This morning I hopped on a Dart Rail line from White Rock to Union Station, for a visit up Reunion Tower. This being only the second time in my life I’ve ever ridden Dart Rail, the commute was superb. The cars are clean, the window views are fantastic and the ride is very smooth.
Once I arrived on the tower’s observation level, my first impression was I think they’ve changed the carpet up there since my childhood visit. For some reason I remember it being red. It’s now sort of a mix of different shades of blue.
I was somewhat surprised at how empty the internal portion of the observation deck level was. No wall décor, no fancy spotlighting, no plants against the wall, etc… I think the place is screaming for a makeover, but then again I guess being 50 stories up, they must not expect much traffic, or something.
On the deck itself, I personally felt that chain length fence clashes with the view. It is very rusty and limits the ability to shoot photography from. There were a few sections where the fence had been replaced with either thick clear plastic or glass. But forget about taking good pictures though it, as they are a bit dirty.
I didn’t go up to Antares or the Dome, but I have seen some pictures on the web and they look nice, although perhaps a little too “plain” for me.
Of course the real reason for my trip up there was to get a glimpse of the area where KOAX / KQZY used to be. Sadly, as others have said, there’s no trace. The glass enclosure which housed the studios is gone. I tried to take a picture of that empty space, but I was having some trouble with my camera. My parents came along and my dad brought his camera. I’m hoping he has some interior shots. I did get quite a few good outdoor shots, and I’ll try to upload them to a website later this week.
I stopped by the men’s room before heading out, and stashed a $100 dollar bill in there somewhere. Congrats to the person who finds it! I also took a peep at the tower’s internal stairwell. Scary, very scary!
All in all, it was a good trip down memory lane for me, and in spite of the lack of evidence from the radio studios, I enjoyed it. I’d like to think that someday another radio station could occupy some space up there, but it still wouldn’t be quite the same for me, since we’re all using hard drive audio systems as opposed to reel decks and cart machines.
Oh well…
Reporting from high atop Reunion Tower, I'm Robert Bass. And now some more super hits of the 70's!
R
Once I arrived on the tower’s observation level, my first impression was I think they’ve changed the carpet up there since my childhood visit. For some reason I remember it being red. It’s now sort of a mix of different shades of blue.
I was somewhat surprised at how empty the internal portion of the observation deck level was. No wall décor, no fancy spotlighting, no plants against the wall, etc… I think the place is screaming for a makeover, but then again I guess being 50 stories up, they must not expect much traffic, or something.
On the deck itself, I personally felt that chain length fence clashes with the view. It is very rusty and limits the ability to shoot photography from. There were a few sections where the fence had been replaced with either thick clear plastic or glass. But forget about taking good pictures though it, as they are a bit dirty.
I didn’t go up to Antares or the Dome, but I have seen some pictures on the web and they look nice, although perhaps a little too “plain” for me.
Of course the real reason for my trip up there was to get a glimpse of the area where KOAX / KQZY used to be. Sadly, as others have said, there’s no trace. The glass enclosure which housed the studios is gone. I tried to take a picture of that empty space, but I was having some trouble with my camera. My parents came along and my dad brought his camera. I’m hoping he has some interior shots. I did get quite a few good outdoor shots, and I’ll try to upload them to a website later this week.
I stopped by the men’s room before heading out, and stashed a $100 dollar bill in there somewhere. Congrats to the person who finds it! I also took a peep at the tower’s internal stairwell. Scary, very scary!
All in all, it was a good trip down memory lane for me, and in spite of the lack of evidence from the radio studios, I enjoyed it. I’d like to think that someday another radio station could occupy some space up there, but it still wouldn’t be quite the same for me, since we’re all using hard drive audio systems as opposed to reel decks and cart machines.
Oh well…
Reporting from high atop Reunion Tower, I'm Robert Bass. And now some more super hits of the 70's!
R
