Хьюстонның бұрынғы «Астроворлд» аттракциондар паркі

Defunct theme park in Houston, Texas, U. S.

Six Flags AstroWorld, also known simply as AstroWorld, was a seasonally operated amusement park in Houston, Texas. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was situated between Kirby Drive and Fannin Street, directly south of I 610. The park opened on June 1, 1968, and was developed originally and constructed as part of the Astrodomain, the brainchild of local philanthropist and former Houston mayor Roy Hofheinz, who intended it to complement the Astrodome. Hofheinz had acquired the circus in December 1967), and four hotels with a capacity of 5,600 guests to serve visitors: the Astroworld Motor Hotel (with a private suite for Hofheinz on the ninth floor), Holiday Inn Astroworld, Howard Johnson Motor Lodge Astroworld, and Sheraton Inn Astroworld. In 1967, Hofheinz initially denied that preliminary work for an amusement park had been underway, but later announced on September 16 that approximately half of the remaining land, , was being developed for a park to be named "Astroworld". Hofheinz showed an architectural model of the park and announced that Randall Duell and Associates had designed it; Duell, a Hollywood set designer and architect, had previously designed Six Flags Over Texas. An initial $25 million investment paid for extensive landscaping and a long pedestrian viaduct spanning the I 610 freeway, the first privately owned, publicly accessible span over a federal highway. Lloyd, Morgan & Jones designed the bridge. Additional design work for the park was performed by I. A. Naman & Associates (air conditioning); Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (electrical); Walter P Moore (structural); Turner, Collie & Braden (civil engineering); and Linesch & Reynolds (landscape architects). Henderson's model of AstroWorld, measuring , was built as a publicity preview of the park in 1967. Architecture students at Rice University and the University of Houston sculpted many of the buildings. then moved to Hofheinz's Astrodome suite once the park opened; In 2011, it was sold to I. A. Naman and Associates, the same firm that had designed the park's outdoor air conditioning; they donated the model to the Houston Public Library. referring to the Duell loop that routes visitors through each part of the park. Two of the park's sixteen attractions were not operational on opening day. Marvel McFey, the park's official mascot (branded the "Ambassador of Happiness"), was introduced in 1972. He was accompanied by a menagerie of "animal gypsies": Winston Wolf (the sheriff of AstroWorld); Pigs One, Two, and Three (mischievous tricksters named Quiz, Chiquito, and Harpo); Percy Penguin; Pierre Le Rat (the resident artist); Flopper Rabbit (a country bumpkin); Beethoven Bear (a checkers champion); Samantha Skunk ("a bright purple and pink flower child"); Frieda Frog (McFey's secretary); and Lester Lion (a frustrated baseball player). In addition to their in park greeting and show duties, Marvel and his caravan of Enchanted Animals represented AstroWorld at many civic functions. In 1970, just two years after the opening of Astroworld, Hofheinz survived a stroke that left him in a wheelchair. Those creditors assumed control of the Astrodomain in 1974. The following year, Six Flags AstroWorld introduced a new, high speed roller coaster, the Texas Cyclone. That same year, Robert Cartmell named the Texas Cyclone the best roller coaster in the world. The formal purchase of AstroWorld by Six Flags concluded in 1978. AstroWorld's parent corporation, Six Flags, had acquired the license to use the Looney Tunes characters in 1984 for its theme parks from Marriott along with the Great America in Gurnee theme park; Marriott had held the license since 1976 for its twin Great America parks. Six Flags continued to change ownership, being purchased by Bally Manufacturing in 1982, then by a private equity firm, Wesray Corporation, in 1987. Time Warner acquired a minority stake in 1990 and owned the company outright by September 1993. In the early 1990s, the Six Flags parks gained access to DC Comics characters through its corporate owner, Time Warner; Batman: The Escape was installed at AstroWorld for the 1993 season. In February 1998, Premier Parks, led by CEO Kieran Burke, acquired Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. In 1984, Premier, originally Tierco, a property management group, hired Gary Story to rehabilitate one of its properties, an older park named Frontier City in Oklahoma City; Story's successful turnaround of that park started the company's theme park acquisition program.

The Six Flags acquisition was part of an ambitious Premier Parks purchasing program, which bought 31 amusement parks in four years, including the 12 Six Flags parks. Burke received a $2 million bonus for completing the Six Flags acquisition. However, Six Flags failed to turn a profit for five straight years after the 1998 acquisition, announcing a $122 million loss for the first half of 2003; capital expenditures began to be scaled back because of its debt load. In August 2005, Six Flags announced it was selling its chain of parks. One month later, on September 12, Burke announced AstroWorld would be closed and demolished at the end of the 2005 season. The company cited issues such as declining attendance, rising property value, and conflicts involving off site parking at Reliant Stadium, which houses the Houston Texans football team and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR). In 1997, the combined attendance of AstroWorld and Water World was 2.27 million visitors; AstroWorld alone was ranked as the 28th most attended theme park in the United States with 1.99 million guests. AstroWorld attendance ranked 35th overall among all theme parks in 2000, 37th overall in 2002, 36th overall in 2003, and 39th overall in 2004, which was eighth among all Six Flags parks in 2004. Burke later explained in 2014 the decision was based on "[AstroWorld's] condition and location and the costs to modernize  we had big offers pouring in for the land at the time and it just made more sense to close it." The final date of park operation was October 30, 2005. Company executives expected to sell the land for as much as $150 million, but ultimately received less than half that amount. After spending $20 million to demolish the park and clear the land, Six Flags sold the cleared property for $77 million in 2006 to Angel/McIver Interests, a land development firm based in Conroe, Texas. By that time, Burke had been removed as CEO. In 2009, the former Astroworld site was still vacant. The land tract was reported as taking up The land owners hired real estate consultants, Croswell Torian Commercial Properties, to subdivide and market the property to other developers under the "SouthPoint" brand, though no development had yet occurred. The original tract purchased by Hofheinz was reduced by : were acquired by Harris County Metro and another piece of the tract on the northwest corner sold to a car dealership. Though the site includes a great field of grass, the land is stabilized and partly paved with asphalt, so it can be used for parking.

