First Americans Museum

[Laramie]

What would you like to see near the AICCM?

[shawnw]

"Wheeler East"?

[jbrown84]

Is that an actual rendering? I would like to see more of it left as green space, especially between I-35 and the Mound.

[LakeEffect]

Is that an actual rendering? I would like to see more of it left as green space, especially between I-35 and the Mound.

Why?

[TU 'cane]

What would you like to see near the AICCM?

The 700' water derrick...

I'm ready for what comes next, bring it on people.

[Pete]

Is that an actual rendering? I would like to see more of it left as green space, especially between I-35 and the Mound.

It was just a fantasy drawing from a study that was commissioned to come up with some ideas for commercial development to help offset the cost of the museum.

[Bullbear]

want to ensure a lot of traffic to the area.. add Casino Hotel on the water.. I mean.. why not

[jbrown84]

Why?

Because it looks nice. Because OKC doesn't have a lot of green space. Because there are great mature trees there that it would be a shame to lose. I can go on...

[jbrown84]

It was just a fantasy drawing from a study that was commissioned to come up with some ideas for commercial development to help offset the cost of the museum.

Thanks. This has been such a drawn out thing, I haven't been able to keep up.

[kevinpate]

want to ensure a lot of traffic to the area.. add Casino Hotel on the water.. I mean.. why not

IIRC, not even remotely possible.

[Laramie]

Casino? The City said 'no way' they would zone or approve a casino on the land given the Chickasaws in exchange for development of the AICCM. State Law & the property deed prohibits it--according to Steve in this link's video:

http://newsok.com/article/5468307

Felt at one time that a casino would be great; however a friend of mine has had problems with her gambling addiction; right now she won't see help. Constantly contributes to the casino collection plate. She's so delusional thinking that the big jackpot will be the next coin dropped or money wagered.

Have tried to get her into Gamblers Anonymous; she doesn't want to seek help. When a person doesn't want help or counseling; it's not going to do any good to force it on her. She will just have to bottom out.

[_Kyle]

What would you like to see near the AICCM?

Whats That Tower?

[ljbab728]

Whats That Tower?

It's not anything but someone's fantasy. There is no serious proposal for anything like that.

[gopokes88]

Casino? The City said 'no way' they would zone or approve a casino on the land given the Chickasaws in exchange for development of the AICCM. State Law & the property deed prohibits it--according to Steve in this link's video:

http://newsok.com/article/5468307

Felt at one time that a casino would be great; however a friend of mine has had problems with her gambling addiction; right now she won't see help. Constantly contributes to the casino collection plate. She's so delusional thinking that the big jackpot will be the next coin dropped or money wagered.

Have tried to get her into Gamblers Anonymous; she doesn't want to seek help. When a person doesn't want help or counseling; it's not going to do any good to force it on her. She will just have to bottom out.

Mama always said stupid is as stupid does

[Bullbear]

I don't think an addiction is stupid.. some people are wired differently.
I was half kidding about a Casino I know that isn't in the cards just saying it would definitely create traffic for the project.
I personally only gamble in Vegas. it's Rare I walk into one in Oklahoma.

[HOT ROD]

the tower looks too much like San Antonio's to me (although I suspect this might just be conceptual).

If OKC does build an observation tower (and I hope OKC does), I hope OKC does it's own design. I personally like the idea of a large 'oil' shaped derrick but would be open to anything that was original and not a copy.

[warreng88]

American Indian Cultural Center negotiations nearing approval

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record March 13, 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY – A year after the Chickasaw Nation offered to take the responsibility of developing and managing the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum from Oklahoma City, negotiations are finally approaching final approval stage.

Craig Freeman, the city’s finance director, said a deal will be presented to the City Council for approval by the beginning of April. Construction could resume as soon as this fall.

“It’s been a little longer than we anticipated, but we knew at the time they offered to help that it would be a long process to work through everything,” he said.

Since 2006, the state has spent more than $90 million to showcase its American Indian heritage, but politics over budgeting stopped construction by 2012. However, the interruption did not keep the center from racking up costs: It is still costing the state about $7 million per year for property maintenance and payments on earlier construction bonds.

