[This message has been edited by powerbiscuit (edited 11/3/2011 12:06p).]

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Maybe the Cubs should move from Wrigley.

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Wrigley is way worse than Kyle.

Wait, will our new scoreboard keep track of 2 quarters or all 4?

I just like looking at old pictures of campus. I know some of the buildings look outdated, but I miss them the same.

Once an Aggie, Always an Aggie

Love the old pics...tear in my eye. sniff sniff

SipSuk, I appreciate the McFerrin's but those buildings do indeed suck. They are basically greenhouses with opaque coverings. They were built quickly and on the cheap because we absolutely needed an indoor track and practice facility.

Let it go, and let us start anew.

My grandmother died a few years ago. When she moved out of her home and into assisted living, I was the one who got most of her old furniture. Some of it was really old and worn but still serviceable. Over the years a lot of it has flat worn out and I have wondered if it was worth fixing or just throwing away. There is no antique value to it because it wasn't high quality to begin with. The only reason I might keep it is for sentimental reasons, but I have too much of that in my life as it is.

Bottom line, I made the decision that just because something is old and I have emotional attachment doesn't mean it means I need to keep it.

That is kind of how I feel about the stadium around Kyle Field. We can do better. If we have the funding available, it is certainly worth looking into.

T&P
We all need to realize ALL traditions were new at one time. They are great because they came from the greatest university.
Change for the sake of change = bad (keeping up with the joneses)
Change for the sake of improving your university as a whole = good

Rebuild it, but make it look classic. We have enough architectural mistakes across campus that we can learn from.

gigm09 - right on. The best stadiums out there are those that put the traditional, classic facade on a modern structure with modern ammenities (no rusty troughs in the restrooms)

This has got to go

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Seems like you can still have the best of both worlds and rebuild with something new with modern building techniques and still pay homage to the old architecture. I think the posters above saying that today's architects can't make old architecture look good are wrong.

Check out this brand new building that was built in Dallas this year:



If it looks good I really dont know that too many people are going to know or care whether the walls are 6 feet thick brick masonry or cinderblocks with a brick facade.

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You're right, that is a very nice building. If we could do new-historic like that, I'd be for it. I'm inclined to think that building was done by a small firm that specializes in historic rather than a big stadium design firm.

Most new-historic buildings look more like this:







It's easy to say, "Well, we'll just do one of the good ones." But unless you have a verrrrry good architect (and lots of money for things like genuine stone and not just concrete with lines drawn to look like stone, etc.), it usually just looks like cheap nostalgia. Kitsch.

TTT

Ive enjoyed all the old pictures.

Oldmain, is the Oldmain society no longer in existence? I recall the society and their efforts to save Puryear and Law Halls while i was in school. I loved that corridor with Puryear across the street from the YMCA building. Both buildings where from similar eras and looked like the belonged. Afterward, what was once a historic looking part of campus, that was well shaded, was an open area that was out of place. They shouldve razed Beautel(sp?) or the all faiths Chapel.

If it were structurally sound then you could make the point to refurbish it, but that's part of the equation now.

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It's not the structure, but the 120 yard long strip of turfgrass it surrounds.

Sell pieces of the old structure to help finance the new one. Maybe use a few blocks of the old strucutre as decorative parts of the new one. For example, slices of the original concrete could be cut and polished and use as decorative tiles in new construction.

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GREAT post.

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Oldmain, is the Old Main Society no longer in existence? I recall the society and their efforts to save Puryear and Law Halls while i was in school. I loved that corridor with Puryear across the street from the YMCA building. Both buildings where from similar eras and looked like the belonged. Afterward, what was once a historic looking part of campus, that was well shaded, was an open area that was out of place. They shouldve razed Beautel(sp?) or the all faiths Chapel.

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neAGle96,

I started the Old Main Society in 1994 when I was in grad school. I graduated in 1995 and picked a new president for the organization. I think Old Main Society ceased as an organization in 1998 or 1999, not sure exactly when. I was disappointed that the organization died because I worked tirelessly to get it into Student Government where it would be most effective. Old Main Society was alongside organizations in Student Government like Muster Committee, Traditions Council, COSGA and The Big Event.

Campaigns we worked on while I was founder/president:

- Saving the original 1912 Cypress windows in the Academic Building

- Saving Law and Puryear

- Suggested Adaptive Reuse ideas for Downs and DeWare

- Proposed restoring Military Walk

- Promoted general awareness about the historic buildings on campus

We had posters for each of the initiatives above. The posters we produced were very popular and quite a few of them ended up being framed and hanging in Aggies' houses. For Law and Puryear I made an appeal at a Board of Regents meeting. Across campus we were quite well known although all of the buildings were torn down. Eventually Military Walk was restored, but I'm not sure Old Main Society can claim any credit for that.

