Planning and Construction
The park's original layout was created by Hollywood designer and architect, Randall Duell. The park name, as well as the names of The Astrodome, the Astros baseball team, and all other Astrodomain properties, were a homage to the nation's manned space programs after Houston was selected to be the home of the Johnson Space Center in 1965.
AstroWorld was constructed on land that was swampy and prone to flooding. A million cubic yards (765,000 m³) of dirt were used to fill the site in preparation for construction. Some areas of the site were filled to depths as great as six feet (1.8 m). Ahead of its time, a unique feature of the park's infrastructure included 2,400 tons (8,400 kW) of outdoor air conditioning powered by systems built by Carrier Corporation. Underground pipes carrying chilled water radiated out to most areas of the park and provided cool air to queue lines, picnic tables, shops, restaurants and other large open spaces. Air conditioning ducts and grates were disguised and blended to match the area's theming. High standards were set by Judge Hofheinz. Mr. Hofheinz had final approval for aspects of park design. Many rare and valuable antiques, some from Mr. Hofheinz's personal collection, were used to enhance the theming in areas. The original landscaping, all designed in-house, included approximately 10,000 trees, 20,000 shrubs, and countless millions of flowers; nearly 600 varieties of plants were all combined to create a distinct atmosphere for each of the themed areas.
The bridge crossing Loop 610 which connected AstroWorld to its share of the Astrodomain (now Reliant Park) parking lot was the only publicly accessible, privately owned bridge to cross an interstate highway in Harris County, Texas. A monorail system connecting Astrodomain properties was planned but never built. Stan McIlvaine of the Houston Sports Association (of which Roy Hofheinz was president) had contacted Walt Disney's MAPO, Inc. division concerning the plan as early as 1966. The beamway would have connected AstroWorld's Entry Plaza with the parking lot, the Astrodome, the AstroWorld Hotel, and possibly other nearby locations. The bridge over Loop 610 was engineered and built so that it could accommodate the planned monorail beamway. Bridge supports extended extra feet on both sides. Tram vehicles were employed to shuttle guests between the Entry Plaza and parking lot after the monorail plan was abandoned.
Technology from Disney's WEDway PeopleMover was eventually installed at the Houston Intercontinental Airport.
Read more about this topic: Six Flags Water World, History, 1960s
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