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Whether Texans like it or not, the land around the historic Alamo mission is being redeveloped and repurposed to turn The Alamo into a larger part of San Antonio.

Earlier this week, The Alamo released new information about the Exhibit Hall & Collections Building, which will be built on the eastern portion of The Alamo's land. The groundbreaking will be held this summer, and the new building expected to be completed in 2022.

For the first three years of the new building's life, the Phil Collins Collection of Alamo artifacts will be housed there before being moved into the Alamo Visitor Center and Museum.

This new building will display the entire Phil Collins Collection, among other pieces from the Alamo Collection, in its 10,000 square feet of new exhibit space – five times more than the Alamo has today. The building will also contain a state-of-the-art curatorial environment for the hundreds of historic items in the Alamo's possession.
The Exhibit Hall is not a replacement for the upcoming Alamo Visitor Center and Museum, which is on track for a 2025 launch. The Phil Collins Collection will then be put on display in the museum and the Exhibit Hall will become home to additional traveling exhibits in order to further educate and engage visitors.

 

If you're not familiar with Phil Collins' extraordinary contribution to Texas history, here's a brief summary.

Back in 2014, Phil Collins officially donated all of his Alamo and Texana historical artifacts to the Texas General Land Office (GLO).  The collection was built over a period of time in Collins' life through purchasing items, winning auctions and even finding some of the artifacts himself.

Collins was named an "Honorary Texan" by the Legislature, and the items donated included a rifle and leather pouch owned by Davy Crockett, and an original Jim Bowie knife.

The videos below shows the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer talking about why he donated his collection to the caretakers of The Alamo.

Bonus video: if you want to hear some Phil Collins music while reading this article

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