The Astrodome: Rise and Fall of the World’s Eighth Wonder
S. Jonathan Myers ARCH4106 – Flowers April 27, 2012
The world of architecture is experiencing a period of great possibility, one which, with the aid of modern methods and technologies, is sure to produce a great number of inspirational and exciting buildings. However, given the current interest in such things as green building and parametricism, it may be therefore difficult, at times, to look back at older structures with an appropriate level of reverence and enthusiasm. One must approach history with a consideration for the time in which buildings were completed, as well as an understanding of their influence on later works. It is then possible to appreciate the magnitude, and subsequent effect, of architecture on man and on history. Indeed, there are countless examples of works which have been able to capture the imagination, to blur the line between structure and sublime, and even to typify entire generations. Such are the buildings that challenged the boundaries of traditional design and construction; those that pushed innovation to the edge of impossibility. Beyond their original intended use and, in many cases, long after they have been abandoned or demolished, the spirit and legacy of these buildings remain to illustrate the progression of human achievement.
In Houston, Texas, a building once set upon the apex of architectural innovation, now stands empty. A mere relic of a previous generation’s spirit and ingenuity, it exists now as simply another mass of steel and concrete, unremarkable next to the many imitators that followed it (see Table 1) and overshadowed by the newer, grander replacement which now resides adjacent to it (see Figure 1). It is the Astrodome, and beyond the faded panels of its roof and the cracked concrete of its ramps, it is still intact, obstinately retaining its place as one of the city’s foremost cultural icons. With a rich and vibrant history as its only lifeline, millions of people are waiting for someone with the proper drive and motivation to, not only transform the ‘Dome back into a usable space, but to recapture its former magic and glory.
The city of Houston was founded in 1836, nine years before the independent Republic of Texas was admitted into the United States of America. Originally a largely inhospitable expanse of marshland, it sits some 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, atop one of the largest oil fields in North America (“Houston, Texas”). Throughout the years, however, the city benefitted considerably from its geographic
location, making the most of its surroundings. With its access to a nearby deepwater port, Houston became of vital importance to shipping in the United States, and as reliance on oil grew, it developed into the central hub for the country’s energy industry. Unsurprisingly, the city’s economy (and subsequently, its population) boomed, and by the middle of the 20th Century, Houston had become the sixth largest metropolitan area in the country (“Houston, Texas”).
Size and wealth notwithstanding, through the 1950s, Houston still lacked many of the amenities and pleasures which other established American cities enjoyed. Although boasting statistics which could place the city alongside such urban giants as Chicago and New York, in terms of size, the city remained woefully behind in many cultural areas, including a performing arts center or a professional sports franchise. Teams in smaller, less important markets did exist, but with the lack of adequate facilities, it was impossible to attract the attentions of leagues like the American or National Football Leagues or Major League Baseball. However, by the end of the decade, all was about to change, as an effort to build such a facility was undertaken by a local judge and politician. Not only would this endeavor succeed in bringing major professional sports to the city of Houston, but more importantly, it would mark the beginning of a transformation in the conception and design of large-scale venues everywhere.
Roy Mark Hofheinz was born in Beaumont, Texas in 1912 to a family of modest means. Graduating from Rice University in the late 1920s, Hofheinz received his degree from Houston Law School at nineteen years old. By the age of twenty-three, he had been elected the youngest county official in state history, serving for three years in the Texas House of Representatives (“Hofheinz”). Additionally, he helped pioneer radio and television in the Gulf Coast region of the state, and he worked on future President Lyndon B. Johnson’s congressional and senatorial campaigns (Maule). From 19361944, Hofheinz served consecutive terms as Harris County judge, before settling into private law (he retained the nickname “Judge” for the remainder of his life) (“Hofheinz”). Twice elected mayor of Houston, in the early 1950s, he would go on to create much of the legislation and manage much of the infrastructure that would allow the city to thrive into the metropolitan center it is today. During his stint
in office, Hofheinz recognized the need for elevating Houston’s cultural appeal. Together with partner, Robert Smith, he founded the Houston Sports Alliance, whose sole purpose was to establish the city as a mainstay of professional sports. It was not until 1960, with the promise of a new stadium, did Hofheinz and his team secured the rights to expansion teams in both Major League Baseball and the National Football League (Maule). Their only remaining obstacle was to design a facility which could support two high caliber teams, with the capacity to hold tens of thousands of people, and, most importantly, to do so while managing Houston’s unforgiving climate.
