Very interesting show that I came across on OETA this past weekend called Oklahoma Horizon. Apparently, a state lawmaker is seriously considering bringing a proposal to the table that will give OKC a internationally known monument that will rival the Eiffel Tower and the Space Needle in Seattle. The proposal calls for a huge oil derrick that will stand over 1100 feet tall with an observation deck and restaurant. I believe the plans also call for using water from an aquifier to create the appearance of a gushing oil derrick. It will supposedly be named "Energy Tower." I also heard the guy say that he has already talked with city officials and Mayor Cornett about the plans. The location is supposed to be near downtown on the Oklahoma River. They already have a video of the proposed tower on UTube and you can also see the video on the Oklahoma Horizon website @ OKHorizon.com. What's really cool is that many of us have been talking about something very similar on here in the past. This would be HUGE for OKC. Imagine the new Devon Tower and Energy Tower totally transforming the OKC skyline. I was SO incredibly stoked when I saw it on Saturday. OKC has truly come a very long way in the past 15 years. I cannot wait to see what the next 15 holds.:)

Interesting. Maybe we can include a museum with it... In 100 years people may be very interested in what the "Petroleum Age" was all about and, while we can't steal all the business from Houston, maybe we can steal the history. ;)

At over $130 a barrel for oil, it's a good thing water is going to be used in the proposal.

I'm not sure about this. Oil is not the future. Our dependence on oil may very well be our economic undoing. Not to mention environmental concerns. Bad timing.

RGiJ0JWaOm0

this thing is about our history, not future. Yes we should look towards the future, and out future is bright, but lets not forget the past. Anyway, this thing is a pipe dream, just like The American in T-town.

Would be nice to have a HUGE tourism piece, not too fond of the look of it, but he's right, it would be an instant tourist attraction.


www.okhorizon.com Oklahoma Horizon Show Archives (http://www.okhorizon.com/2008/Show0821/OilMonument.htm)

No. No. No.

Why? Why? Why?

Oil is not the future. Our dependence on oil may very well be our economic undoing.

This is true, but whatever the future is, it will be shaped by the impact the oil age has had, both good and bad. Actually, the fact that oil has a limited future is one reason such a monument makes sense. In that, as the source of energy is phased out by whatever forces, the need to remind people of its impact and the interest in the attraction as a novelty grows. Kind of like railroad museums (sort of bad example as railroad's are still important, but the magnitude of their impact on the world economy is often forgotten).

That's one reason was I was kind of serious when I suggested a museum... an energy museum. It would be kind of interesting, imo, to see how the abundance of energy from fossil fuels created this culture dependant on that energy and how that dependancy will be met in the future. There is no escaping that our world is the way it is today because of oil and that even a future without oil will be the way it is because oil literally fueled a rapid expansion and dependancy on technology that will need to be met by some other energy source. People of the future will no doubt lament many aspects of the oil legacy that they will inherit, but they will also owe a lot of the technology they'll enjoy to oil and there will be no escaping that oil will be very much a part of their heritage.

Ultimately, it's up to us today to provide the context for such a monument. Sure, if we continue to ignore the imminent pitfalls of oil dependancy, then it will simply be viewed as a monument to a reckless and irresponsible society who disregarded all of the readily apparent warnings because it was simply too inconvenient and uncomfortable to make the short term sacrifices neccessary to avoid destruction (we wouldn't be the first). However, it could as just as easily be viewed as a novel and significant icon to man's succsessful ability to adapt through reason and common experience to avoid a disaster of its own making... we still have a choice.

Because it would be an eyesore. There is nothing architecturally amazing about an oil derrick. The space needle has style. Eiffel Tower has style. Oil Derrick. No Style. It would look like a big erector set. One that is 1100' built to scale would be huge. And if the video has any indication of what it would look like, it just looks like a big bird feeder.

I am for the museum though and maybe a smaller scale one (maybe 200-300'). That plus a great museum would bring enough tourists off the highway.

Sorry for the negativity but just cause we have to opportunity to build something like this doesn't mean we need to. I know beggars can't be choosers but this should stay in the fantasy drawer.

I assume you are familiar with what most Parisians initially thought of the Eiffel Tower. Style certainly was not what most thought of it.

Of course, that doesn't mean this would have the same long term fate as the Eiffel tower, but really the Eiffel tower looks very much like an erector set and, frankly, like an oil derrick with curves.

I hear ya worthy, maybe out basketball team could be named the Derricks? Maybe the city (or whoever is going to pay for this) will hire Pickard/Chilton Architects to design a stylish derrick?

I would suspect that the design that is being shown is not the FINAL design. I'm sure the end result will be much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Yes,yes,yes!!

If they're going to go that high, why not go higher and have the highest observation tower in the U.S.

What is the highest observation tower in the US?

I say go for the tallest as well. I'm actually shocked that Dallas or Houston hasn't done something like this before OKC, especially when you consider the fact that Houston is THE OIL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

Tulsa is the oil capital of the world. Who is paying for this energy tower? i may have to write this state lawmaker a letter.

Tulsa USED TO BE the oil capital of the world. Houston is the NEW OIL CAPITAL.

