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The Astrodome Contained Multitudes

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The Astrodome Contained Multitudes 1 FALL2008.cite 8 T h e A s t r o Revival tent, rodeo, baseball and football arena, bullfight- ing ring, monster truck pit—the Astrodome contained multitudes. Over the years architects have been imagining possibilities for its next incarnation. Conceived of by David Bucek, this 1990 illustration depicts a sanctuary for survivors of a worldwide ecological disaster. The glory days, 19 e t the decline, i c . 8 the future 0 0 2 L L A odome By Madeleine McDermott Hamm F n 1999, as the Houston Astros were packing up their gear and preparing Ito exit the Astrodome for the new downtown baseball-only ballpark, team owner Drayton McLane received a prophetic phone call from an architect in Rome. “He wanted to bring a production crew to Emmett insists, “No one at the county level wants to Judge Emmett says the county spends about $3 Houston to film the Astrodome,” McLane recalls. tear down the Astrodome.” million a year on minimum maintenance of the “And he said, ‘Don’t let them tear down the After the Astros moved downtown to Minute Astrodome (now officially called Reliant Astrodome Astrodome.’” Maid Park (originally Enron Field), Reliant Stadium as part of the Reliant Park complex). Some estimate Now, nine years later, preservationists and was erected next door to the Dome, opening in 2002 the figure closer to $5 million. Whatever the bottom Houstonians with memories of the Astrodome’s for the Texans’ football games. Today the line, the results equal neglect. glory years fear that the mostly abandoned, mini- Astrodome stands silent and dark. “The Dome is in bad shape and getting worse,” mally maintained domed stadium’s days are num- Even the venerable Houston Livestock Show and Emmett states flatly. bered. Some say the iconic status of the Astrodome Rodeo turned its back on the Astrodome, preferring The Italian architect who called McLane in 1999 20 and its identification with the city are fading. But Reliant’s greater seating capacity of 71,500 versus the compared the Astrodome to the Roman Colosseum, e t i c when an online petition to “Save Our Astrodome” Dome’s 62,400. In recent years the Dome has func- an elliptical-shaped amphitheater built in 75-89 A.D. 8 0 was publicized earlier this year, it attracted almost tioned as The Hideout, a cowboy dance hall, during In fact, according to the 1966 edition of Astrodome 0 2 L 3,000 signatures, many accompanied by passionate the Rodeo’s three-week run—hardly enough to jus- magazine, Judge Roy Hofheinz, who conceived the L A F comments. Moreover, Harris County Judge Ed tify the annual cost of its upkeep. idea of building a multipurpose domed stadium in In its first year, the Astrodome attracted more than 4.5 million people. Visitors from as far away as Japan and Italy paid for guided 21 e T t i T c E tours of the amazing . V 8 E 0 0 N 2 O L N new stadium. L N E A F K The Astrodome set the standard Houston, was initially Kingdome was only 24 inspired in the 1950s by for the multiuse round stadiums years old when it was his discovery that the demolished in 2000, Colosseum had a velarium, replaced the previous or canopy, that was pulled that would be built in the 1970s year by Safeco Field and over the amphitheater its retractable roof. The during inclement weather. and later—some, like the New ability to open and close He consulted the roof stands out as a Buckminster Fuller, key feature of many of inventor of the geodesic Orleans Superdome (1975), with a the newer stadiums, dome, who convinced him including Minute Maid it was possible to cover permanent roof. Park, Reliant Stadium, any size space—if you had and the Dallas Cowboys’ enough money. The striking new stadium dream morphed into a slated to open next year. covered stadium, the key to bringing While most cities with gleaming new Major League Baseball to Houston. For sports palaces have torn down or blown the opening of the Dome, the young team’s up their previous facilities, the one that name was changed from the Colt 45s to started the indoor stadium trend—the the Houston Astros, paying homage to the original—still stands. arrival of NASA in the Houston area, and The fate of the Astrodome is in the the Astrodome label was born. hands of the Harris County Commission- ers Court. The county owns and operates hen the Astrodome opened the Dome. It was built with taxpayer on April 9, 1965, it grabbed dollars and has often served public func- headlines everywhere as the tions. It was the setting for the Republican first indoor stadium complete Convention that nominated Houston’s Wwith air