Dallas Phallus/ Ball/ Golf Ball/ Microphone/ Dandelion/ Circle Tower (Reunion Tower nickname)

The Reunion Tower (built in 1978) in Dallas is part of the Hyatt Regency hotel. The tower looks like a ball on a stick and has been called a “ball,” a “golf ball,” a “dandelion,” a “microphone,” and simply “circle tower.” The most scandalous nickname, “Dallas Phallus,” has been used since at least the 1990s.
 
   
WIkipedia: Reunion Tower
Reunion Tower, also known locally as The Ball, The Big Golf Ball, The Dandelion, The Circle Tower, or The Microphone, is a 560 foot (171 m) observation tower and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Dallas, Texas (USA). Located at 300 Reunion Blvd. in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, the tower is part of the Hyatt Regency Hotel complex, and is the 15th tallest building in Dallas. A free standing structure until the construction of an addition to the Hyatt Regency Dallas in 2000, the tower was designed by the architectural firm Welton Becket & Associates.
   
Hyatt Regency Dallas
Hyatt Regency Dallas
300 Reunion Boulevard,
Dallas, Texas, USA 75207
Tel: +1 214 651 1234   Fax: +1 214 742 8126
 
Architecture in Downtown Dallas
Reunion Tower
300 Reunion Blvd. - 1978
Another one of Dallas’ signature buildings, Reunion Tower is a 560 tall observation tower that was constructed as a part of the Hyatt Regency Hotel.  The shaft of the tower is constructed from poured in place concrete and features four concrete cylinders.  Three are placed on the outside in a triangular pattern and they house elevators that offer the passengers a view as they ride up or down.  The center one houses stairs and mechanical shafts.  The top of the tower is a three level structure, also constructed of poured in place concrete.  Surrounding this top is a geodesic dome formed with aluminum struts.  At the intersection of the aluminum members are 260 lights that are kept turned on most of the evening hours.  However, at certain times during the evening, the lights flash to different patterns for a special light show. 
 
YAHOO! Answers
Does anyone know what that big ball in dallas is called?
you know the building that has all those lights
(...)
ANSWERS:
It’s the top of Reunion Tower, also derisively called the “Dallas Phallus” due to its anatomical shape.
   
Hack Stand-Up Comedy
This article is from the The Complete Guide To Hack Stand-Up Comedy, by Steven Rosenthal and Steve Silberberg (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) with numerous contributions by others.
7. “That Reunion Tower Sure Looks Like A Penis”
When a hack comes to a new city on tour, most of their ‘new’ jokes about the city will have been done to death. You can be pretty sure that at least one comedian in Dallas, at some point in their illustrious career, will have noticed that Reunion Tower (already nicknamed the Dallas Phallus) looks like a penis. 
 
Google Groups: rec.arts.movies.current-films
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.current-films
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Brian John Wright)
Date: 1998/06/23
Subject: Re: X-Files FTF—Dallas has moved!
 
You know, if this movie is to be believed, downtown Dallas is a dead ringer for downtown Calgary.  Just a little taller and more sparse.
 
We’ve even got our equivalent of the (ahem) Dallas Phallus on the south edge of downtown, just a little apart from the rest of the buildings.
 
Dallas (TX) Observer
Dirty Little Secret
Fri May 05, 2006 at 09:36:55 AM
(...)
When we ventured down to the pool to check out the panoramic views of downtown, I took comfort in knowing that while I stared at the Dallas Phallus, there was a phallus in Dallas on a wall just a few hundred yards away. What a city.