Downtown Austin’s Mexic-Arte Museum Plans a Long-Awaited Renovation

The Mexic-Arte Museum building on Congress Avenue has clearly seen better days, but don’t be too hard on it — it’s 155 years old and counting. Image: Mexic-Arte Museum

Since 1984, the Mexic-Arte Museum has served Austin as the city’s official home for Mexican, Latino, and Latin American art — and it should be the most well-positioned museum in the city to showcase that art, having occupied an extremely visible location at the southeast corner of Congress Avenue and Fifth Street since 1988. But the facility located in the shadow of the Frost Bank Tower at 419 Congress Avenue has struggled through some extremely public challenges over the last few years, with staff sounding the alarm about unsafe practices at the museum back in 2022.

Many of these issues stem from the 1869 structure housing the museum itself, which is currently in such bad shape that the three-story building’s upper levels are no longer accessible to the public. Despite securing bond funding for renovation and expansion in 2006 and 2018, the museum’s detailed plans for the space haven’t been officially announced yet, but the project is now in the design phase, with Mexic-Arte’s board hiring El Paso-based firm Exigo Architecture, local studio Cotera + Reed Architects, and Austin engineering firm Civilitude for a major redesign of the museum facility. (Plans shown off in 2012 for a seriously sick-looking new museum building at this site have seemingly been abandoned.) Plans presented to the Historic Landmark Commission’s Architectural Review Committee last week show the renovation of the structure into a four-story building providing more exhibit and administrative space while preserving the existing facade.

Image: Mexic-Arte Museum / Exigo Architecture / Cotera + Reed Architects

Permanent and temporary exhibit spaces, first level museum store, event preparation space, load in/out area, ADA/TAS accessibility, storage, offices, a library, wood shop, circulation space, reception area, accessible roof top area usable for events, collection storage, outdoor public art component in collaboration with AIPP, expanded sidewalks, fire detection and suppression micro-climate controls for varied spaces, public meeting rooms, exhibit appropriate lighting and ability for full assembly occupancy during events.

— Mexic-Arte Museum Renovation Plans

Image: Mexic-Arte Museum / Exigo Architecture / Cotera + Reed Architects

While we’re interested in the direction shown in the renderings seen here, keep in mind that this design is preliminary and subject to change — as you can tell by the fact that they’re literally marked up with notes in hot pink indicating that the rooftop pergola structure depicted is no longer within the scope of the project. (We aren’t sure why, but there are lots of setback requirements and height limits to worry about when you’re building something on Congress Avenue, so maybe those got in the way.)

Image: Mexic-Arte Museum / Exigo Architecture / Cotera + Reed Architects

Although the timeline isn’t clear just yet for the Mexic-Arte’s renovation, the appearance of these plans alongside the similar upgrades already underway at the nearby Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center is a reminder that despite its reputation for hipness, Austin is sadly deficient in museums compared with other cities of its prominence — I mean, Dallas is just destroying us, and who wants to lose to Dallas? Upgrading the Mexic-Arte Museum isn’t going to fix our glaring lack of a showcase science museum, but it’s a good start, and a long time coming. ¡Vámonos!