BUILDING THE HOUSTON ASTRODOME

[Music] close to the action luxurious seating easy access and the ultimate inmobile parking facilities all this supported with excellent dining and snack facility and other necessities for massive crowds of paying supporters this Vision was support of two Bond issues by farsighted har County taxpayers finance construction of the stadium for leased to the Houston Sports Association for 40 years at fees that could amortise the cost after initial delays work was begun in Earnest with barely 2 years for contractors to make delivery of this dramatic prototype Stadium between Architects contractors and suppliers enabled a veritable flood of skilled workmen machines steel and other materials to commence smooth as the works of a fine watch the sequencing of temporary erection towers for the Dome supporting outer walls for the stadium proper forms and concrete for retaining walls and structures all poured into the massive whole South Main Street where A4 million cubic yards of soil had been excavated Sor steel Towers reminiscent of Derek and the neighboring oil fields rapidly take shape as false work to support erection of a dome stru rure itself opposite sections are built simultaneously in anticipation of coordinated erection of Dome members yet to come three levels by eliminating the heavy internal buttressing normally required this is the crown block a virtual Keystone at the very center of the dome which will support the tons of thrust from all directions exerted on it by weight of the entire Dome structure primary radiating molted to the 12 facets of the crown block which is being hoisted to position at Top Central erection [Applause] Tower it will rest on temporary Jacks 208 ft above the final playing field [Applause] level from the precisely located Center meticulous and constant surveys assure Precision locations of every element in the stadium structure many survey Crews simultaneously maintain the control lines as construction advances to receive outer ends of the dome's structural members this is a Lamela section the product of Infinite Research and calculations prior to its painstaking fabrication a curving structural member which will be joined with others to form self-supporting spiral [Music] Dome each Lela section is 120 ft long with a depth of 5 ft they were prefabricated at Orange Texas brought to Houston by barge on the intra Coastal canal and truck to the site with a police escort real traffic Stoppers the first Lamela section is hoisted into place by cranes with 280 ft Booms to begin construction of the Dome framework outward from the center ends of each Lamela section are critically placed at top jacks on each of the towers assuring maintenance of the designed pitch for the roof structure a rap section and the outward blossoming array begins taking shape the umbrella-like structure was a great attraction to the press and to local s seers it seemed difficult for some to understand how these members would connect with the tension ring on the outer walls almost superhuman daily coordination and planning for of materials and operations were required to provide for continuing smooth progress of erection to R bottlenecks and to meet the short completion schedule space walks were a daily occurrence with scores of surefooted high iron [Music] workers a second outer ring of erection Towers accepted the midsections to maintain the precise Dome Contour [Music] Dome members are tension bolted with only 12 welded joints in the roof structure itself as corresponding opposite sides of the pi-shaped segments are placed the imposing 642 ft clear span of the roof becomes visible over 50% greater than any previous Str in a significant day a gathering of Harris County officials Judge Roy Haines and the Houston Sports Association officers Architects contractors union officials suppliers and news media to celebrate placing of the final Aela section in the massive roof structure and surely no such occasion can go unmarked by speeches up it goes the final 120t long piece a perfect fit ensured by a trial run the evening before and the last lift of the exceptionally long boomed [Music] cranes of the designers Justified early placement of some of the recast seating sections to check sight lines previously reckoned only on paper the completed Dome structure could now be freed of the supporting jacks on towers and at the tension ring design calculations forecast a deflection of 3 and 1/4 in actual deflection with the Jacks remove was 3 and 116 a genuinely construction Performance Construction Towers were then disassembled and removed from the arena to to provide an unobstructed work area for the next operations a few predicted that as the towers came down so would the Dome thousands of bulb tees were welded into place to support the rigid roof decking panels and the framed plastic skylights Lacy geometry of the dome's point proved for Architects engineers and photographers work begins in Earnest pouring the re decks and ramps throughout the nine floor levels clear around half long circle of the stadium these caner leaveit tiers support upper seating there were also a fews that they would not support the weight as thousands of fans stood and cheered when the Astros hit a homer great workhorses at the lower level of refrigeration which maintains a constant atmosphere of 72° temperature and 50% relative humidity to the Dome miles of D work and 24 of these giant blowers circulate 