Jump to content

Moon Towers In Houston


WillowBend56

Recommended Posts

I've never heard of the term "moon tower". What exactly is it?

Just that: a tall metal-frame tower (almost like a giant radio station antenna) that supported arc lamps that could light up whole blocks of a nearby neighborhood. They were common in the early electrification era (pre-1900) of America.

Austin is perhaps the only American city that retains any of the towers. Just curious if Houston or other Texas cities had them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Essentially, they're ancient versions of the high-mast lighting we see everywhere on our freeways, right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a link describing a bit more about their history in Austin:

http://www.austinpostcard.com/moontower.html

I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.

Here's the best postcard view of a tower:

http://www.austinpostcard.com/cgi-bin/view...t.txt?card=1097

I can find them in other postcards but they are difficult to see. They are just metal lattices supporting a bunch of electric lamps at the top.

Edited by WillowBend56
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very interesting! My grandfather (deceased) managed the work to convert the old moon tower in Zilker Park to a lighted Christmas tree. Only I never knew that it was originally a moon tower.

Didn't you see Dazed and Confused? I believe that is the one in Zilker Park where they actually filmed.

What do you know. Wiki is actually good for something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_tower

Margo, from what I have been reading, the book was apparently based on several highschools, not just Linklater's highschool. Besides, screenplays get rewrites ALL the time, yet it is possible that Huntsville had them.

Edited by TJones
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did not.

Man, you and Ed amaze me. Dazed and Confused is on Tarantino's top ten list. It has been claimed as one of THE top 25 funniest movies to come out in the last 25 yrs. also. Excellent flick, Matt McConaughey's first movie. Affleck is in it. Milla Jojovich, lots of stars BEFORE they were stars, movie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw "Dazed and Confused" and was not impressed. There are better films dealing with the same subject matter out there.

such as...

I will concede that the longhaired kid, cast in the second lead is without a doubt one of THE worst actors, EVER. There are some real gems in that movie though. Hard for most movies to come away with a catch phrase like "Party at the Moontower." and have people know what you are referencing. I like it more for sentimental reasons, the location of the kid's hangout and Affleck getting the paint dumped on him are literally down the street from me. I drive by it almost everyday.

Edited by TJones
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The Stoned Age". I liked Linklater's "Slacker", but have been disappointed by the rest of his films.

Dude, "The Stoned Age" really....you want to try and compare that to D&C ? Ok, I think maybe you got shot with the laser beam eye at a BOC show... that would explain alot. :lol::P;)

Edited by TJones
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The Stoned Age". I liked Linklater's "Slacker", but have been disappointed by the rest of his films.

I guess I need to track down a copy of THE STONED AGE, as I've never seen it. But I have to disagree with you on the merits of D&C - I thought it was an almost perfect realization of the overall tone of what it was like to be in high school in suburban Texas in the 70s, even if some of the details hit a wrong note. Anyone who lived through that time and place owes it to themselves to see this movie.

And I say that as someone who also hasn't been wild about all of Linklater's films - in particular, I was completely mystified by the near-religious gushing over BEFORE SUNRISE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have spent a lot of time in Austin through the years but had never heard or been aware of the moon towers. Very interesting.

D&C was a classic but probably only because I could relate to it. It was low budget. The acting was really bad. I mean they cast McConaughey after meeting the guy in a bar. He had absolutely no acting ability. Of course some would say that he still doesn't. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 years later...

I was blankly surfing the web last night when I somehow wound up on a lot of info about the moon towers in Austin. Basically they are very tall towers with 6 lights at the top that illuminate large areas beneath them. So of course now I am curious if Houston ever had actual moon towers way back in the day?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...