Six-shooters replaced shovels for Astrodome groundbreaking this week in 1962

ASTRODOME PHOTOS: See the impact that the Astrodome had on the world

On the afternoon of January 3, 1962, civic leaders and Houston Sports Association members met on the outskirts of Houston. At the appointed hour, six armed men took their Colt .45s, fired them into the earth and thus broke ground for a stadium to house the city's new baseball franchise, a team then known as the Colt .45s and later called the Astros. See what early Dome construction looked like in 1963... less ASTRODOME PHOTOS: See the impact that the Astrodome had on the world

On the afternoon of January 3, 1962, civic leaders and Houston Sports Association members met on the outskirts of Houston. At the appointed ... more Photo: HC Staff Photo: HC Staff Image 1 of / 101 Caption Close Six-shooters replaced shovels for Astrodome groundbreaking this week in 1962 1 / 101 Back to Gallery

This week in 1962, ground was officially broken for the Harris County Domed Stadium, which would soon be called the Astrodome and would usher in a new era in modern sports.

This being Texas regular shovels wouldn’t do, so an all-star cast of local dignitaries (Harris County commissioners and other community leaders) famously shot Colt .45 pistols into the dirt.

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Houston Astros authentication manager and historian Mike Acosta reminds us that they shot blanks towards the dirt that day.

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"Yes, there was no live ammo used that day," he said from his office inside Minute Maid Park.

The new Houston baseball team, the Colt .45s, began their inaugural season a few months later at nearby (temporary) Colt Stadium as the Astrodome took shape just a short walk to the south.

Fun fact: The Astrodome could have been built in Memorial Park but local luminary Ima Hogg shot down the plan as her family had donated the land in the first place.

In the end, highway accessibility would prove to be key, as you can see from some vintage site-selection studies from the period.

As for the pistols used that day, Acosta said that they've been somewhat lost to history, although they would make fine additions to the Astros memorabilia collection. Acosta does have some dirt from the groundbreaking ceremony which was placed in commemorative jars and given out as souvenirs that January day.

The Dome took nearly three years to construct, and three workers died building it. Homer P. Williams, a welder, fell to his death in May 1964. Frank Halliburton died during a fall a month earlier. Leon Homer died on the job in 1963.

RELATED: When the Colt .45s became the Astros and the origins of other Houston sports team names

They were working on a structure that many said "couldn't be done," according to the National Register nomination. By the time it opened, the Astrodome had earned another nickname: the "Can-do Cathedral," according to the nomination.

The team’s name was changed to the Astros in December 1964 to match their new digs.

The Astrodome opened its doors for the first time on April 9, 1965 for an exhibition game between the Astros and the New York Yankees. Mickey Mantle hit the first home run, but the Astros won the game 2-1 in 12 innings.

Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. He's an intolerable native Texan with too much ink in his skin and too much brisket stuck in his teeth.