So little respect for history. This is one thing that bothers me about Houston. That it is a throw away society. The Astrodome was a seminal structure and one that for decades was the architectural icon of Houston and now most of you just want to chuck it like a BK wrapper.
I'm in the "Dude, how can you destroy that thing?" camp. That thing was the architectural masterpiece of Houston in the past, you can't destroy something with that history.
history isn't worth $4.5M annually for people to look at while driving on 610. i can appreciate the sentiment, because i don't want to tear it down either, but these proposals are just ridiculous. i can't imagine why it would cost $1.35B to retrofit the dome in the way the article describes it. structures that currently exist in that price range: cowboys stadium $1.3B with $325M taxpayer financed yankee stadium $1.5B with $800M taxpayer financed new meadowlands stadium $1.6B privately financed there should be zero costs in land acquisition and they still want $900M in taxpayer money? i would be all for the movie studio/sound stage, casino, and some sort of alternative energy center. whatever proposal they end up deciding on, this should all be privately financed or taken care of through the TRIZ.
It was always awesome to go to a game as a young kid with my pops and sit up in 1 of the many decks in that place and look around and not have ONE person sitting by u in a row or section of seats... it was so peaceful to go to a game and actually enjoy it. At minute maid, you take 1 step to wide and your spilling your hot dog, drink, and ice cream on a fat mans chest (fat man not happy).
The Astrodome is not a work of art. If it was, I could see the argument to keep it. It is an ugly piece of crap now. Why hold onto things just for the sake of holding onto it.
So those Romans were just compulsive hoarders to keep the Pantheon around even though it serves no useful purpsose and looks like a chunk of the Parthenon glued onto a grain silo from the outside?
It'd be like holding onto the Texas Cyclone for nostalgia sake. Its just outlived its use and relevance. Its not like the Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa or Empire State Building thats accessible and blends into the natural landscape.
Because its part of history. Nothing looks great if it has been neglected for awhile like the Dome, heck the Parthenon looked like crap for centuries, that still doesn't mean it isn't an important structure.
Man, the Astrodome is a crap now get over it. Tear it down and move on .... is not like is design where people can tour it or anything is just rottening away inside. Yankees stadium has WAY more history than the dome and it got torn down. I doubt anybody drive thur 610 and points out "HEY! LOOK there's the Astrodome .. let go take some pics"
The demolition alone will cost 100 million. I say spend more if you can make it profitable and useful.
This. Turning it into a museum/attraction/exhibit type thing just won't work longterm. Blow it up or turn it into a combination hotel casino.
With an illegal alien crew and a salvage deal with China we should be able to get it taken down for a next to nothing.
