides relating to plants in Texas . Ellen Dorothy Schulz was born on June 16, 1887, in Saginaw County, Michigan , the daughter of William and Anna (Millfeld) Schulz. She received an M.S. degree from

399-497: Was an instructor in systematic botany for the University of Texas during the summer terms of 1921–1923, and a lecturer in natural history from 1927 to 1951. In the 1920s, Quillin was instrumental in organizing the San Antonio Museum Association and raising funds to house the collection of natural history specimens of Henry Philemon Attwater . These efforts culminated in the opening of the Witte Museum on October 8, 1926, under

420-580: Was attended by Witte President and CEO Marise McDermott, Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott, US Congressman Lamar Smith , Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Mayor Ivy Taylor and Councilman Alan Warrick, among others. "The New Witte" welcomed more than 90,000 visitors in the month following the opening. See also: List of museums in Central Texas Ellen Schulz Quillin Ellen Dorothy Schulz Quillin (June 16, 1887 – May 6, 1970)

441-456: Was named her successor as director of the Witte. Ellen Quillin was a charter member of the second Texas Academy of Science. She was named a fellow in 1929 and an honorary life fellow in 1949. She served as vice president of the organization in 1942. On the occasion of her retirement from the Witte, the city of San Antonio designated October 30, 1960 as "Ellen Quillin Day." She was honored with

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