In the 1950s, it was believed by many that the construction and maintenance of an enclosed, airconditioned sports arena, of such size, was impossible and that playing sports indoors would simply never happen. However, it has been suggested that the idea of indoor playing facilities can be traced back to the likes of Glenn McCarthy (owner of the land on which the Astrodome would be built) or Walter O’Malley (chief executive and eventual owner of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers) in the 1940s (Maule). Those closest to the Astrodome maintain that Judge Hofheinz, an avid fan of Houston’s minor league baseball team, the Buffs, was unhappy with the large number of rainouts that frequently postponed games. Therefore, in 1952, he proposed the idea of building a stadium for the team which would allow for games to be played, regardless of the weather conditions (Maule). However the story may go, it can be certain that, due to Houston’s subtropical climate, with summer temperatures averaging in the high 90s, extreme humidity levels, and frequent rain, it would be a challenge to design an adequate environment in which to participate in and/or attend sporting events. The only way that a major league park could succeed in this city was if the environmental conditions could be controlled sufficiently, and the only way this could happen was with an enclosed structure.
The prospect of constructing an indoor facility large enough to support all of the seating, services, and of course, playing surface requirements may seem straightforward by today’s standards, with almost twenty major domed or roofed stadiums, currently in use in the US alone. In the late 1950s, the largest enclosed building previously constructed spanned just over 300 feet and allowed for a capacity of 20,000
(the new stadium would have to boast numbers two and three times that, respectively (Bordelon). The Houston Sports Alliance brought in architecture firms Wilson, Morris, Crain, & Anderson and Hermon Lloyd & W.B. Morgan, designers of the recently completed Rice University football stadium. As this project was as much a feat of engineering as design, Walter P. Moore Engineering and H.A. Lott General Contractors were brought in to aid in the consultation process (“Astrodome History”). Together, this team would be responsible for challenging the limits of both design and materials like few projects had before. They would explore new methods and attempt new feats, with no previous experience or precedents on which they could rely. It was a true test of human ingenuity.
Following months of consultation between architects, engineers, and contractors, the design which ultimately resulted was an audacious one. Standing at two hundred eight feet tall and, with a diameter of over seven hundred feet, the proposed Astrodome was envelope about one million square feet of total floor space, with more than 140,000 square feet of open playing area, unencumbered by columns or structural supports of any kind (see Figure 2) (“Astrodome” from Ballparks). Six tiers of stadium seating encircled the field, capable of holding 42,217 fans (later reaching a maximum of 67,925). With the addition of 30,000 parking spaces, the stadium complex covered just under 270 acres (see Figure 3) (“Astrodome” from Ballparks). In order to obtain additional structural stabilization from the site’s limestone foundations, the dome was sunk twenty-five feet into the ground. Erected on massive reinforced concrete piers was a cage of steel lamella, a frame of large trusses braced in a diamond pattern as it soared to its apex (“Il Duomo”). The roof was composed of 4007 clear Lucite panels, encased in wood fiber, intended to allow for the natural grass surface of the field to receive sunlight, as well as to abate sound and provide extra protection from the elements (see Figures 4,5,&6) (“Fluid”). The airconditioning system within the building, capable of moving 2.5 million cubic feet of air per minute, was the first system designed commercially for such an immense indoor space (it was at one point claimed to be able to make it snow within the building if necessary, although this was never attempted) (Bordelon) Although Houston was awarded the expansion baseball team, the Colt .45s, and football team, the Oilers,
in 1960, they were forced to play at the nearby Buffs’ facility for three years, as the new stadium project did not break ground until January 3, 1962 (see Figure 7). Completed in November of 1964, it came in six months ahead of schedule and under the proposed $31.6 million budget (from millions in personal investments from Hofheinz and his team, as well as money raised from the city) (Maule).
