This film from KPRC-TV Channel 2 in Houston contains a series of short news segments related to the Houston Astrodome and the Houston Astros major league baseball team. Black-and-white footage dates from the 1960s, documenting the construction of the stadium as well as scenes from baseball games and rodeo events. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Governor John Connally of Texas are shown in attendance of one Astros game. Color footage dates from the 1970s, capturing moments with Astros players and coaches as well as an inning from a 1976 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Eighth Wonder of the World!
Designed by architects Hermon Lloyd & W.B. Morgan, and Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson and built at a cost of $35 million (1965 dollars), the Astrodome opened in 1965 as the “Harris County Domed Stadium.” Eighteen stories tall, covering 9 ½ acres, and with a dome of 710 feet in diameter, it was built as part of the deal to bring Major League Baseball expansion team, the Colt .45s (later renamed the Astros) to Houston – the city’s subtropical climate required an air-conditioned indoor stadium to make summertime sports viable.
Conceived as a multi-use arena, the Astrodome was also home to NFL team the Houston Oilers and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It was also the site of many notable music concerts and political events, including Hubert Humphrey’s 1968 campaign rally and the 1992 Republican National Convention. No longer in regular use, for two weeks in September 2005, the Astrodome served as a temporary shelter for Katrina evacuees from New Orleans.
Politician and developer Roy Hofheinz was born in Beaumont on April 10, 1912. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1934 to 1936 and as a Harris County judge from 1936 to 1944. After a brief stint in private law and business, Hofheinz returned to public life in 1952 to run for mayor of Houston. Winning the election, he ultimately served two terms from 1953 to 1955.
Hofheinz was very unpopular with the Houston City Council. In 1954, he had four councilmen arrested for boycotting a special meeting he had called. The following year, the Council voted to impeach Hofheinz, but the Mayor refused to acknowledge the impeachment and was eventually voted out of office.
Returning to law and business, Hofheinz and his partner, Robert Everett Smith, created the Houston Sports Association. On the promise of building a new stadium, the organization soon received a major-league franchise. Completed in 1965, the Houston Astrodome became the home of the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) and the Houston Oilers. To expand his empire, Hofheinz developed the AstroWorld theme park and four “Astrodomain” hotels. He also purchased Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Hofheinz’s business ventures began to decline in the 1970s, with the Astrodomain accumulating $38 million in debt. He died of a heart attack at his Houston home on November 22, 1982.
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