"Are you afraid of heights?"
was the first question that came over the phone, for a shoot that took TPT's Jim Zura and Total Video's Phillip Rios to the pinnacle of their location shooting experience.  This was a rare opportunity to go up to the very tip of this landmark to gather documentary footage for a project by Gary Chason.
Taller than the Washington Monument, the 570-foot San Jacinto Monument is the highest  column structure in the world.  Built in 1936 on the battleground where General Sam Houston won Texas' independence from Mexico 100 years earlier, the limestone structure is topped with a 34-foot 3-dimensional star, commemorating the Lone Star State.  Currently, the star (right) is enshrouded with scaffolding as workers complete the refurbishing of the monument.

"It was an experience of a lifetime to crawl around on the world's largest set of monkey-bars, 570 feet off the ground," recalled Jim. "The view was incredible!  And to be one of the few people to actually get up on the star, 70 feet higher than the observation windows, was quite awesome"

(Below:  Jim Zura, between the "monkey bars" at the tip of the star)

(Right:  view from the top of the monument, with the reflecting pool, Houston Ship Channel, and the historic Battleship Texas in its berth)

A SIDEBAR: Fear of heights is irrational.
There's really no reason to fear heights.  Heights are harmless.  For example, every day millions of people walk around in Colorado, more than 5,000 feet higher than those in coastal locations, without fear.  Now, depths are a different story.  It is depths that can kill you, not heights.  "Ahh," you may say; "perhaps it's really the fear of falling."   Another irrational fear.  Falling is harmless.  The air rushing by will not hurt you.   It is landing that claims victims.
Note: If you're interested in the fascinating, detailed story on the construction of this momument, check out this link: www.sanjacinto-museum.org/construction.html

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