Fans invited for rare chance to enter the Astrodome again

In an April 1965 file photo, the baseball field and seats at the Houston Astrodome are seen through a fish-eye lens in Houston. In an April 1965 file photo, the baseball field and seats at the Houston Astrodome are seen through a fish-eye lens in Houston. Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 153 Caption Close Fans invited for rare chance to enter the Astrodome again 1 / 153 Back to Gallery

On April 9, 1965, almost 50,000 fans packed into the into a shiny new Houston landmark—the Eighth Wonder of the World—to watch the Astros beat the Yankees. But by the early years of the 21st Century, the Astrodome fell into disuse and disrepair and it drifted from the minds of Houstonians.

Next Thursday, 50 years after the inaugural game, the gates will reopen to the public for the first time in almost a decade, as local groups pitch in to throw a semicentential birthday party for the Astrodome.

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Be there at 7 p.m. for your rare chance to take a selfie on the famous floor. Earlier, between 6 and 8 p.m. fans, are invited to the NRG park for free "dome dogs" and soda amongst other festive attractions. There will be a giant birthday cake, food trucks, 8th Wonder Brewery beer, face painting, balloon artists, a DJ, supercross motorcycles, a souvenir giveaway and the Monster Jam truck Outlaw. What a party.

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The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service, which calls the dome "an engineering marvel of its time." It was the first enclosed and air-conditioned sports stadium, the first to install artificial turn, sported the largest dome of its time, and it set the style and standard for arenas worldwide.

Until 2008, it hosted the Houston Astros, the Oilers, the Cougars, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, boxing matches, tennis matches, concerts, trade shows and religious assemblies. But after closing, it suffered a marked lack of tender-love-and-care.

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Now, amidst a handful of plans to make new use of the giant historic place, Houstonians have a chance to revisit inside the iconic site. Enter at Kirby and McNee. There's free parking in Red Lot 4.

The birthday party is funded in conjunction by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, Preservation Houston and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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