![]() There are three elevators and a set of stairs that were included in the project. There were several instances where visitors were stuck because the elevators did not work due to debris in the elevator cables or power failures. The everyday operation of the tower was not without its issues. The winner was selected by the earliest postmark and received an all-expense paid round trip to San Antonio. Out of thousands of entries, the Tower of the Americas was submitted the most times. The public was even engaged in helping to name the tower. Newspapers all over the state encouraged visitors to drive to San Antonio to see the tower in person. Over six million people visited the tower in the six months of operation during the HemisFair. It is the second-tallest observation tower in the United States. It is still the tallest building in the city. The tower was soon an iconic symbol of the City of San Antonio. Construction of the tophouse of the Tower of the Americas, 1967 In total, there were 4000 cubic yards of concrete reported to be used in the tower project. The roundhouse or top house is 76 feet tall and rotates about the 45-foot diameter shaft. The roundhouse was left tilted until the building was leveled. Three rods of the twenty-four support rods broke, and the building had to be held in place by a crane. There was an investigation into why the rods failed, and nothing could be found in this research that showed the results. One of the problems faced during construction was the raising of the rotating building in October of 1967. Jack Trawick of the HemisFair ’68 staff gave talks about the construction to other civil engineers, such as the ASCE Austin branch, in February 1967. The City officials also stated since the construction was so unique, equipment and tool had to be modified for the construction, and this also took some time. Progress was carefully tracked, but due to labor strikes, bad weather, and construction issues, the construction was lagging in late 1967. Some of these workers were recruited after working on the Pecos River High bridge since the workers were used to working at heights. The workforce was made up of over three thousand men from all parts of Texas. A slip form would move 3 to 20 inches an hour, depending on the construction, to hold the concrete in place long enough to harden. The night shift worked on the stairs to the tower. ![]() The second shift also had men placing steel to get ahead of the slip form. The first shift had men working to put in place the steel and pour the concrete. Construction workers worked around the clock during three shifts: 7 am to 3 pm, 3:30 pm to 11 pm, and 11 pm to 7 am. ![]() The construction of the tower had its challenges, including taking eighteen months to build.
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