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The 561-foot-tall Reunion Tower is one of the recognizable landmarks in Dallas. Part of the Hyatt Regency Hotel complex, Reunion Tower is the 15th tallest building in Dallas and located about 1,000 feet from Dealey Plaza where President John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963. Known locally as “The Ball,” the tower was completed on Feb. 2, 1978.
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Fort Worth is often considered to be “where the West begins,” and the Fort Worth Stockyards was once the epicenter of the cattle industry. While still in active use for cattle sales, the historic stockyards attract thousands of tourists looking to climb atop a longhorn for a photo op, watch the twice-daily cattle drives or catch a glimpse of the unabated wild west. The Stockyards are home to a number of museums, including the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Stockyards Museum. And, of course, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.
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According to a marker, “Built during the Great Depression, the Roanoke Water Tower was the town’s primary water source. Hugh H. Jenkins, Roanoke’s first Mayor, advocated for the well and water system to help the newly-incorporated community grow. In 1934, he consolidated Roanoke’s water system under the city and applied for public works administration funding, which was granted and used for the tower’s 1936 construction. Approximately 150 feet tall, the tower contains a 100,000 gallon capacity steel tank and stands on four steel legs. Though no longer in use, the tower was a vital part of Roanoke’s growth and remains a local landmark.”
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There are no launch pads at Johnson Space Center, but the center is home to the space agency’s mission control and astronaut training facilities. It was here that people on the ground oversaw space missions, including the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. While the space center has a bit of a tourist trap feel to it, it’s not a bad destination for anyone interested in history or space travel. While here, be sure to check out the Saturn V rocket on display in Rocket Park. These massive rockets propelled Apollo astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Fla., into space on their way to the moon. In 2012, NASA also relocated Space Shuttle Explorer (now known as Space Shuttle Independence), a shuttle replica, to the space center.
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The Bird Cage Theatre was a theater, saloon, gambling parlor and brothel. It operated from 1881 to 1889. Of the theatre, someone once called it “the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast.” Stepping into this said-to-be-haunted theater is like stepping into a time machine. When the establishment close in 1889, its doors were sealed until 1934. The old theater remains riddled with bullet holes. One of the more interesting artifacts is a poker table that hosted a game that allegedly lasted for more than eight years, five months and three days. Doc Holliday (the legendary dentist) and Adolphus Busch (who created some beer or something) were among the famous people who participated in the game.
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The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is arguably the most famous shootout in American history. The 30-second firefight took place at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 1881, near the O.K. Corral. But since the name Gunfight at the O.K. Corral sounds better than Gunfight at the narrow lot near C. S. Fly’s Photographic Studio on Fremont Street, the name stuck. The O.K. Corral was a livery and horse corral that operated from 1879 until about 1888. The name slip doesn’t stop hordes of tourists from converging on the OK Corral for reenactments that may or may not use a few lines from the famous film sharing a name with the town.
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Tombstone’s Historama offers a historically accurate multimedia account of the history of Tombstone. It features the town’s story from the days of Geronimo’s Apaches to the more recent times and, of course, includes information about the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The 25-minute show, narrated by actor Vincent Price, also highlights the fires that devastated the community and the flooding that ultimately spelled the end for Tombstone’s mines, making it a helpful overview for anyone looking for more about the backstory of the “Town Too Tough to Die.” Admission to Tombstone’s Historama in included with a ticket to the O.K. Corral.
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Old Tucson is half movie studio and half theme park that features live entertainment, including action stunt shows and musicals. Columbia Pictures built the studio on land Pima County owned, in 1938 to serve as a replica of 1860s Tucson for the movie Arizona. Over the years, dozens of producers have turned to Old Tucson to film at the studio, including 1993’s Tombstone. Today, guests can walk the studio’s streets, ride on a miniature train, watch shows and see how stuntmen film gunfights for movies. Old Tucson is near the western portion of Saguaro National Park.
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When the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was first envisioned in the 1930s, the only way to reach the summit of San Jacinto Peak from the floor of the Coachella Valley was on foot. That didn’t deter Francis F. Crocker. While the link was first proposed in the midst of the Great Depression, work on the project was slowed by both World War II and the Korean War, though planning work continued through the 1950s. The project saw new life in the 1960s, and the tramway opened in September 1963.
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