HOUSTON – (By Ralph Bivins of Realty News Report) – Los Angeles architect James Richards has returned with a proposal to remove the exterior skin of the historic Astrodome.
His idea is to leave the steel framework intact and create a small park around it—a concept he compares to the Eiffel Tower. He imagines visitors climbing the Dome’s exposed skeleton on a warm August afternoon. But that vision is misguided. The Astrodome is not the Eiffel Tower, and one of the original purposes of enclosing the stadium was to provide relief from Houston’s intense summer heat. Transforming the Dome into an exposed steel relic would defeat that purpose.
An exposed skeleton strips away the building’s meaning. Would people flock to the top of the Empire State Building if only its steel girders remained?
Preserving only the physical bones of something—whether a building or a person—loses the essence that made it valuable. I would have cherished a meeting with one of my favorite authors, the late Pat Conroy, yet his remains do not convey his life or work. Bones alone are empty.
Skeletons lack life, heart, and soul.
We do not need the bare skeleton of the Astrodome. We do not need a replica or a hollow relic.
The Astrodome is the Eighth Wonder of the World—a landmark recognized by many Americans as Houston’s most iconic building.
This historic Dome, a symbol of Houston’s enterprising spirit, embodies the city’s identity. It is a sacred place where the Soul of Houston lives. It should not be demolished or reduced to a skeletal frame.
Instead, the Astrodome should be fully restored and returned to its rightful place as a celebrated global landmark. A new visionary plan is needed—ambitious and imaginative enough to make the Astrodome once again one of the world’s most talked-about sites.
Houston owns roughly 300 acres at the site, and that land should be more than expanses of parking lots and darkened, underused buildings. The public deserves a vibrant, thoughtfully designed destination, not acres of pavement surrounding neglected structures.
Let’s stop fixating on the cost of installing a new air-conditioning system in the Dome. If Roy Hofheinz had been deterred by concerns about air conditioning, the Astrodome would never have been built.
What the Astrodome needs is a fresh, bold vision—one so daring that it honors the man who brought the Dome to life, Roy Hofheinz.
Hofheinz overcame countless skeptics, and on the day the Dome opened—April 9, 1965—President Lyndon B. Johnson attended, and Mickey Mantle hit the first home run there.
Dec. 16, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019
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