Originally named “Harris County Indoor Stadium,” the building was rechristened the “Astrodome” when the baseball team was renamed the “Astros” in 1964 (“Astrodome History”) Deemed to be of a Roman Revival style, the stadium resembled the Colosseum, with its velaria (awnings employed for providing shade and ventilation) (“Il Duomo”). It quickly became known for its numerous industry firsts, particularly in increased fan awareness and satisfaction. Apart from being the first indoor facility of its kind, it was also the first round stadium in the United States, a divergence from the diamond shapes of all the previously existing structures. It was the first ballpark with lighting designed specifically for the broadcasting games in color television. In order to cater to visitors of all sorts, the first cushioned stadium seats were installed for the general public, while the very first skyboxes were constructed for those willing to pay to watch the game in style (Judge Hofheinz himself had an opulent office directly behind home plate – see Figure 8) (Bordelon). Dugouts were extended, as people in the seats behind them enjoyed a closer feeling to the ballplayers. The scoreboard, stretching over four hundred feet, was the first with the ability to project animated images, as well as illuminate scores from around the league (see Figure 9) (“Astrodome” from The Fields). Finally, with perhaps its second biggest contribution to the sports world, the grounds of the Astrodome were converted to the very first artificial surface, a nylon chem-grass fittingly called “Astroturf”, after it was realized that the clear roof panels afforded an intense glare from the sun and had to be painted over (thus rendering the growth of natural grass impossible – see Figure 10) (“Fluid”).
The stadium opened on April 9, 1965 to immediate success, when the Astros played host to the New York Yankees in an exhibition game (“Astrodome” from Wonderful World). In addition to the forty years as home of Houston’s baseball and football teams (the Oilers left Houston in 1997 and the Astros
moved to a new stadium in 2000), the Astrodome would go on to serve as venue for NBA and MLB allstar games, college football bowl games, college basketball tournament games, and major events in smaller market sports such as soccer, professional wrestling, and women’s football. Additionally, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo called the Astrodome home for multiple decades (it was the last remaining tenant to leave in 2003) (Bordelon). Muhammad Ali fought Cleveland Williams there in 1966, Evel Knievel jumped 13 cars there in 1971, and major musical acts such as Elvis (1970/1974), the Rolling Stones (1980/1989/1994) and Pink Floyd (1987) played sold out shows there. In 2005, the Astrodome served as one of the largest relocation areas for refugees of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, with more than 25,000 people being transplanted to the Houston landmark (“Renovation”). Finally, in 2006, the Astrodome was officially closed, and after four decades of housing millions of visitors attending some of the world’s biggest sporting events, concerts, and conventions, it is now only accessible to security guards and maintenance crews. It is a specter looming in the Houston’s skyline, a shadow of its former self.
At the height of its popularity, the Astrodome was the third most visited man-made attraction in the United States, behind only to Mount Rushmore and the Golden Gate Bridge (Bordelon). Not only was it an amazing place in of itself, but it attracted other future landmarks including theme parks, convention halls, and even other future sports complexes. For a time, the land on which the Astrodome stands effectively became the center of all things cultural in Houston, just as Judge Hofheinz intended. Unfortunately, it seems as if Houston has finally surpassed its former cultural anchor.
The allure of the Astrodome came from its ability to capture the imagination and pioneer a scale interior space which, until then, man had been unable to create and inhabit. Despite its less than imposing stature, when viewed from the exterior (see Figure 11), the experience within the dome was meant to induce unfathomable awe (Figure 12), harkening back to such buildings as the Pantheon in Rome. With no outdoor frame of reference, one’s ability to reason and understand the space within which one occupies is effectively diminished, leaving one with a sense of minuteness, bordering on insignificance. Once deemed the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” the Astrodome was a beacon of innovation and an icon
of the progress for the city of Houston and for the world of architecture. Its legacy is its defiance against previously held physical limitations and preconceived notions of structural possibility. Today, with so many super structures around, it is difficult to imagine what this must feel like. However, one cannot help but recognize the impact which the Astrodome has had of architecture and for sports. It is impossible to deny that, in 1965, the rules for both architecture, and sports in general, changed dramatically. Later architects would go on to design and build even more massive stadiums, with ever more opulent interiors and amenities. In fact, it has become something of a competition to once again push the limits of structural possibility (see Tables 1 and 2). There can be little doubt that none yet has been able to replicate the impact and influence of the original indoor stadium.
