AUSTIN | Fairmont Hotel | 595 FEET SPIRE/456 FT ROOF | 37 FLRS | Complete

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by H2O

What's a walkie-talkie? Is that like a cell phone?

A walkie- talkie is a two way radios that were transmitters and receivers, so they sometimes had long antennas for extra range. They were named that because you could walkie while you talkied, and they weren't tethered to a large bulky transmitter or receiver, completely portable, I believe they were invented to be used for field communication starting in WWII. I used them while a fire fighter in the 90's. Probably still in use today. Select a channel and push a button to talk, no dial up, but you probably knew that...
Kind of a childish name for it, as I heard a comic once said, "General Patton, here is your walkie talkie, and your gunnie shooty, and some foodie eaty".

[gabetx]

Originally Posted by the Genral

A walkie- talkie is a two way radios that were transmitters and receivers, so they sometimes had long antennas for extra range. They were named that because you could walkie while you talkied, and they weren't tethered to a large bulky transmitter or receiver, completely portable, I believe they were invented to be used for field communication starting in WWII. I used them while a fire fighter in the 90's. Probably still in use today. Select a channel and push a button to talk, no dial up, but you probably knew that...
Kind of a childish name for it, as I heard a comic once said, "General Patton, here is your walkie talkie, and your gunnie shooty, and some foodie eaty".

Hmm who do you think the Fairmont is communicating with? Also how far would its range be?

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by gabetx

Hey lets be positive here... At least we will have THE walkie-talkie tower of Texas! It is the signature tower that we were never hoping for.

lolll..careful, reaching that far might result in your arm falling off

[KevinFromTexas]

I took some pics on the way home from our vet in Hyde Park, but it looks like there's another spire piece on the roof next to the spire.

[theOGalexd]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I took some pics on the way home from our vet in Hyde Park, but it looks like there's another spire piece on the roof next to the spire.

yup. saw that last night too when i was driving in on 35.

[We vs us]

I found an older rendering of the Fairmont on Google. I had NO IDEA there were originally two towers.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by We vs us

I found an older rendering of the Fairmont on Google. I had NO IDEA there were originally two towers.

That must be the view from the north.

[KevinFromTexas]

That lightning bolt across the top is sweet! And the chrome. Very art-deco.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

That lightning bolt across the top is sweet! And the chrome. Very art-deco.

Yeah! So sad they opted for flat glass instead of that metal cage like facade. Would have added so much to the verticality!

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Yeah! So sad they opted for flat glass instead of that metal cage like facade. Would have added so much to the verticality!

Also, in this early render they got the name of the hotel flat wrong.

C'mon Gensler, ARCHER is up in the Domain, yo.

[ahealy]

y'all are SHADY

Also, I think 5 people have asked: Is the spire complete or no??

[drummer]

ahealy is being ignored....

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by drummer

ahealy is being ignored....

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by ahealy

y'all are SHADY

Also, I think 5 people have asked: Is the spire complete or no??

Originally Posted by ahealy

I don't think the spire is done. There's a skinny piece of what looks like a spire section standing upright on the roof next to the spire.

Also, the strange look of the spire now with those tiers seems to resemble what the spire atop the One World Trade Center does. The spire on that one was supposed to have a skin that went over the spire, but for whatever reason they decided not to include it. So the finished product is just the spire skeleton, and it resembles the spire on the Fairmont with those tiers. So we may still get some kind of skin over it that hides those tiers, plus hopefully some interesting lighting.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I don't think the spire is done. There's skinny piece of what looks like the spire standing upright on the roof next to the spire.

Also, the strange look of the spire now with those tiers seems to resemble what the spire atop the One World Trade Center does. The spire on that one was supposed to have a skin that went over the spire, but for whatever reason they decided not to include it. So the finished product is just the spire skeleton, and it resembles the spire on the Fairmont with those tiers. So we may still get some kind of skin over it that hides those tiers, plus hopefully some interesting lighting.

That's exactly what it reminded me of! I really hope it gets a cool skin with LEDs built in.

Thanks for answering my burning question, Kev

[drummer]

I never knew One World Trade Center had a different spire plan originally. I thought that was intentional.... That looks good on that building, I think, but so far I'm not a fan of it on the Fairmont. We'll see what happens in the end.

[KevinFromTexas]

Yeah, if you look at the original renderings they showed the spire looking sort of a rolled joint. lol

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=123628

Instead of that this is what it looks like:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...on#post6425736

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Yeah, if you look at the original renderings they showed the spire looking sort of a rolled joint. lol

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=123628

Instead of that this is what it looks like:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...on#post6425736

IIRC the spire that we see now in the WTC is really just the inner structure of what would have been the final design, but the fiberglass cladding for the spire would have been too expensive so they just didn't put it on.

[We vs us]

I agree. Just drove by on my way in this AM and it just looks unfinished. Needs another segment, at least.

[Geckos_Rule]

Looks like theyre doing work on the Skybridge starting today. I saw molds for concrete pours, as well as notice that Red River St. Would be closed at night this week.