Recent pics from inside the Astrodome

[Navin R Johnson]

http://swamplot.com/what-i-saw-when-i-snuck-into-the-astrodome/2012-03-23/

[Ron Brand]

It actually looks better than I expected it to. Bet it stinks pretty bad in there though.

[Fredia]

i rememember when going to the dome was like going to the church of baseball, always was awesome when you came into the  view of the field

[hostros7]

It actually looks better than I expected it to. Bet it stinks pretty bad in there though.

A friend who is very involved with HLSR told me the place I basically a giant rats' nest now.

[Waldo]

That sucks.

[Gizzmonic]

A friend who is very involved with HLSR told me the place I basically a giant rats' nest now.

Yeah, last time I was in there around Katrina it has a distinctive cat urine smell.  I can only imagine that's ripened by now.

[Limey]

Yeah, last time I was in there around Katrina it has a distinctive cat urine smell.  I can only imagine that's ripened by now.

I was in there post-Katrina - it was the finish of a fun run.  Looked very much like the pics, but it stinks of neglect and decay...and cat piss.

It's at the point where they may as well go ahead and implode the old girl, because to make the place fit for human usage is way beyond the point of any economic sense.

[hostros7]

I was in there post-Katrina - it was the finish of a fun run.  Looked very much like the pics, but it stinks of neglect and decay...and cat piss.

It's at the point where they may as well go ahead and implode the old girl, because to make the place fit for human usage is way beyond the point of any economic sense.

It's too bad that they can't come up with some middle ground solution that preserves some memorial to the 8th wonder.  For example, turning the whole place into a parking lot/green space but maintaining a facade or just the roof with nothing else.  Obviously, doing so, if even possible architecturally, would cost significantly more than an ample supply of dynamite. 

[chuck]

It's too bad that they can't come up with some middle ground solution that preserves some memorial to the 8th wonder.  For example, turning the whole place into a parking lot/green space but maintaining a facade or just the roof with nothing else.  Obviously, doing so, if even possible architecturally, would cost significantly more than an ample supply of dynamite. 

Someone (it might have been someone commenting on the article) suggested leaving the steel skeleton standing and having it sort of tower over a park. I have no idea whether this is feasible or not but that strikes me as an outSTANding compromise.

[Ron Brand]

Someone (it might have been someone commenting on the article) suggested leaving the steel skeleton standing and having it sort of tower over a park. I have no idea whether this is feasible or not but that strikes me as an outSTANding compromise.

They did something similar with the Long Center in Austin, although it's a much smaller building. They reused the shell of the auditorium previously in use but they did build underneath part of it. The result is a nice looking space that honors the memory of the previous structure.

[Limey]

Someone (it might have been someone commenting on the article) suggested leaving the steel skeleton standing and having it sort of tower over a park. I have no idea whether this is feasible or not but that strikes me as an outSTANding compromise.

Under the dome structure it's a giant hole in the ground.  I like your idea, but I'm not sure how feasible it is given that fact.  Also, any such park would be within the boundaries of Reliant Park, which would make access a little difficult.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

I was under the impression, possibly due to bad info, that the Dome cannot be demo'd because Reliant patches into the power grid through the Dome's utility connections.  This was done to save a few million dollars at the time Reliant was constructed etc... 
Any truth to this?

[Limey]

I was under the impression, possibly due to bad info, that the Dome cannot be demo'd because Reliant patches into the power grid through the Dome's utility connections.  This was done to save a few million dollars at the time Reliant was constructed etc... 
Any truth to this?

There's a strong whiff of irony there.  Can't quite put my finger on it.  Reliant having power issues...

[Waldo]

I was under the impression, possibly due to bad info, that the Dome cannot be demo'd because Reliant patches into the power grid through the Dome's utility connections.  This was done to save a few million dollars at the time Reliant was constructed etc... 
Any truth to this?

I don't know about that, but from what I've read there are some asbestos and lead paint concerns that have to be addressed before any demolition takes place.  Plus, the engineers who built it are concerned that using explosives on a building that large would damage Reliant.  That leaves a piece-by-piece deconstruction which was estimated to be around $130 million last I saw.  For that price tag I think people would rather try to put that money toward some type of renovation instead of ending up with a hole in the ground.

They did something similar with the Long Center in Austin, although it's a much smaller building. They reused the shell of the auditorium previously in use but they did build underneath part of it. The result is a nice looking space that honors the memory of the previous structure.

http://justorb.com/2010/05/13/long-center-on-cnn/

I read the same comment and had the exact same thought about the Long Center.  However, a simple concrete ring supported by columns is a lot more visually appealing (IMO) than a huge behemoth of steel latticework.

[chuck]

Under the dome structure it's a giant hole in the ground.  I like your idea, but I'm not sure how feasible it is given that fact.  Also, any such park would be within the boundaries of Reliant Park, which would make access a little difficult.

I am well aware that the field of the Astrodome is twenty or thirty feet below the surrounding ground level but I feel quite certain that filling a hole with dirt would prove to be a solvable engineering challenge. I was thinking that the feasibility of the project would depend on factors such as the ones mentioned here, asbestos, cost, things like that. The idea that the Astrodome somehow plays a vital role in the delivery of electricity to Reliant Stadium is so fucking stupid that it just must be true.

As for the park, I've heard much discussion over the years about turning the ground that the Dome sits on into some sort of green space or another. Whether that will ever happen or not is another question, but I do know it has been discussed.

[Waldo]

The idea that the Astrodome somehow plays a vital role in the delivery of electricity to Reliant Stadium is so fucking stupid that it just must be true.

This may actually be true.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7966973

SkyEye HD was over the Astrodome around 11:30am Friday. Firefighters say there was a fire that broke out in an electrical vault at the east end of the dome. ... it was later learned a lack of electricity at Reliant Arena caused officials to cancel the Top Hands Horse Show events for the remainder of the weekend.

So at the very least, Reliant Arena relies on the Dome for electricity.  There does appear to be a relay station on the east side of the Dome (where the aforementioned electrical vault was located), so it's possible that the entire site relies on that relay station (if not the Dome itself) for electricity.

[Phil_in_CS]

That's a problem a few million dollars can fix. So, the Dome will remain as is until the cost of moving the electrical is less than the value of the reclaimed area.