Friday, April 9, 1965: The Astrodome

HOUSTON, Tex. -- There was a bomb scare but President Johnson showed no concern Friday night as he and 47,876 other fans watched air conditioned baseball. An anonymous report that a bomb had been placed in the $31.6 million Harris County Domed Stadium proved false but it caused the President and the first lady to be late for the opening of the all-weather structure. They saw 7 1/2 innings as the Houston Astros opened their astrodome by beating the New York Yankees 2-1 in 12 innings. The President told newsmen he was impressed with the stadium, which permits professional baseball to move indoors for the first time. Because of the bomb scare, the presidential party watched the game from the private suite of Roy Hofheinz and R.E. (Bob) Smith, owner of the Astros. The suite is 30 feet above the right field pavilion and the crowd saw the President and Mrs. Johnson only through its windows. They did not go down on the playing field.

     -- Story from Associated Press

     -- Photo from Houston Chronicle; caption reads: A photo taken from the Astrodome's gondola shows the stadium's baseball field on April 1, 1965.

* "First Game in the Astrodome" (www.astrosdaily.com): @

* "Rain or shine -- play ball!" (Life magazine, April 9, 1965): @
* "What a Wonder! What a Blunder!" (Life magazine, April 23): @
* Summary from Texas State Historical Association: @

* Summary from American Historic Engineering Record, National Park Service: @
* Overview from "Housing the Spectacle: Dome Case Studies" (Columbia University): @
* "Game Over for the Astrodome, 'Stadium of the Future' " (New York Times, March 2015): @ 

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