Name Image Opened Closed Manufacturer Type Location Notes Batman The Escape19932005IntaminStand up roller coasterEuropean VillageThe Batman themed roller coaster was being stored at Six Flags Darien Lake in Darien, New York, as of 2016, Excalibur—19721998Arrow DevelopmentMine train roller coasterNottingham VillageFormerly known as Dexter Frebish's Electric Roller Ride, the roller coaster was stored at Frontier City in Oklahoma City, and was eventually scrapped. Greezed Lightnin'19782005SchwarzkopfShuttle LoopWestern JunctionThe roller coaster was relocated to Joyland Amusement Park in Lubbock, Texas, and remains in storage in nearby Mackenzie Park. Ownership was transferred to Cliff's Amusement Park in Albuquerque. Mayan Mindbender19952005VekomaCustom MK 700Oriental CornerThe roller coaster was relocated to Wonderland Park in Amarillo, Texas, as Hornet. Serial Thriller19992005VekomaSuspended Looping Coaster (689m)Nottingham VillageThe roller coaster was relocated to Montreal's La Ronde amusement park as Ednör – L'Attaque. Serpent19692005Arrow DevelopmentMini mine train roller coasterOriental CornerSerpent was the park's first roller coaster and the last junior mine train made by Arrow Development. It was demolished following the park's permanent closure. Swamp Buggy Ride1970c. 1972Chance RidesTobogganFun IslandThe ride carried guests "55 feet up above the center of a giant swamp tree and then slide dizzily down a spiraled track wrapped around a huge tree". Texas Cyclone19762005William CobbWooden roller coasterUSAModeled after the Coney Island Cyclone, the coaster was demolished, with trains relocated to Montreal's La Ronde amusement park. Texas Tornado19982002SchwarzkopfSit down roller coasterPlaza de FiestaThe roller coaster did not operate during 2001–2002, and was later relocated to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California, as Zonga. Ultra Twister19902005TOGOPipeline roller coasterEuropean VillageThe roller coaster was relocated to Six Flags America in Woodmore, Maryland, and eventually scrapped. Viper19892005SchwarzkopfLooping StarOriental CornerThe roller coaster operated as Jet Scream at Six Flags Over Mid America in Eureka, Missouri, from 1981 to 1988. XLR 819842005Arrow DynamicsSuspended roller coasterPlaza de FiestaThe roller coaster was demolished, with trains relocated to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita, California.

WaterWorld, Houston's first water park, opened in June 1983. Although it shared an entrance with AstroWorld, a separate $8.95 admission charge was required for entry; by comparison, the one day ticket price for AstroWorld at the time was $12.50. The 1.9 million gallon water park featured a 60.96 m wave pool called Breaker Beach. According to the Houston Chronicle, other attractions included the Lagoon, "a lush swimming area with waterfalls and diving platforms". "Squirt's Splash was strictly for the kids and parents with water pistols and mazes. Runaway River was an attraction that saw riders float through a series of pools and thrilling drops that eventually lead back to the Lagoon." Two rides were added to the park in 1999, including Big Kahuna. The venue hosted music festivals such as Joyfest, featuring Christian groups Jars of Clay and Point of Grace (1990s). Six Flags AstroWorld originated the "Fright Nights" special event for the Halloween season in 1986, designed to help drive attendance during the otherwise light fall season. Holiday in the Park was held around Christmas. The park had other seasonal attractions, like Alice Cooper's Brutal Planet. The singer also performed at AstroWorld. In 2018, former employees organized the AstroWorld 50th Anniversary Employee Reunion. Robert Altman directed Bud Cort as a reclusive inventor living in the Astrodome for the cult classic film Brewster McCloud, released in 1970, with scenes from AstroWorld including the Lost World Adventure riverboat ride. The model of AstroWorld built by Ed Henderson in 1967 was displayed publicly again at the Houston Public Library Central Library's Julia Ideson Building starting in 2011. In 2016, the library announced the model would be exhibited there permanently. In 2015, the bar Moving Sidewalk launched an AstroWorld themed cocktail menu. American rapper and singer Travis Scott, born and raised in Houston, called his third studio album Astroworld (2018) to commemorate his hometown. In an XXL interview, he said of the park's closure and demolition, "They took AstroWorld away from us in Houston." Scott announced a festival taking Astroworld's name for 2018. Scott mentioned one of the motivations of the festival was to "bring back the beloved spirit and nostalgia of AstroWorld, making a childhood dream of Travis' come true". In 2019, Craig Hlavaty of the Houston Chronicle called the Astroneedle a Houston landmark.