Mystery Tower

[gindie]

I have attached a Google Street view of a structure that is located NE of Downtown Dallas. We saw it when driving down I-35E. An overhead view shows it to be on its own piece of ground (not in the parking lot in the picture), with an easment drive to it (but no signage at the end of the drive). It is near a place called Gas Monkey Garage, which I understand to be a restaurant.

I'm more interested in knowing its purpose, rather than who owns it.

Any help/guesses out there?

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gindie I have attached a Google Street view of a structure that is located NE of Downtown Dallas. We saw it when driving down I-35E. An overhead view shows it to be on its own piece of ground (not in the parking lot in the picture), with an easment drive to it (but no signage at the end of the drive). It is near a place called Gas Monkey Garage, which I understand to be a restaurant. I'm more interested in knowing its purpose, rather than who owns it. Any help/guesses out there?

Looks like a Nike site. Many of these are kept for historical reasons, but are not operational. The one in Lake County, Illinois is a park!

[JoeWras]

Here's a google view from Nike Parkway, Vernon Hills, IL. Look similar? This is from the baseball field parking lot.

[braumeister]

Looks to me like an early stage in the construction of a water tower.

[Big_Hitter]

gas monkey garage is NOT a restaurant - it's a high end car shop


https://gasmonkeygarage.com/

[braumeister]

Amusement park ride.

https://gojump.com

[JoeWras]

The ride tower is a little farther south. I like mysteries like this. I did more digging.

Looks like it is a VORTAC site. This is to assist navigation for air traffic. The site in Vernon Hills, I mentioned, is also a VORTAC. They built it on spare land after the Nike missile site was decommissioned.

More info about the Dallas site here.

[foxfirev5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter gas monkey garage is NOT a restaurant - it's a high end car shop https://gasmonkeygarage.com/

I don't know what this has to do with this thread. But they're not in Key West anymore. No restaurant.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Looks like it is a VORTAC site.

Exactly. I'm embarrassed that I missed that.

[gromit]

A parking spot for the Mothership.

[Alectoris]

Like JoeWras I kind of like exploring things like this.

I was playing around on Google maps with areas I have been in and came across this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.2849.../data=!3m1!1e3

I was looking at the strange and symmetric structures to the east of the crops and just south of the sand dunes. What in the world was something like this doing out in the middle of nowhere Orygun

[brucethebroker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gromit A parking spot for the Mothership.

If Richard Dreyfus starts modeling one using mashed potatoes, we are in BIG trouble!

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Here's a google view from Nike Parkway, Vernon Hills, IL. Look similar? This is from the baseball field parking lot.

Interesting! I drive nearby on Milwaukee Avenue pretty regularly, I'll check it out next time.


-ERD50

[skipro33]

Each VOR navigation aid is named after a local professional sports team. The one OP posted is named Rangers.


http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/W...eyville_TX_USA

[Sunset]

Amazing and so serendipitous the things one learns on this site.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alectoris Like JoeWras I kind of like exploring things like this. I was playing around on Google maps with areas I have been in and came across this: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.2849.../data=!3m1!1e3 I was looking at the strange and symmetric structures to the east of the crops and just south of the sand dunes. What in the world was something like this doing out in the middle of nowhere Orygun

An old Air Force radar installation, long since closed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ..._Force_Station

[JoeWras]

We need to start our own "What on Earth?" thread. I enjoy the TV show, but they streetttcchh things out way too much with fake guesses from experts first. Still kind of fun.

[dixonge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipro33 Each VOR navigation aid is named after a local professional sports team. The one OP posted is named Rangers. RANGER VORTAC - Colleyville, TX, USA - Ground Based Air Navigation Support Structures on Waymarking.com

Actually the one in the OP is Cowboy VOR - off Merrell Rd in north Dallas. The one you posted is in Colleyville, one county west.


Here's a google map of Cowboy VOR


https://www.google.com/maps/place/Co...!4d-96.9039374

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter gas monkey garage is NOT a restaurant - it's a high end car shop https://gasmonkeygarage.com/

But it also IS a restaurant....


https://www.gasmonkeybarngrill.com/

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipro33 Each VOR navigation aid is named after a local professional sports team. The one OP posted is named Rangers ...

Well, actually not. I would say that a few are, and there is some room for creativity in names. For example, the VOR near from Milwaukee(MKE) is "Badger." But most are fairly uncreative; "Las Vegas" is the VOR on the field at Las Vegas, for example. "Churchill" is the VOR near Churchill, Manitoba on Hudson Bay. When VORs are out in the weeds, like "Peotone" they often seem to be named after a nearby town.