Unoccupied and unusable, the Astrodome does remain the oldest standing indoor sports facility. One can only hope that it will not be condemned to demolishment or allowed to collapse, like so many other buildings of its kind. There is yet the potential to restore the building, to reinvigorate it and repurpose it for some other means. Whether it is re-engineered as the new home of a convention hall, a science and cultural center, or a religious organization (all proposals previously made to the city)
(“Renovation”), the Astrodome deserves the opportunity to return to its previous position at the forefront of the architectural world. It deserves the chance for new generations of people to be able to come and appreciate its structural greatness and to connect with those before them who have witnessed such a remarkable feat of engineering. If nothing else, it deserves the respect due to a truly unique and innovative design, the product of a visionary undertaking almost fifty years ago. It deserves to once again be a building of the future and not just one the past.
“Astrodome.” Ballparks. Ballparks.com. 8 Mar 2012. <http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/astrod.htm>.
“Astrodome.” The Fields of Major League Baseball. BallparksOfBaseball.com. 8 Mar 2012. <http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/Astrodome.htm>.
“Astrodome.” Wonder of the World Databank. PBS.com. 8 Mar 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/astro.html>.
“Astrodome History and Historical Analysis.” Baseball Almanac. Baseball-Almanac.com. 10 Mar 2012. <http://www.baseball-almanac.com/stadium/astrodome.shtml>.
Bordelon, Brock. “Ode to the Astrodome.” Astros Daily. 1 Apr 2012. < http://www.astrosdaily.com/history/odetodome/>.
“Fluid Applied Roofing for Houston Stadium.” Architectural Record. Jan 1965. 185-186.
“Hofheinz, Roy Mark.” Texas State Historical Association. 8 Mar 2012. <http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho87>.
“Houston, Texas.” Wikipedia. 8 Mar 2012. <http://www.wikipedia.org/Houston_Texas>
“Il Duomo.” Columbia University. 12 Mar 2012. <http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/HOUSTON/h-duomo.html>.
Maule, Tex. “The Greatest Showman on Earth and He’s the First to Admit It.” Sports Illustrated. 21 Apr 1969. 12 Mar 2012. < http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082315/index.htm>.
“Renovation Plans for the Astrodome Revealed.” MLB.com. 10 Mar 2012. <http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100615&content_id=11195128&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb>.
Figure 4: Construction Document - Roof Framing Plan*
Figure 5: Roof Construction in Progress
*provided by “Construction Documents – Astrodome.” Columbia University. 12 Mar 2012. <http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/HOUSTON/condoc.html>.
Figure 12: Astro’s Game, circa 1990
Table 1: Enclosed Stadiums in the United States**
World Ranking (by Size)
Stadium Name Capacity Location
Cowboys Stadium 80,000 Arlington, Texas 3 University of Phoenix Stadium 73,719 Glendale, Arizona 4 Louisiana Superdome 72,968 New Orleans, Louisiana 5 Reliant Stadium 71,500 Houston, Texas 6 Georgia Dome 71,228 Atlanta, Georgia 7 Lucas Oil Stadium 70,000 Indianapolis, Indiana 9 Edward Jones Dome 66,000 St. Louis, Missouri 10 Alamodome 65,000 San Antonio, Texas 10 Ford Field 65,000 Detroit, Michigan 12 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,111 Minneapolis, Minnesota 17 Safeco Field 54,097 Seattle, Washington 25 Carrier Dome 49,262 Syracuse, New York 26 Chase Field 49,033 Phoenix, Arizona 27 Tropicana Field 45,369 St. Petersburg, Florida 29 Miller Park 42,200 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 30 Minute Maid Park 40,950 Houston, Texas 43 Tacoma Dome 23,000 Tacoma, Washington
1
Table 2: Closed and/or Demolished Domed Stadiums in the United States**
Rank (by Size)
Stadium Capacity City Closed Demolished 1
Silverdome 80,311 Pontiac, Michigan 2008 Still standing 2 Kingdome 66,000 Seattle, Washington 2000 March 24, 2000 3 Reliant Astrodome 62,439 Houston, Texas 2004 Still standing 4 RCA Dome 57,981 Indianapolis, Indiana 2008 December 20, 2008 ** Statistical data provided by Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_covered_stadiums_by_capacity)