conditioning. Hofheinz dubbed it Galactic skybox circa 1965. George Herbert Walker Bush for “the eighth wonder of the world.” The President. Three years ago the nation span of 642 feet more than doubled that of any pre- as Japan and Italy paid for guided tours of the watched as the Dome sheltered thousands of vious enclosure, while the center of the skylight amazing new stadium. Blockbuster events that Hurricane Katrina evacuees cared for by Houston roof floats 213 feet—or 18 stories—above the play- year, besides baseball, included the Billy Graham volunteers, and the Astrodome became the symbol ing field, creating a breathtaking interior space. Crusade, University of Houston Cougars football, a of Houston’s generosity. The party-time atmosphere made it “the place to concert by Judy Garland and The Supremes, the A year ago, the Greater Houston Preservation be,” baseball fan or not. There were restaurants, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, polo matches, Alliance (GHPA) placed the Astrodome on its swanky private clubs, skybox suites—another the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus, and Endangered Landmarks list and began the “Save Hofheinz first—with fanciful décor, ushers called bullfights. The Houston Oilers played football in Our Astrodome” campaign, but the building poses Spacettes in gold lamé uniforms and grounds crews the Dome from 1968 until 1996. No matter what a growing financial burden as long as it sits idle, dressed as spacemen, theater-type seats (no hard the event, the groundbreaking Astrodome itself slowly deteriorating and generating no income. bleacher benches), and, of course, remained the star attraction. The GHPA explains on its website that the air conditioning. The Astrodome set the standard for the multi- Astrodome is eligible for listing in the National At a University of Houston College of use round stadiums that would be built in the Register of Historic Places, and any privately fund- Architecture symposium celebrating the 30th 1970s and later—some, like the New Orleans ed rehabilitation project approved by the Texas M M anniversary of the Astrodome, I. A. Naman, Superdome (1975), with a permanent roof. Historical Commission (THC) and National Park A H E N designer of the Dome’s 6,600-ton air-conditioning But times—and tastes—change. Service (NPS) could be eligible for federal preser- I E L system, remembered the skeptics who said it would In 1992 the Baltimore Orioles opened Oriole vation tax credits. The THC insists any proposal E D A not work. The promised temperature was 72 Park at Camden Yards, a more intimate downtown must respect the Dome’s historic identity and M F degrees, so they first set the thermostat at 72. baseball-only stadium designed to look like the retain its original exterior appearance. O Y S E “Then we reset it at 68 degrees to make sure it was early 20th-century ballparks, a nostalgic approach Five years ago, Harris County requested propos- T R U cool,” he explained. “That first night, the ladies in marked contrast to the futuristic ideals behind als suggesting a new use for the Dome. Ideas rang- O C , who came all dressed up—after all, this was a big the Astrodome. “Camden Yards led the way for ing from an entertainment venue to a ski slope E N I 22 Z social event—well, they nearly froze. So, the next the new, cutting-edge stadiums designed for a spe- were considered until the Astrodome A G A e t M i night they came in their furs. No one ever ques- cific sport—baseball, football, soccer—and the Redevelopment Corporation (ARC) received c . E 8 M 0 tioned if we could cool that place again.” public loves them,” McLane says. approval to move forward with its 1,300-room con- O 0 D 2 O L In its first year, the Astrodome attracted more Many of the multiuse stadiums have since crum- vention hotel proposal. Plans for the privately R L T S A A F than 4.5 million people. Visitors from as far away bled under the wrecking ball. Seattle’s $67 million funded hotel, approved by the THC and NPS, The concept by TBG Partners for the Astrodome Redevelopment Corporation mixes a 1,300-room hotel with restaurants, retail, and an indoor hot-air balloon. N O I T A R O P R soon ran into various roadblocks, including strong preservation at all to radically change the stadium into a major soundstage and movie produc- O C T doubts expressed by Judge Emmett, and objections Astrodome’s use, likening the hotel proposal to tion studio. The company behind this idea, Greater N E M from the Rodeo and the Texans ball club, major converting the Colosseum into a shopping mall. By Houston Global Management Group, predicts that P O L E Reliant Park tenants.
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