Day Trip July 2005: Waxahachie, Texas
Route from Plano:
I-35 south past Waxahachie to Italy, then back up I-35 to Waxahachie, and back north to Plano
I had read about a new roadside attraction near Italy, just south of Waxahachie on I-35, and wanted to check it out. Starship Pegasus is a small restaurant that is the first phase of a grand plan to create a space exploration education center. The building looks like a spaceship, complete with aliens waving at travelers on the highway. They serve sandwiches and pizza, and have an arcade, an X-Box room, and a small miniature golf course. They also have a 14" mobile telescope and sponsor stargazing parties. See the Starship Pegasus website for more info.
The building is a concrete dome built by their neighbors in Italy, the folks with the giant concrete caterpillar. They build the domes by inflating a large balloon and spraying concrete on it.
We went back up the road to Waxahachie and parked on the square. The Ellis County Museum is a great place to stop for information, and the downtown area has lots of beautiful old buildings, especially the Ellis County Courthouse, a great Richardsonian Romanesque building that has been voted the best courthouse in Texas.
We went on part of one of the driving tours of the town (maps available in the museum) and saw some amazing huge old victorian homes, most of which have been beautifully restored. The old Santa Fe rail depot and the MKT (Katy) depot are on the south side of downtown on either side of the railroad tracks. They both need some restoration work, but have some great details.
I enjoyed seeing the old restored1902 Chautauqua Auditorium. The building itself is not incredibly interesting to look at, but the history behind it is. The Chataquas were a group out of New York who traveled around and presented musical programs, lectures, and other entertainment. This is one of the few Chataqua sites still around.
We headed back to Dallas in time to beat rush hour. We decided that we really need to go back another day and spend more time in Waxahachie because there is so much to see.
Return to Travelog
I had read about a new roadside attraction near Italy, just south of Waxahachie on I-35, and wanted to check it out. Starship Pegasus is a small restaurant that is the first phase of a grand plan to create a space exploration education center. The building looks like a spaceship, complete with aliens waving at travelers on the highway. They serve sandwiches and pizza, and have an arcade, an X-Box room, and a small miniature golf course. They also have a 14" mobile telescope and sponsor stargazing parties. See the Starship Pegasus website for more info. 