What is the highest observation tower in the US?

Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas at 1149 feet. (tallest in US)

CN Tower in Toronto 1815 feet. (tallest in World)

Space Needle in Seattle 605 feet.

Eiffel Tower in Paris 1063 feet.

How about the new OKC Energy Tower that stands a respectable 1200 ft.:)

I'm actually shocked that Dallas or Houston hasn't done something like this before OKC, especially when you consider the fact that Houston is THE OIL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

Maybe that's because its a bad idea...

THIS IS MY IDEA!!!! Someone stole it from me. I came up with this idea over 2 years ago and if you look through the history of this message board you will find it. Someone owes me some money if this happens. Actually, I don't want the money but it would be cool to see it built.

Update: Here is my post from Aug 2006. I have an even earlier one but it might have been on the old Oklahomas Own web site.
http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-area-talk/7436-skylines-building-unique-monument-okc.html?highlight=oil+tower

When and where can I accept my award?

It's an interesting idea but I'd like to see the derrick concept tweaked for modern times.

It wouldn't have to look exactly like an oil derrick, just evoke that vision. And that could be done with something much more modern and foreward looking.

Get Rand Elliott on the job!

I say it needs to look like an OLD derrick.

Oil will be dead and buried in 100-150 years, thats when it will become a TRUE landmark. There will people be coming around to see something thats truely ancient history.

Yeah... I'm not on board this one. I know if I lived out of OK I wouldn't come here just to see a huge oil derrick. Maybe it's just me...

I know if I lived out of OK I wouldn't come here just to see a huge oil derrick.

I wouldn't either, but people go many places for stuff like this (St. Louis, anyone?). I mean, think about how many people visit a round barn or a giant thermometer.

If it's big, people will want to see it.

After watching the video, I would like to add my name to the NO! crowd. That thing is an eyesore. Now, I actually like the concept, and if they could modify the design to make it a little more pleasing to the eye, then I might change my mind. But based on the initial disign, I hope that comes nowhere close to being built.

I would love to see this done, maybe have entertainment on the ground like a paradise pier on the ok river (ferris wheel), I think it would be a great thing to add it all together.

I wouldn't either, but people go many places for stuff like this (St. Louis, anyone?). I mean, think about how many people visit a round barn or a giant thermometer.

If it's big, people will want to see it.

.....and even if it's not the only reason that someone visits OKC, it gives people one more thing to do when they're here and one more reason to come.

meh.

i don't go anywhere just to see something nor if i lived somewhere else would i come to see a big ugly oil derrick.... But since so many people do drive thru okc on 44, 35, or 40 it would be a good lil stop but........

i hate the design on the video, but there is a lot of potential there and i think if u get the right people doing it, it could be really cool, but it looks like something that would have been built in the 60's or 70's not now

Make it look cooler and more appealing and i'm on board, but the lawmaker dude in the video is the cheesiest dude i ever seen, i could see how he would come up with that design, hah

I'm out.

This isn't about turnstiles and restaurant meals.....

It SHOULD be about creating something that people from California, New York, Florida, Canada, Germany, etc. sees on television or in a picture and says, "hey look, I can tell instantly that that's Oklahoma City."

When you see the space needle, you know it's Seattle.....
When you see the Eiffel Tower, you know it's Paris.....
When you see the Arch, you know it's St. Louis.....

If this is done right it can be iconic, but it does need to be done right..... and NOT so we can sell t-shirts and meals......

The Memorial gates are much more iconic than any "x,000 foot" oil derrick could ever be. An icon comes about by meaning, not by forced ideas.

The oil derrick is NOT iconic, at least in its current incarnation per the video.

People don't need something "representative" shoved down their throats in order to derive meaning from it. In fact, often the opposite occurs.

I personally like the giant earth-embedded arrows you see while leaving the airport. I don't know how you would work in an observation deck, but I always thought those were so cool and unique. I'd like to see a concept of that originality and simplicity.

Of couse, we could always just erect a giant freaky-painted buffalo.

An icon comes about by meaning, not by forced ideas.

I don't know about that. The Eiffel Tower, The St. Louis Arch, The Space Needle, and many similar structures were really just built as center pieces for fairs. In fact, there's really less meaning to those than there would be for this in concept, however they have become more iconic than this probably ever would be.

If you meant to say that, because it's concept has meaning, then it has less chance of being iconic, then you may have a point, as many "icons" were conceived and built for nothing more than their iconic potential, as were the ones I listed above. And it seems a lot of the criticism here is more about aesthetic than meaning. It seems people would be open to the idea more if it didn't look or represent anything (specifically, an oil derrick), but would rather that it just look cool.

I'm not sure about this. Oil is not the future. Our dependence on oil may very well be our economic undoing. Not to mention environmental concerns. Bad timing.

we will be using oil based energy for the next 100 years at least

That's close to the ugliest thing I've seen proposed, at least in this area. What's that little house at the top – a Bass Pro outlet store?

we will be using oil based energy for the next 100 years at least

Maybe, but it will be a significantly less dominate portion of the mix. My guess is 50% petroleum based energy and 50% other stuff. A lot of my oil buddies think oil will be less a part of the mix than that, I'm just skeptical.

