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

[The ATX]

The crane is coming down.

[KevinFromTexas]

Yep. I'm still wondering how they'll finish the spire. Surely they aren't going to hoist the pieces into place using the spire itself. I guess they could, but that would be hairy. It still seems like a helicopter is most likely what they'll use.

[austlar1]

Maybe they'll shoot a beam or light out of that stove pipe of a spire, some kind of light show. Ditto for that blank wall on Cesar Chavez. People really need to make a fuss about that wall. It cries out for something visually interesting. Check out the light show in LA for the new Wilshire Grand, currently the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYTsvGblyt0

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Maybe they'll shoot a beam or light out of that stove pipe of a spire, some kind of light show. Ditto for that blank wall on Cesar Chavez. People really need to make a fuss about that wall. It cries out for something visually interesting. Check out the light show in LA for the new Wilshire Grand, currently the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYTsvGblyt0

I really like the Wilshire Grand, and followed its construction in the L.A. forum. But it's the tallest by way of a ridiculous spire like the Fairmont.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by The ATX

I really like the Wilshire Grand, and followed its construction in the L.A. forum. But it's the tallest by way of a ridiculous spire like the Fairmont.

Well,the Wilshire Grand spire is fairly well placed and looks more integrated into the building than the pipe sticking up from the Austin Fairmont. The street to roof height is in the vicinity of 920 feet. I think the US Bank building in LA is probably the true tallest, but Wilshire Grand is a monster building. The Salesforce tower in SF is also claiming bragging rights for tallest west of the Mississippi, although they have a empty cap or shell going on top of their structure to give it some extra height. The heights don't concern me particularly. I am more interested in the way the buildings look. I do like the Chinese style light show at the Wilshire Grand. I wonder whether it will happen all night, every night? The Fairmont could overcome a lot of criticism and attract business too by shelling out some dough for sexy lighting at the top and on that ugly blank wall. Here's a link to some night time pics of the Wilshire Grand.


https://www.google.com/search?q=wils...K5wQ-F9NTgRqM:

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Well,the Wilshire Grand spire is fairly well placed and looks more integrated into the building than the pipe sticking up from the Austin Fairmont. The street to roof height is in the vicinity of 920 feet. I think the US Bank building in LA is probably the true tallest, but Wilshire Grand is a monster building. The Salesforce tower in SF is also claiming bragging rights for tallest west of the Mississippi, although they have a empty cap or shell going on top of their structure to give it some extra height. The heights don't concern me particularly. I am more interested in the way the buildings look. I do like the Chinese style light show at the Wilshire Grand. I wonder whether it will happen all night, every night? The Fairmont could overcome a lot of criticism and attract business too by shelling out some dough for sexy lighting at the top and on that ugly blank wall. Here's a link to some night time pics of the Wilshire Grand.


https://www.google.com/search?q=wils...K5wQ-F9NTgRqM:

The problem is, no one lives in downtown LA. People live in downtown Austin, and will almost definitley complain like crazy if there are lights going off every night remotely close to what's happening in downtown LA. Shoot, my Rainey st. neighbors raise hell every time a bar has a concert, much less a permanent fixture....

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

The problem is, no one lives in downtown LA. People live in downtown Austin, and will almost definitley complain like crazy if there are lights going off every night remotely close to what's happening in downtown LA. Shoot, my Rainey st. neighbors raise hell every time a bar has a concert, much less a permanent fixture....

I get your point, but you are very wrong about nobody living in downtown LA. Current estimates are close to 60,000 living downtown. There has been a massive construction boom there in the past decade. https://www.downtownla.com/do-biz/dt...dential-growth

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

The problem is, no one lives in downtown LA. People live in downtown Austin, and will almost definitley complain like crazy if there are lights going off every night remotely close to what's happening in downtown LA. Shoot, my Rainey st. neighbors raise hell every time a bar has a concert, much less a permanent fixture....

This is part and parcel of living downtown. If you're (not you, specifically) are complaining about lights and noise, you're living in the wrong place.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

This is part and parcel of living downtown. If you're (not you, specifically) are complaining about lights and noise, you're living in the wrong place.

Oh no I agree, If the Fairmont has lights, my apartment faces them directly. But light and noise comes with the territory of living downtown.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

Oh no I agree, If the Fairmont has lights, my apartment faces them directly. But light and noise comes with the territory of living downtown.

Oh I know you agree. You probably wouldn't be on this forum as an active participant if you didn't.

[KevinFromTexas]

The spire is partially lit tonight. It's a white floodlight shining onto it. It's pretty bright. I could see it from South Lamar around Oltorf.

[gabetx]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

The spire is partially lit tonight. It's a white floodlight shining onto it. It's pretty bright. I could see it from South Lamar around Oltorf.

Yup was lit last night too. Ill try and snap a pic tonight.
I hope this doesn't mean that is the final product.

[The ATX]

We'll know it's done when we see a red light on top. I don't think it's going to get any better. But it would be nice if it was lit with color changing LED lighting up the entire length.

[Geckos_Rule]

Sorry for the crappy pics, but it's the best my iphone can do out in the rain. Either way, this looks better than nothing.

[The ATX]

It'll look OK at night since it's well lit even if white is the only color. But it will always look sad during the day.

[corvairkeith]

Here are some crappy cell phone pics of the lit spire from East 5th Street tonight.

[The ATX]

You out crapped the Gecko with those. I kid, I kid,

[KevinFromTexas]

This thing looks like a giant walkie-talkie. Those tiered sections really emphasized it. It really would be great if it could change colors. I'm usually cautious about going nuts with lots of color changing LEDs, but it would look striking and totally different from anything else on the skyline. I'm also really hoping that they light the mechanical screen on the roof. Right now with just the spire lit it looks strangely dark up there, but if the mechanical screen was lit it would elegant and would be one of the best lighting jobs so far.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by The ATX

You out crapped the Gecko with those. I kid, I kid,

Now, now...let's not turn this into a "who has the crappiest pictures" contest.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by drummer

Now, now...let's not turn this into a "who has the crappiest pictures" contest.

I just drove by the Fairmont around 11:00PM. At least those guys took pictures. I didn't stop because it was drizzling, and I didn't want to get damp.