OKC Pics (Ponca City, Nichols Hills, Marland: buy, live in, richest)

[happytown]

Its 196 pages. There have been many books written on OKC, but this is the most recent.
Amazon.com: "Oklahoma City": Books

Vanished Splendor volumes 1, 2, 3 are the best ones that show pics like the Art Deco Baum building ect. before destruction. OKC had a lot of art deco before the 60s.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by happytown

Its 196 pages. There have been many books written on OKC, but this is the most recent.
Amazon.com: "Oklahoma City": Books

Vanished Splendor volumes 1, 2, 3 are the best ones that show pics like the Art Deco Baum building ect. before destruction. OKC had a lot of art deco before the 60s.

Please don't tell me that beautiful work of art pictured above was torn down...

[peggydavis]

Where did you get that book, HT. I don't see it online.

[happytown]

Ya...I think it would even make a European sick to their stomach. I was going to post others, but they are so hard to find. I found a pic that was sickening showing Browns department store with a bulldozer crushing it.
What happened to OKC in the early late 60s-early 70s was a famous architect named Pei designed a master plan for the whole city. He had a 'vision' that OKC could become something greater than before. OKC leaders basically gave him free reign to do anything. Well, when hard times/oil bust hit his future plans went down drain, leaving OKC with just the Myriad Gardens which was the former site of the Biltmore hotel. Here is an image of the building on a postcard before the huge structure was destroyed. It is one of the largest buildings in the world to be destroyed on purpose. Many beautiful buildings went down under his plan, Art Deco, Goth, old brick and whatever was in the way of the stupid plan.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

Where did you get that book, HT. I don't see it online.

My mom gave it to me last night. It tells of the Pei plan, many pics of buidings before the plan and the renaissance after the plan. Lots of other info about OKC ect... I would consider it second only to the Vanished Splender books that have many pictures of the once great old buildings before all the destruction.

Look up OKC second time around by Steve Lackmeyer and Jack Money.
But here is a great link and how to order it. They had a 'book opening' or whatever with the authors signing them at full circle bookstore.
OKC Second Time Around

When you do a lot of research...OKC has probably had more destuction than any city in the world. That is why the Urban Renewal commitee takes its time looking over plans by developers. I feel like they did a bad job in lower Bricktown, but have done a great job for Midtown. Of course something had to jump start lower Bricktown like Bass Pro. Im sure with time more sophisticated designs will be pushed for the better.

It will be really tough for any developer to destroy any buiding in the future even if it is dilapitated. That is why you see Banta being so involved with renovating Midtown.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by happytown

Ya...I think it would even make a European sick to their stomach. I was going to post others, but they are so hard to find. I found a pic that was sickening showing Browns department store with a bulldozer crushing it.
What happened to OKC in the early late 60s-early 70s was a famous architect named Pei designed a master plan for the whole city. He had a 'vision' that OKC could become something greater than before. OKC leaders basically gave him free reign to do anything. Well, when hard times/oil bust hit his future plans went down drain, leaving OKC with just the Myriad Gardens which was the former site of the Biltmore hotel. Here is an image of the building on a postcard before the huge structure was destroyed. It is one of the largest buildings in the world to be destroyed on purpose. Many beautiful buildings went down under his plan, Art Deco, Goth, old brick and whatever was in the way of the stupid plan.

The people that were the architects of that whole mess ought to be put up on a "wall of shame" somewhere. They almost singlehandedly set OkC back architecturally 60 years. The Biltmore was beautiful and well. Can you imagine that beaut still gracing the OkC skyline? My gosh, that's probably almost as tall as the Chase Tower, but far more beautiful!

[peggydavis]

Thanks, HT.

The destruction of that era just goes to show that we should carefully consider all of our plans for our cities, not just go with the fads of the moment.

I worked downtown at the time, and downtown was really cool then. My company was forced to move out on Classen, which was blah then.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

The destruction of that era just goes to show that we should carefully consider all of our plans for our cities, not just go with the fads of the moment.

Good point. I feel the same way. The stuff that came out in the seventies to replace the art deco buildings was horrific.

[doodlebops]

Those are great pics, they look like Nichols hills and heritage hill areas. I love the older houses in those areas too.

[Cali_Okie_Girl]

i was bored so i went on google and found some cool pics of OKC!!


my site that is always up on my computer...i always try to join in on the city things that are here..i did the ice clean which was actually alot of fun!!

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