Imagine a football stadium that was so technologically game-changing that it became the model for all future sporting venues ever built. Until it was suddenly abandoned 15 years ago. As part of our series Preservation Battle, we look at significant buildings on the brink of demise—where you’ve been able to find Houston’s Astrodome for quite some time.
     |
The Houston Astrodome was added to the National Register of Historic Places today, seemingly granting it a modicum of attention and protection against its imminent demolition. But not so fast—the fate of the world’s first domed stadium
| |
Houstonians might be eager to snap up pieces of the Astrodome’s turf and concession stands, but they weren’t prepared to authorize $217 million in bonds to preserve the aging stadium through a redevelopment scheme that would transform it into a convention center. On Tuesday, Houston voters rejected the plan, "very likely dooming it to demolition," according to The New York Times. The decision will be put in the hands of local officials—but this seems final. RIP.
| |
When the Houston Astrodome opened in 1965, it was hailed as technological marvel, the first enclosed, air-conditioned stadium ever—and the "eighth wonder of the world," according to some Texans. By 1995, it was so dilapidated that players refused to use it. Today, it’s an abandoned shell with a different nickname: “the lonely landmark.” And no one knows quite what to do with it.
| |
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