2 1/2 million cubic feet of air per minute throughout the stadium a qu million feet per minute is exhausted out the top of a dome to carry off hot air and smoke an intricate and seemingly endless pneumatic tubing system connects the advanced Sals and other ticket offices to quickly provide patrons the proper tickets for their selection of seat location a pride of workmanship was apparent during All Phases of construction each person seemed to work tirelessly to schedule and avoid delays of backfill placed around the waterproof retaining wall the space- saving anchor cables to work special forms are used for the board OU Columns of the building exterior walls are constructed of pre-cast concrete panels in sections 25 ft long and 7 ft wide some of them are as much as 60% voids ATT tribute to the pre-cast concrete [Music] Fabricators realization begins with placement of the clear loose site skylights in all 4,9 76 of them were installed each Skylight is 7 2 and 3' 4 in wide formed with two Loosey C on top and Prismatic embossed below with a dead air space between for insulation unusual were employed in delivering the stacks of Skylight panel to their installation sites at top the [Music] Dome the Skylight pattern was established to accelerate water runoff off from torrential rains which can fall on the 9 and 1/2 acres of roof and which rains out events scheduled in Old [Music] Fashion a long awaited answer for The Architects and designers with but one roof segment covered by SK highlights profusion and spread of light covers the playing field and stands in a bath of shadowless natural light of high intensity This Is The Answer tracks below ground level on which field stand sections revolve to convert the seating from baseball to football modes for the best possible viewing of each sport the last lofty lift inside the stadium hoisting pre-cast seating decks up to the ninth Skybox level instant and sure Communications provide accuracy and pre accidents for the daring but surefooted workmen pels hold on the site are hoisted to form the East wall of the stadium this work is limited to days of low wind velocity to prevent the huge sheets from sailing away across the fa scaffolding reaches up to the full height of the wall alome working at each level can simultaneously attach the panels with pneumatic pop rivet [Music] guns and the view from the top the old temporary stadium is in the foreground next the South Main Skyline the medical center and Houston's downtown Skyline in the background 25 to 30 m winds made working out on top pretty exciting the crowned Skylight panels are self-cleaning from natural rainfall A View From a crown block at the center inside and a look downward to the playing field 28 ft below the light and sound Gondola 64 ft in diameter is yet to be up to the Dome the red color is but one layer of the holon roof system which completely waterproofs the solid portion of the do is completed a single air conditioned room 9 and 1/2 acres in size duct insulation in exposed areas being completed vast networks of insulated ducts distribute the filtered deodorized conditioned air throughout every level every space and every room in the gigantic structure the playing field is made ready with thousands of cubic yards of sterilized specially prepared top soil covering the Sandy base it's leveled and careful stadium and to provide a playing surface of unparalleled quality movable stand sections get their finishing touches tiered and contoured to the is of a permanent surrounding levels of seating 5,000 on each of the two movable sections of field boxes these like the others of full holstered individual theater types in a rainbow of colors an intensely complex job in itself was rting proper seat numbers to assuring patrons of the correct seat for their ticket and EAS location of their seating preference the Astrodome the luck patrons in Absolute Comfort without a single view obstructing column the better to see by at night or on cloudy days 19 60 high efficiency lights above the Arena floor to provide a lighting level greater than any other Stadium ever built shadowless and a delight for color Motion Pictures and television without any added light 300t candles average in the playing [Music] area and the better to hearby 13 gigantic speaker baffles are suspended from the Dome around the field for uniform sound distribution in principal areas together with additional hundreds of smaller speakers to distribute sound of balanced level in every seating prominade and room area a total of 7,000 audio watts of quality output in the system all fed through a time delayed tape Loop mechanism to eliminate Echoes or reverberation the master control for operation of a complete air conditioning system in the world's largest room monitoring and immediate repor in of temperature and relative humidity at more than 400 points throughout the stadium at all nine levels and in all room and surface areas an instant readout system with projected films of schematic circuits and block diagrams of all units provides for immediate servicing and compensation a phenomenally complex system with immediate response for minute control of a massive boilers turbines and compressors chillers fans and filters inside air pressure is maintained a fraction above outside atmospheric pressure to ensure ease of door opening in emergency instant air release locks permit all doors to be opened without delay or Panic the big push to