One of the things I enjoyed most was meeting in a different historic building each week. We never met in the same building twice. We would start each meeting off with a short history of the building we were in.









[This message has been edited by Old Main (edited 11/4/2011 12:42p).]

Do it like Olsen. Double the width of the concourses, replace the bathrooms and concessions, and maybe even add a facade. Personally, facades do nothing for me.

I'd replace all of the benches on the west side with actual seats.

I don't see the point into sinking money into the east side. At the end of the day that's still student seating and won't generate more money.

I'd immediately add a permanent large deck of seating with concourse, restrooms, and concession to the south endzone. It has been posted on here repeatedly that we have a long waitlist for suites, and that's where the real $$$ comes from. Put two rows on suites above the new deck in the south endzone.

If we really have a big demand for suites and don't build them ASAP, then we are being outright foolish.

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Campaigns we worked on while I was founder/president:

- Saving the original 1912 Cypress windows in the Academic Building

- Saving Law and Puryear

- Suggested Adaptive Reuse ideas for Downs and DeWare

- Proposed restoring Military Walk

- Promoted general awareness about the historic buildings on campus

We had posters for each of the initiatives above. For Law and Puryear I made an appeal at a Board of Regents meeting. Across campus we were quite well known although all of the buildings were torn down. Eventually Military Walk was restored, but I'm not sure Old Main Society can claim any credit for that.

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I have one of those posters framed and mounted in my "man cave."

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I started the Old Main Society in 1994 when I was in grad school.

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That is awesome Old Main... Isn't there still plans for Military Walk? I know they've been talking about it for years, but not sure when they'll do anything with it.

I am with you 100% and the new/modern crap they're building along University is just that, crap.

Actually Military Walk has been completely restored. You can walk in a straight line from Sbisa to Rudder (where Guion Hall used to be). They did a really good job. I sort of wish they had included the palm trees they used to have along Military Walk, but other than that it is awesome.

http://tamunews.tamu.edu/2010/09/13/military-walk-a-texas-am-tradition/

I just found this old photo on a Google image search. I've never seen it before.







[This message has been edited by Old Main (edited 11/4/2011 1:26p).]

Sweet, I will have to check it out.

as for Kyle - I would bet the East and West stands become 2 tier like the zone, or 2 1/2 if you include the suites...could also see a Horseshoe w/ 2nd decks east and west built in place of the existing.

I vote for tearing down the '27 part since it can't be saved and selling the hunks of concrete as memorabilia! but I'd definitely incorporate the old arches and even the old font that reads "Kyle Field" into the new design. An Architect could hit a home run on this one, we will see though.

ttt?

I enjoyed the history and architecture in this thread. It should be printed and taped to the wall in the new Kyle Field.

Heck as long as the band still forms at the North End of Kyle Field and is Nationally Famos I think we are doing pretty well.

Holy Shiit!

Is that a meteorite crossing the field and blowing up? Wow if true.



THE BEST College Football Power Rankings..www.DanTanna.com

Why has the south end zone always been open?

I am nostalgic about old Kyle, but - the west 1st deck will see it's 87th football season this year. It's time for a change to something much more modern and more in tune with the 21st century.

There was discussion of moving the playing field 18 feet to the south and lowering the field by 7-8 feet. Lowering the field will create an additional 6-7 rows in the lower deck. Is moving and lowering the field still being discussed and will it have significant impact on sightlines from the top level of The Zone?

I would assume keeping the south end open was to accommodate track and field and still have the majority of the seating close to the football field.

Moving the field south addresses the sight line issues from the top of the Zone.

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i'm a structural engineer and i have inspected the old rakers and bents. it's garbage.

keep it at your own risk.

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I'm with rowdy on this one. I've inspected the structure as well and it needs to go...it's falling apart. In addition, it doesn't comply with the current IBC and it's got to be brought up to code once you touch the area.

[This message has been edited by ArchAg01 (edited 2/16/2013 10:41a).]

It's made of straw and must go.

Great thread.

One campus that has done a great job of maintaining it's architectural tradition is University of Oklahoma. I went there for two years 2003-2005, and several new buildings have popped up since then. It's hard for me to remember which are new and which are existing.

It can be done.

As a 3rd(4th?)generation Ag I really enjoy going back to games and sitting in the same stands that my Dad and other family members sat in eons ago. However, if the stands are no longer safe, then they must go. No ifs, ands or buts. Now If they are in good shape, then they need to be preserved and incorporated into the new structure.

Rebuild the entire stadium -