Bruco, the Texas Italian Caterpillar Concrete Dome

October 10, 2006 1:08 PM

Giant Concrete Caterpillar. Driving on I35 south out of Dallas to Austin, you pass through Italy, Texas, and on the side of the road is Bruco, the Texas Italian Caterpillar, and the home of the Monolithic Dome Institute, makers of fine homes, restaurants, and churches. These domes are green and disaster resistant. (See previous thread). They also can be visually interesting. These domes are concrete as opposed to R. Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic domes, such as Epcot Center or the incredibly interesting Eden Project.
posted by dios (18 comments total)

See also:
Trinity Dome where a guy blogs his personal construction of a dome home.
Sedona Dome, which is a website for a geodesic dome built on the DIY network.

My second favorite I35 sight is the Snake Farm, which isn't a dome, but really ought to be.
posted by dios at 1:12 PM on October 10, 2006

Well, the post was more about domes. I just threw that Snake Farm link in there because it occurred to me. Carl's Corner has been renovated, if I recall. And I'm not interested in the Candle Factory, though the River is nice. I also always like kolaches in West, but that really isn't a sight.
posted by dios at 1:38 PM on October 10, 2006

I've driven past that thing I don't know how many times and I've always wondered what the hell the story behind it was.

Driving on 35 between austin and dallas you'll also pass Starship Pegasus, another domed oddity.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 1:47 PM on October 10, 2006

Oops, didn't realize you already linked to that in the Restaurants link.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 1:51 PM on October 10, 2006

I've driven past that thing I don't know how many times and I've always wondered what the hell the story behind it was.

Me too. Which is why I finally had to look it up because I was sick of not knowing.
posted by dios at 2:00 PM on October 10, 2006

Yeah... Somehow I always forgot by the time I got to Austin (or dallas).
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 2:22 PM on October 10, 2006

So that's the story behind this. I usually forget to look the caterpillar up when I get back home.
posted by birdherder at 2:30 PM on October 10, 2006

That Radio Muzyka Fakty studio - I swear I've seen it before, on the cover of a 1934 Popular Science.
posted by jfuller at 2:33 PM on October 10, 2006

Dios, thank you for satisfying my intense curiosity. I can't tell you how many times I've passed that, and wondered what it was.
posted by rush at 3:17 PM on October 10, 2006

Czech (sp?) bakery all the way...
posted by Jeremy at 3:33 PM on October 10, 2006

What, no other fans of the porno shack just south of Hillsboro?
posted by Ufez Jones at 3:57 PM on October 10, 2006

Catalytic Software, founded by ex-Microsoft employees, has established an all-dome company campus / community in India: New Oroville.
posted by unmake at 4:05 PM on October 10, 2006

Great post.
posted by glycolized at 6:29 PM on October 10, 2006

Yes, great post. Thanks for compiling all this!
posted by dog food sugar at 7:01 PM on October 10, 2006

Made out of concrete and foam and described as possible the greenest buildings?

ABSOLUTE RUBBISH BOLLOCKS CRAP
posted by wilful at 10:05 PM on October 10, 2006

A trip to/from Austin is never complete without a stop at the Czech Stop.

I've always wanted to check out that roadside museum of the strange, too. Can't remember the name of it right now, for the life of me, though.
posted by kaseijin at 5:54 AM on October 11, 2006

Texas concrete/cement manufacture is NOT GREEN:

TXI is seeking to modify its hazardous and industrial emission permit with the state so it can burn tires as fuel in its cement kiln south of town.....
TXI would not be the only cement kiln in the area to burn tires as fuel. Ash Grove Cement burns tires as a fuel source in its kiln but does not use hazardous waste as a fuel.

posted by ernie at 7:13 AM on October 11, 2006

kaseijin said: I've always wanted to check out that roadside museum of the strange, too. Can't remember the name of it right now, for the life of me, though.

It's not as weird as the admission price would lead you to believe. Of course, this was years back, so perhaps they've evolved into the slightly odd. But for the money...the star trek place is probably weirder.

I love roadside oddities. Whenever I'm going on trips, I always leave extra time in my schedule to stop at places. Or, if you're really not in a hurry, take the old state highways instead of the interstate. It's an astounding array of unplumbed fun. (Hell, with all the I35 construction, the old highways may be faster.)

Of course, Rick Perry sold most of those highways and right of ways to Mexico for the "super corridor", so a whole lot of old, weird, Texas is about to disappear.
posted by dejah420 at 9:15 PM on October 12, 2006