Time capsule buried inside Astrodome

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's called the 8th Wonder of the World, so it's only fitting the Astrodome would have a secret, hidden deep within.

"It would be just to the right of home plate. It would be at least 25 feet below the street level," said Mike Acosta.

Acosta admits he's obsessed with the Dome. And it takes a kind of obsession, a kind of meticulous attention to detail to uncover a rare photo taken on March 27th, 1963. That's two years before construction was even completed.

The photo shows a small silver canister buried in the dome. And, written on the back of the photo are hints of what could be inside.

"There are mementos of the greatest symbols of those countries," Acosta said. "I think at that time when they were building the Astrodome, it was a symbol of Houston and United States."

Whatever was buried is now covered by concrete and columns. Of course, the only way to find the dome's history may be by tearing it down.

"This building is Houston," Acosta said. "It's part of the heritage of Houston."

The Harris County Sheriff's Office bomb squad has been into the dome with infared equipment and identified a few spots where the capsule could be hidden.

But, commissioners are still deciding where to go from there - they don't know yet how much it would cost to really start looking for the capsule.

Plus, nobody knows what condition the capsule would be in at this point