If you live and work in Dallas, you may see it in your daily commute, although in heavy traffic, you won’t be able to give it more than a glance. Regardless, you’ll notice that it is distinct in structure and style. The architectural firm, Welton Beckett & Associates, designed the building for an urban redevelopment project. I couldn’t confirm that the building was designed to be used as a radio tower, but that seems a safe bet — it housed two radio stations when it first opened in 1978. Wikipedia says the two stations broadcast “live 24 hours a day from 500 feet above the city.” Presumably, the tower with a ball on top was conducive to broadcasting, and form followed function.
The Reunion Tower, left, (copyrighted photo by Natalia Bratslavsky | Dreamstime.com), is an iconic structure in downtown Dallas. It gives the city a unique skyline that contributes to the city’s identity. When you see the Reunion Tower, you know you’re looking at particular city, even if you don’t know what city it is.
The ball is covered with lights that are turn on at night. Probably the lights are intended to draw attention to the neighborhood that the city of Dallas sought to redevelop. It is unlikely that they were intended to shed light on the past. But they do.
The Reunion District is named after La Reunion, a socialist utoptian community formed in the area in 1855. The building named after the district, named after a community that no longer exists, has a message: people who shared a way of life once lived here. Remember them.
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