Join Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, Preservation Houston and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Harris County Domed Stadium, better known as the Astrodome, during free, fun birthday festivities on Thursday, April 9, a half-century to the day after the Dome's grand opening in 1965.
Encouraging developments in Astrodome discussion
On Tuesday, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett announced his idea to repurpose the Astrodome as the world’s largest indoor park, saying the proposal would create “a new vision of the future” while honoring Judge Roy Hofheinz’s original intention for the iconic stadium. Since then, there have been positive responses to the plan, including an ongoing Houston Business Journal survey showing majority support for the proposal and an Atlantic magazine CityLab article that draws parallels between the Dome’s possibilities and New York’s High Line urban park.
Texas Historical Commission tables landmark designation for Astrodome
Texas Historical Commission (THC) this afternoon voted to table the motion to designate the Astrodome as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). THC Chair Matthew Kreisle moved to postpone the vote until a later date, stating he wanted to hear from Harris County officials before granting SAL status.
Help make the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark
On July 30 and 31, appointed members of the Texas Historical Commission (THC) will meet in Alpine where they are scheduled to vote on State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) status for the Astrodome. Preservation Houston will be present at the public meeting and is asking that you sign this statement so that we can demonstrate to the THC commissioners that Texas cares about the future of the Dome.