IT’S NOT LIKE WE’RE DOING ANYTHING ELSE WITH THE ASTRODOME 
One of Houstonia magazine’s writers, John Nova Lomax, says that Houston, not Austin, ought to be the state capital; “Austin lacks gravitas,” he writes in a Texas Monthly essay this week, laying out his case and making a modest proposal to deal with one of each city’s landmark eyesores: “Slap a statue of Willie Nelson in the Goddess of Liberty’s place atop the granite dome and repurpose it as the Texas Pantheon. Fill it with statues, plaques, and exhibits dedicated to all those exalted icons who were truly Texas cool, and presto: a world-class tourist attraction,” he writes: “As for Houston, well, let’s not forget that it has long been home to a certain Eighth Wonder of the World, now just sitting there running to ruin. The Astrodome’s merits as a seat of government are limitless. It has rail service and ample parking and seating. It has skyboxes in which lobbyists, high above the scrum, could go about their deals. The old ‘exploding’ scoreboard could be reactivated, and we could make state politics a spectator sport. . . . Whenever a legislator started getting a little too grandiose up on the dais, an appointed sinecure (Nolan Ryan?) could power up that bawling, smoking-nosed bull that once thrilled baseball fans. C-SPAN ratings would be off the charts.” [Texas Monthly; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Russell Hancock
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Now THAT would be something I’d like to see. The building certainly has the space for all of the offices and chambers of the capitol building. Stick the Goddess of Liberty on the top center of the dome, rename it something like The CapiDome, and call it a day.
We could just pay the legislatures to stay at home and keep their mouths shut. That would be much more productive. As for the dome, tear it down and put up a plaque.
Lomax trots out his tired “Austin sucks, Houston is great” sour grapes article once or twice a year. At least this one is actually funny. Well, funnyish.
If the Astrodome were the state capitol, then we would have to put up with Gov. Zoolander and his douchebag cronies. Please, leave that in Austin. The dome has already seen it’s share of dung from the countless rodeo events.
Save the Astrodome!