I think people needs to stop commenting on the looks of it in the video. i'm sure (hopefully) that it is just a concept drawing. i think that somebody just talking about doing something like this is great. This derrick could be pretty cool if done right.......please do it right.

I personally like the giant earth-embedded arrows you see while leaving the airport.

I thought that was waiving wheat. Hmm.

I agree completely with FritterGirl. This feels cheesy and forced, kind of like Las Vegas without the obvious "Of course this is supposed to be kitsch" mentality.

I live in St. Louis and the arch was built as part of a years-long international design competition regarding the frontier and western expansion, manifest destiny and all that. It has a museum underneath. They could have thrown up a 50-story statue of a covered wagon. They didn't. You can like or dislike the arch, but it feels much more iconic than something like this.

We already have the "world's largest horse statues" galloping across the canal. If money is going to be spent, I would much rather see it going to enhance the new park or Union Station or to some other real cultural pursuit for downtown, like an aquarium or contemporary art museum or something like that.

I think this thing, if built, would be more akin to those cars shoved in the dirt outside Amarillo.

Just my $0.02.

I'm going to have to give this a thumbs down.

. . . how 'bout we just finish the Land Run Monument?? Historic, artistic, adn very original!!

Rand Elliott.. lol

The "IDEA" is nice, the actually undertaking... please make it pretty.

Not long ago (as late as the 1970s) Oklahoma City had dozens, maybe hundreds of real oil derricks dotting the landscape. it was quite a sight, and it was obvious that oil was the engine that drove the OKC economy. Sadly, most of the oil derricks have been taken down. It would have been great if the city had somehow preserved them. It definitely made the city unique.

Maybe Devon could finish the land run monument and put a rocking D brand on each critter they cover, then Chesapeake could jump in and have their brand on any other critters. these folks get into a one upsmanship and we could end up with the monument spanning all the way to Meridian landing .... kewwwlllllll

Yeah Kerry. You, myself and Rob Anderson came up with this several years ago. Remember when I sent out mailings to all of the major local corporations to get them signed on as donors for the idea. They all rejected it.

kevinpate. . .I vote we fly your balloon!!

A 1000 foot oil rig that sprayed water out the top every hour. It could be built on the river. At 1000 feet it would be visable across the entire metro area. An observation deck could be placed at the top. It would dwarf every other monument in America.

Kerry, yes! I do remember your oil derrick idea! Maybe it will happen.

I'd just like to see the state finish the triumphal arches which were originally designed to be built with the capitol building. Those were really something in concept.

As for this idea, I think it's kind of silly. If OKC were to have a World Expo, maybe (and maybe that should happen), but just to build this thing just because?

I would have preferred that giant Native American Statue that we passed on.

This is true, but whatever the future is, it will be shaped by the impact the oil age has had, both good and bad. Actually, the fact that oil has a limited future is one reason such a monument makes sense. In that, as the source of energy is phased out by whatever forces, the need to remind people of its impact and the interest in the attraction as a novelty grows. Kind of like railroad museums (sort of bad example as railroad's are still important, but the magnitude of their impact on the world economy is often forgotten).

That's one reason was I was kind of serious when I suggested a museum... an energy museum. It would be kind of interesting, imo, to see how the abundance of energy from fossil fuels created this culture dependant on that energy and how that dependancy will be met in the future. There is no escaping that our world is the way it is today because of oil and that even a future without oil will be the way it is because oil literally fueled a rapid expansion and dependancy on technology that will need to be met by some other energy source. People of the future will no doubt lament many aspects of the oil legacy that they will inherit, but they will also owe a lot of the technology they'll enjoy to oil and there will be no escaping that oil will be very much a part of their heritage.

Ultimately, it's up to us today to provide the context for such a monument. Sure, if we continue to ignore the imminent pitfalls of oil dependancy, then it will simply be viewed as a monument to a reckless and irresponsible society who disregarded all of the readily apparent warnings because it was simply too inconvenient and uncomfortable to make the short term sacrifices neccessary to avoid destruction (we wouldn't be the first). However, it could as just as easily be viewed as a novel and significant icon to man's succsessful ability to adapt through reason and common experience to avoid a disaster of its own making... we still have a choice.I agree.

This sounds like a great concept if done tastefully. It would be great to see nearby Humphreys' ferris wheel, and maybe some other along-the-river attractions, too.

What about a giant oil derrek made out of solar panels and wind turbines that powers the city's new light rail? That was supposed to be a joke, but actually that's not a bad idea (if it were feasible).

I thought that was waiving wheat. Hmm.


That's the cool thing about art; it's all in the eyes of the beholder. :) I've only driven by a few times, mostly at night. Waving wheat does make geographical sense.

Patrick - I remember you sending out those emails. I think we had even gotten a favorable response from the CEO of Kerr-McGee until he realized the size we were talking about. Instead they went with that 50 foot bell tower. If done with style I think this could be pretty cool but it would have to be way better than the image shown on TV.

This will make Dubai look classy.

This will make Dubai look classy.

:lol2:

Id like to see some iconic structure with an observation deck and all, I'm just not sure an oil derrick is what I want to see.