Reunion Tower: Punctuating Downtown Dallas
Reunion Tower was commissioned by oil magnate HL Hunt’s son, Ray Hunt, in the mid-'70s as part of an urban redevelopment project for the western edge of Dallas’ central business district.
That project also included the now demolished Reunion Arena, the Hyatt Regency Hotel and remodeling Dallas’ Union Station servicing Amtrak, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the Trinity Railway Express to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Fort Worth.
The Tower was designed by Los Angeles architectural firm Welton Becket and Associates – the same firm that designed Los Angeles’ defining Capitol Records building - and consists of four shafts of slip form poured in place concrete – the same method used to build grain silos. Three of the shafts are support structures housing elevators which surround a central cylindrical shaft housing stairs and mechanical equipment. Construction workers worked 500 feet from the ground assembled 100,000 separate parts to complete the tower. Reunion Tower was completed in 1978 – the same year that another Dallas symbol was born – television series Dallas using the new Reunion Tower in the opening credits.
Reunion Tower takes its name from La Reunion, a utopian community settled by French and Belgian immigrant artists and craftsmen in what is now West Dallas.
The spire has many nicknames – the Dallas Dandelion, the Electric Dandelion, God’s Microphone and has been compared to a prairie dandelion or a Spanish exclamation point expressing surprise or disbelief. At night, the 260 lights at the intersection of the 15 foot aluminum struts surrounding the geodesic dome “dance” computerized patterns including happy feet, Texas raindrops and full moon.
The views are spectacular from top to bottom – starting with the 68 second glass elevator ride to the dome. The observation deck is undergoing renovation and is scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2011. Currently the public can only see the view at the top of the dome by dining at or having a drink at Wolfgang Puck’s 560 Restaurant. The restaurant floor revolves – giving the visitor a 360 degree view stretching from downtown Dallas all the way to Fort Worth – on a clear day. It takes the restaurant just under an hour (55 minutes) to make a complete revolution.
HelloDallas Tip: If you want a real workout, climb the 867 stairs to the top of the dome.
Posted by Constance Hannon
