Reunion Tower
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Coordinates: 32°46′31.18″N 96°48′32.31″W / 32.7753278°N 96.808975°W
Reunion Tower is a 560 foot (171 m) observation tower and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Dallas, Texas (USA). Located at 300 Reunion Blvd. in the Reunion district of Downtown Dallas, the tower is part of the Hyatt Regency Hotel complex, and is the 15th tallest building in Dallas. A free-standing structure until the construction of an addition to the Hyatt Regency Dallas in 2000, the tower was designed by the architectural firm Welton Becket & Associates.
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[edit] History
Reunion Tower was completed in 1978 as part of an urban redevelopment project that also renovated the historic Union Station, which today services Amtrak, DART, and the Trinity Railway Express to DFW Airport and Fort Worth.
When it first opened, the tower included an FM broadcast radio station owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting: KOAX 105.3 MHz (now KRLD-FM.) It broadcasted live twenty-four hours a day from five-hundred feet above the city.
Reunion Tower reopened on February 9, 2009, after closing for major renovations on November 16, 2007. A press release describing the renovations can be found here: [1]
[edit] Architecture
The tower consists of three floors with circular floor plans on top of four shafts of poured in place concrete. A central cylindrical shaft houses stairs and mechanical equipment. Three rectangular shafts, containing elevators, rise parallel to the central shaft. Each shaft's outfacing wall is made up of glass panels, affording views of the city during the 68-second elevator ride to the top. Before the 2008 renovations, the first level housed the observation deck, the second a revolving restaurant called Antares, and the third level a club called The Dome. The top three floors are encased in an open-air sphere. The sphere is a geodesic dome formed with aluminum struts. Each of the struts' 260 intersections is covered by aluminum circles with lights in the center.
At night, the globe at the top of the building lights with hundreds of bulbs that flash in various computer-generated patterns.
As of June 20, 2009, the Observation Deck is still closed to the public. The only access is the the restaurant even though this a major Dallas tourist destination.
[edit] Attractions
Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck, the celebrity chef's newest fine-dining restaurant, opened in Reunion Tower's top level on February 11, 2009 and still rotates. The restaurant's name refers to the tower's height. The middle floor of the tower is used for special events managed by Wolfgang Puck Catering, which is based at nearby Union Station. As of June 15, 2009, the bottom floor observation deck is still closed for remodeling.
[edit] Transmission Use
The tower is not used for public broadcasting and therefore not listed in FCC-database.
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[edit] References in popular culture
- The tower is a prominent feature in the opening credits of the television program Dallas.
- Is a central location in the 1980 movie, The Lathe of Heaven.
- Is the location of the action finale in the 1986 film Getting Even.
- First structure destroyed by a meteor shower that destroys Dallas in Asteroid (film).
- It is also seen in the background of a shot in the beginning of the film RoboCop, despite the film taking place in Detroit, Michigan.
- Can sometimes be seen in the television show, Walker, Texas Ranger.
- Seen briefly in the Wes Anderson movie Bottle Rocket.
- Seen briefly in the opening video from WWE Monday Night Raw.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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