Tower of the Americas

Built - or rather, erected - during HemisFair in 1968, the festively phallic O’Neil Ford-designed structure remained the tallest observation in the U.S. until 1996, when the pinche Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower got built. It’s still the tallest building in SA (750 feet), and the 10th tallest in TX (sigh). The restaurant at the top is now part of the Chart House chain (all about the views, and the kind of food you associate with an expensive evening meant to impress). Drinks and appetizers at sunset are wonderful (prime-rib sliders, and $4 well drinks!). But that adult bit at the near-top is sandwiched between kid-pleasing amenities, including a “4-D” ride through Tejas history, complete with bull snot and Smell-o-Vision (or so we’ve been told), and, of course, that 360-degree view from La Cantera to the future A&M campus.