At the beginning of 2016, Oklahoma City accepted the terms of legislation signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin to finish and operate the center. But city officials also said they didn’t want to enter the tourism business, so they asked for third-party ideas. The Chickasaw Nation suggested the AICCM could be completed by the state’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services, and then any additional capital costs beyond $65 million would be picked up by the tribe. The tribe also said it would pay Oklahoma City $2 million per year to cover operating deficits with any net profits used to fund an endowment for future operations.

One of the biggest hurdles to clear has been collecting at least $10 million to match the state’s pledge of up to $25 million in bond debt to complete work on the museum. Tribal officials announced they had reached $10.8 million in January.

Ultimately, they expect to collect $31 million from private and tribal sources in addition to $9 million pledged by the municipal government.

“In the meantime, the Chickasaw Nation has continued to work through titles, and it looks like they’ve been able to finish that as well. I think it’ll actually end up being an enterprise through the Chickasaw Nation’s Industries,” Freeman said, referring to the corporation operated under the tribal government.

Tribal officials did not return phone calls for comment.

[JohnH_in_OKC]

the tower looks too much like San Antonio's to me (although I suspect this might just be conceptual).

If OKC does build an observation tower (and I hope OKC does), I hope OKC does it's own design. I personally like the idea of a large 'oil' shaped derrick but would be open to anything that was original and not a copy.

I think that'd be cool. It could be OKC's version of the Eiffel Tower. I'm sure that the oil derrick monument would attract a lot of people to the AICC museum (as long as they're co-located). But I imagine that the observation tower elevator admission fee would cover only a small fraction of the cost of construction. We should also plan a restaurant at the top of the monument like Seattle's Space Needle.

Maybe this and a parking garage could be a project paid for by MAPS 4. I think a lot of green space is necessary to create a great impression, thus we need a parking garage for the museum and the oil derrick monument. The Eiffel Tower would not be nearly as attractive if it was surrounded by surface parking. MAPS 4 could also create a street car line to Lower Bricktown, the boathouse district, the AICC museum and the oil derrick monument.

[dankrutka]

I doubt Indigenous peoples want an oil derrick towering over the AICC considering oil was the impetus to swindle the land from so many of them in Oklahoma. It's one of the ugliest parts of Oklahoma's history. If you're interested in learning more, the work of Angie Debo is a good place to start.

[SOONER8693]

I doubt Indigenous peoples want an oil derrick towering over the AICC considering oil was the impetus to swindle the land from so many of them in Oklahoma. It's one of the ugliest parts of Oklahoma's history. If you're interested in learning more, the work of Angie Debo is a good place to start.

Hits nail on head.

[JohnH_in_OKC]

I doubt Indigenous peoples want an oil derrick towering over the AICC considering oil was the impetus to swindle the land from so many of them in Oklahoma. It's one of the ugliest parts of Oklahoma's history. If you're interested in learning more, the work of Angie Debo is a good place to start.

Maybe we can build the world's largest tepee. I doubt that a restaurant would fit at the top, but who knows? Engineers can be pretty creative. Maybe the interior of the tepee could be a parking garage!

[JohnH_in_OKC]

accidental duplicate post

[dankrutka]

Maybe we can build the world's largest tepee. I doubt that a restaurant would fit at the top, but who knows? Engineers can be pretty creative. Maybe the interior of the tepee could be a parking garage!

I'm guessing this is a joke. I don't personally find it in good taste just because I've seen such a deep disrespect for Indigenous peoples living in Oklahoma for most of my life. So many people operate on stereotypes and make jokes about tepees. I'm not saying you did that, but I've heard it too much.

Anyway, in case you didn't know, most Indigenous peoples in Oklahoma are not Plains Indians (except the Kiowa Apache and others who settled later) and thus tepees are often a stereotype, not part of their cultural heritage.

[AP]

Why are people in Oklahoma so obsessed with the idea of an observation tower?

[Sancho]

Why are people in Oklahoma so obsessed with the idea of an observation tower?

They look neat.