An ongoing Houston City Beat series
Astrodome
reIMAGINEd
A building that changed sports, architecture and Houston’s idea of itself—and the unfinished story of what happens to it next.
Why this story matters
More than a building.
The Astrodome is part engineering marvel, part memory bank and part unresolved civic question. Through archival history, community recollection, public-cost reporting and new design ideas, this series follows the Dome from the moment Houston received its keys to the decisions that will determine its future.
Chapter One
The wonder Houston built
Before it became a preservation question, the Astrodome was a declaration of Houston ambition—and a place where the impossible became ordinary.
Chapter Two
What do we owe a landmark?
The Dome’s future is a debate about public memory, public money and whether Houston can carry its history into a changing city.
Chapter Three
Imagining the next act
Students, civic leaders and the institutions surrounding NRG Park are testing what preservation, reinvention and a new Houston landmark district could become.
Help tell the story
What does the Astrodome mean to you?
Houston’s history lives in the memories of the people who experienced it. Share a Dome memory, photograph or perspective that could help deepen this continuing series.