BASEBALL DID NOT FIT into the dome as simply as was first hoped. To translate this foreign ideal -- a cool major-league ballgame -- into the dome itself, a number of distinct adjustments were necessary. In Houston, these adjustments make for popular anecdotes, but what's most interesting about them is the way they illustrate a translation process (and an economy keyed to that process) that must occur for every idea brought to Houston.

After outfielders complained of losing fly balls in the glare of the skylights, some lucite panels were painted. But then the grass wouldn't grow. The solution? Another import -- a new plastic carpet soon dubbed Astroturf.

A baseball game in the Astrodome in its final seasons illustrated the results of ongoing experimentation. What essential qualities must the game retain and still be considered major league baseball? The outer edge of the infield was no longer delineated by a change of surface, but by a white line on the carpet. For the national anthem, a waving flag was displayed on a giant screen in the outfield -- though this screen was but a dim stand-in for the giant scoreboard that once dominated the outfield bleachers and carefully orchestrated fan responses to the game -- a way to ensure, perhaps, that indoor fans would act with the same vigor as their outdoor counterparts elsewhere.