OK, Completely obsessed with geodesic domes.

I took a long lunch and drove out to find the abandoned KC Southern traincar repair (map, background) off Scenic Highway in Alsen, north of Baton Rouge. It is the ninth largest geodesic dome in the world, and when erected in 1958, was the world's largest industrial used of the architecture, 125 feet high and 384 feet wide. It's all fenced off, which limits how much of it you can see, and I wasn't quite up to meeting the guard and/or dog, should there be one.

Here is the fifties postcard view from the front gate.

I drove around the back side to attempt a closer view.

Zoom shot from the field behind the dome.

At the back fence, I was close, but there were too many trees and vines to be able to get a good shot, and I was thinking "Man, I wish there was some way to get up high and take a good shot of this thing." and I turned and saw this ladder going to a rickety treehouse. I climbed most of the way up and realized I wasn't going to see anything because of the trees, and figured this might be a set-up for grand ironic hilarity if I got up there and the ladder fell away, so I left my afternoon daredevil level set at "trespassing."

Here is the whole flickr slideshow.