Winter solstice morning was chilly by Houston standards, around 50° by the time we lined up outside the Cistern. Originally built in 1926 to house the city’s drinking water supply, the Cistern is now a tourist attraction in a city that long ago outpaced the supply contained inside its 87,000 sq ft. Inside, it offers the stygian columned awe of the Mines of Moria sans the Balrog or the Basilica Cistern without the long flight to Istanbul. https://kshilcutt.substack.com/p/yet-i-am-still-a-tree