open the Astrodome to the public for the start of baseball season endless details to complete final installation of flooring fixtures dusting and cleaning and shelves to stock with souvenirs meanwhile there's action in The Fabulous Astrodome Club a plushly decorated 640 seat private dining club for Astros season ticket holders the altimate in Stadium Club luxury and parking instant parking for 30,000 cars more private parking than any stadium in existence or even being planned rapid control so the lot can empty in 20 minutes out the principal access thoroughfares to the city and signs of the times to guide 50 to 60,000 people quickly and directly to their seats with a minimum travel distance each colorcoded for respective seating levels and color matched to tickets held by the patrons radio and TV hookups made to carry the news photographers dark rooms made ready eight in all for immediate processing of color or black and white and the wire photo machines tested for picture transmission over the world action pictures can appear in San Francisco newspapers while the game is still in progress vacuum clean the 46,000 upholstered seats get the field ready complete and test the $2 million spectacular scoreboard to entertain and inform the fans the Astros make a first try out of their Sensational new play pen yes even indoors the ball breaks some hit the ball but no one has ever closely approached the top even with a Fungo bat and the Fielding is as [Music] usual Harris County Judge Bill Elliott and the County Commissioners unveiled the plaque dedicating the Harris County doed Stadium a Pioneer Landmark promising excitement adventure and entertainment for the public for years to come the rush for tickets begins unprecedented Advanced sales not only for opening games of the Houston Astros but for the season demonstrates public support of this dramatic Venture from the outset parking areas start to fill as fans arrive early for the opening game fans delivered by trams from their cars easy entry to seating Levels by gentle ramps or by the two Banks of high-speed escalators wide Pleasant and well-lighted concourses finally inside a look at more than 50,000 paying guests settled in their comfortable padded seats at 72° temperatures and 50% relative humidity no rain Sun wind dust perspiration splinters hard benches mosquitoes or snow it's the Astrodome inside a world of its own opening night celebrated with bands Pep Squad girls and speeches the voices of thousands raised in the national [Music] anthem and settling down in the world's first completely airconditioned Indoor [Music] Stadium the first ball pitched in indoor play goes to the Hall of Fame at coopertown New York Special guests the president and Lady Bird Johnson in the private box of Astro's owner Judge Roy hafi action on the playing field in a manner never before seen with unparalleled luxury and Sky boxes high above at the top level of the stadium 24 to 30 private box seats with a private club room many styles of Decor to suit individual tastes built-in refrigerators and ice makers built-in closed circuit TV and private restrooms really some kind of ballpark baseball in the daytime a highfly ball up toward the skylighted Dome and another problem must be solved glare fielders had difficulty following the high balls what to do coat the skylights a force of workers quickly sprayed a white acrylic coating to bond on top of the clear plastic Skylight panels thus reducing the overall light level and consequent [Music] glare now a glistening white Dome is presented for the outside world to see Fame of this great structure and its facilities is spread to all the world through the First Intercontinental live TV transmission by early bird satellite Variety in the Astrodome a Boy Scout circus 50,000 seats are filled with cheering applauding proud parents and Friends watching the spectacle of 10,000 Cubs and thousands of Boy [Music] Scouts strange visitors from far off lands also come to the Astrodome in the form of wringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus playing to many times greater houses at each performance than ever before in their 95 year history all the traditional glitter of performers animals and acrobats of The Greatest Show on Earth most assuredly in the greatest show place on Earth football season comes along rotate the Field Box seating to provide the best seats on the 50yd line the same best seats which were by first and third bases for baseball a single 10 horsepower electric motor moves each stand section with its 5,000 seats to its new position parallel to the football [Music] sidelines the kickoff and the usual bone crushing Thrills of football atmosphere and the bands and dancing girls form better in this new world for sports it's as easily converted back for baseball in fact with the overlap of baseball and football seasons four changes back and forth are necessary the first season of operation the Astrodome the world's greatest pleasure Palace a culmination of the foresight daring faith and dreams of the people of Harris County a faith supported by voter approval of two Bond issues a reality in tribute to them the Architects and Engineers who dared explore the unknown and the builders who meticulously transformed their blueprints into steel inry its total cost of $ 31,600 th000 is but a portion of the inestimably real value to the area's economy is the Astrodome truly the eighth wonder of the [Music] world for