SAN ANTONIO – Three iconic Alamo Plaza businesses shuttered their doors for the final time on Labor Day to make way for an Alamo visitor center and museum.
Guinness World Records Museum, Ripley’s Haunted Adventure and Tomb Rider 3D Adventure Ride & Arcade have all been permanently closed to make room for the Alamo Visitor Center and Museum.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced in February that the leases for the three businesses agreed to terminate their leases in the Woolworth and Palace Buildings.
The businesses have held leases at the Alamo Plaza since 2002 and are required to completely vacate by Oct. 31.
“We want to thank our team members, community, and guests who have made our stay here memorable,” Phillips Entertainment officials, who own the businesses, said in a statement on the Ripley’s website.
Not all Ripley’s attractions are closing. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, Ripley’s Illusion Lab, Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks and Ripley’s Moving Theater are all still open and located at Alamo Plaza.
The Alamo Visitor Center and Museum is set to open in 2026.
Funding for the museum was recently approved by Bexar County and will cost $25 million over the next five years, according to Alamo.org.
“We owe it to every Texan to protect the sacred shrine of liberty and independence. Our goal is to tell the story of the battle of 1836 and showcase Texas’ bravest Defenders who gave their lives for freedom,” said Commissioner Bush. “This agreement is an instrumental step forward in restoring reverence and dignity to the sacred Alamo grounds.”
Phillips Entertainment previously told KSAT it would not be relocating Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, The Guinness World Records Museum or Tomb Rider 3D Adventure Ride & Arcade because “there is no place to go.”
Conceptual rendering of the planned Alamo Visitor Center & Museum, one of the cornerstones of the $300 million Alamo redevelopment plan. (via SABJ/Alamo Trust Inc.)
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