The ritual of real estate dominated the spiritual life of Texas for a decade, a ritual based on the mythic premise that developers function as divinely ordained princes who bring prosperity to the whole of society. In the early years of the '80s Texas cities sprouted new skylines that showed off the stylistic explorations of some of the country's leading designers. By the end of the decade scores of new projects stood vacant. They were see-through buildings, towering symbols of the collapsing economy of a state that had for a time seemed to embody the nation's vitality. Once a promising...