By Phyllis Domingo, REALTOR® · San Antonio Relocation Specialist · 5 min read The McNay is Texas's first modern art museum, set in a late-1920s Spanish Colonial Revival mansion on 23 acres that now holds more than 22,000 works of art. General admission is $23, but entry is free every Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. and on the first Sunday of each month. Here is the honest visitor's guide to an Alamo City original.
The numbers at a glance
The McNay Art Museum opened in 1954 inside the 24-room Spanish Colonial Revival mansion of Marion Koogler McNay, a San Antonio artist and collector who left her home, her art, and her estate to the city in 1950, per the museum's history and the TSHA Handbook of Texas. It was the first modern art museum in Texas, and it is still a quiet, uncrowded gem.
Her roughly 700-piece bequest has grown into a collection of more than 22,000 works, one of the region's largest holdings of modern art, and the museum draws more than 100,000 visitors a year, per Do210.
Admission: $23, with free doors worth planning around
General admission is $23 for adults, with $10 for teens 13 to 19, $18 for students 20 and up with ID, and $18 for seniors 65 and older. Children 12 and under are free, and so are active military and veterans, members, and SNAP/WIC/MAP cardholders through the Museums for All program.
The free times are the gift that keeps on giving. Every Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. admission is free, courtesy of H-E-B, and the first Sunday of each month is free from noon to 5 p.m. Monthly Second Thursday community nights add live music and art activities, typically from 6 to 9 p.m.
The collection and the building
The mansion is part of the art: stucco walls, red tile roof, arched doorways, and a courtyard that spills onto a 23-acre, sculpture-filled estate. In June 2008 the Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions added 45,000 square feet of modern gallery space, nearly doubling the museum's exhibition area. McNay 70
Inside, the collection spans 19th- and 20th-century painting and sculpture, prints, drawings, photography, and Medieval and Renaissance works, in galleries small enough that you can genuinely see everything in one visit.
Turn it into a northside day
The McNay sits on North New Braunfels Avenue near Alamo Heights, which makes it an easy half-day anchor. Pair it with the Japanese Tea Garden a short drive away, the Botanical Garden, or a stroll through the Alamo Heights neighborhood guide and dinner on Broadway.
Who it suits
The McNay suits more people than most art museums do:
- Parents who need a rainy-day or hot-afternoon escape that actually works with kids in tow. Children 12 and under are free and the grounds give everyone room to move.
- Newcomers learning the city's personality. A museum on a 23-acre estate says more about old San Antonio than a brochure ever will.
- Couples on a date night, especially Thursdays when the doors are free and the galleries stay open late.
See it for yourself, then let's talk about living here
San Antonio's culture is one of the reasons families fall for this city, and the McNay is a great place to feel that on a Thursday evening. When you are ready to find the neighborhood that puts you closest to it, call or text 210-744-5478 or use the contact page. No pressure, just the honest picture.
Sources
The numbers in this post were checked against these sources on October 16, 2026.
