Searching for information about the building at 2125 N. May Ave. A friend is remodeling this former bicycle shop and thrift store location. She is wondering about the building's original owners and what purpose it was intended for.

^

Welcome to the forum!

http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/searches/sketches/picfile/2897/R065183040001sA.jpg


According to County Assessor records, it was built in 1940: LINK (http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/AN-R.asp?ACCOUNTNO=R065183040)

The earliest reference I see in the Oklahoman Archives was in 1948 for some sort of general store that also sold texbooks.

In 1958, it was Taft Bicycle Shop.

By the 80's, it was Sonny's Pizza.

90's, Unique Antiques.

I saw this building was getting worked on!! Are you free to say what they're doing with it?

Im interested to know what Is going in as well!.. Its a block from the house and would love to see something great in that location. past tenants have been underwhelming.

Looks like it's for this business:

Karl's Plaques Home (http://www.karlsplaques.com/)

Yes, the company makes plaques designed to display awards runners receive when completing marathons.

The owners are looking to find any old photos and hear personal antidotes. They (and many of us) would love to find photos of the mural that was once on the north side of the building.

From warreng88:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/2125nmay.jpg

I know the owners. They are really working hard to bring back as much as the old look of the building as possible without breaking the bank and are doing much of the demo themselves. Have already found some really fascinating "treasures" inside the building that they will put on display once the build-out is complete.

They do a lot of military and other recognition awards, too, and the owner does all of the woodworking himself. He's retired Air Force and has had his current shop in MWC for many years.

As much as I would like for it to be a restaurant/bar or coffee shop, I like that at least it is not a tire shop or thrift store.

It sounds like the new owners are trying to do right by this building, which is really and truly what matters here. Glad to hear it and I can't wait to see how this building transforms!

The owners have already put a lot of work into the property. A lot of power washing pulling away lots of layers of paint. If the owners keep going the way they are going, the building is going to look great. Also, the owners of the bakery to the south have taken down the awning and are doing some work as well. Not sure if one owner owns both buildings or not, but it will definitely be an upgrade for both buildings.

It used to have some great casement windows; shame they were replaced. I went to a party in an upstairs apartment there in the eighties, not long after I moved here from Wichita. If seemed so hip and urban and "big city" to me at the time. It made quite an impression on my young mind. I honestly think going to that party was an important event influencing my interest in cities and urban living.

From warreng88:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/2125nmay052516.jpg

So what's going on here? Are they actually stripping the paint to the original brick? How is that going to work with the dark red? Is that even possible?

So what's going on here? Are they actually stripping the paint to the original brick? How is that going to work with the dark red? Is that even possible?

It's hard to tell from the pic I took, but behind the truck, they have started to strip the paint on the side and it kind of looks like they are going to do everything. I would guess the paint stripping has been going on for three weeks or so, now. They are now doing a lot of work on the building just south of this one as well. Should be a good project when completed.

The new windows and the paint off the front turned out great.. the sides they seem to be having more trouble with getting that stripped down and what is underneath doesn't look as good as the front. they are really working on that building and to the south. I am anxious to see how it all turns out.

The new windows and the paint off the front turned out great.. the sides they seem to be having more trouble with getting that stripped down and what is underneath doesn't look as good as the front. they are really working on that building and to the south. I am anxious to see how it all turns out.

I agree. Also, the brick looks completely different than what is on the front. If I have a chance this evening, I will walk across the street and get a pic and send it to Pete.

I tried to make an offer to the previous owner last summer, but she would never really give me the time of day or tell me how much she wanted. She was very difficult. I had hopes of leasing it to a diner/cafe or something similar that would serve the neighborhood better than a retail store. They paid more than I would of anyways. I'm very glad to see them cleaning it up however, good for them.

This building is a labor of love. Every day, I see someone out power washing to get all the old paint off. It looks as if there are three different kinds of brick to the building. The front is one color and on the side and two different size bricks with the same color. They are working really hard on it and I am sure it will look great when done.

We are definitely trying to do right by the building. It has been so much fun researching its history. It is taking a lot more time than we anticipated, but we are doing most of the work ourselves and keep changing the scope of our project to have the best outcome possible. Our original intent was to just paint the whole building the dark brick red, but within a few weeks, it had begun to peel back the older more fragile layers of paint. I had a paint chemist come out and analyze and it was determined that with the condition of the brick and the types of paint, power washing was the only way we would be able to get paint to stick. In the meantime, we had finished removing the old plaster from the inside and discovered the blonde façade, which we loved and decided if we were going to have to power wash the whole thing, we may as well strip the whole thing while we're at it. Long, painstaking process, but making progress. Glad to see the neighborhood is interested. Our current plan is to have another mural painted on the side where the brick is different, but don't hold us to it.

^

Welcome to the site and thanks for the info.

And thanks very much for taking such good care of a great old building.

I drive by this every day and it looks closed and that the rehab stalled some time ago, any update?

I'm thinking at one time it was also "Hoover's Bicycle Shop, sometime in the 60s. Peered in the window many times fantasizing about owning a Schwinn Sting-Ray.

Made progress this week on the last strip of red paint at the top of the building while on a staycation from my day job. Karl's business is thriving at this location and we are looking forward to more changes to the exterior in the near future. As far as I know it was Taft Bicycle Shop. I haven't heard the name Hoovers before.

They started a mural on the north side of the building.

Yes! We got our plan approved late last summer by the arts commission. Our artist is an educator in Piedmont, so we had to wait for her to finish the school year to begin. She is doing such a great job! We also replaced the front gate recently. It turned out really nice. Next up new roof and replacing the windows...one at a time. It’s a long term project.

Everything you do is making the area better. Keep up the good work!

They have been doing a lot of work to the upper floors and new windows. Additionally, they installed color changing lights on the top of the building edges that are currently going from red to green. Great little project here.

They have been doing a lot of work to the upper floors and new windows. Additionally, they installed color changing lights on the top of the building edges that are currently going from red to green. Great little project here.

Do you have any current pics?

16612

This is what it looked like back in September after we finished the windows in front.

Received a notice from the city yesterday (since I live in the immediate area) about the request for rezoning to commercial on the first floor and residential on the second. If I were available for the meeting, I would go to support the rezoning. This project turned out really well.

Is that Pita Bakery still open on the corner? Might check that out if it is.

Is that Pita Bakery still open on the corner? Might check that out if it is.

Their bread is pretty good, but if you're looking for a gyros sandwich, their meat is pretty bland, do yourself a favor and go to Gyros City Cafe.

Received a notice from the city yesterday (since I live in the immediate area) about the request for rezoning to commercial on the first floor and residential on the second. If I were available for the meeting, I would go to support the rezoning. This project turned out really well.

Thank you! We are proud. We are wanting to build a brick façade garage with rooftop access and studio space on top in the adjoining vacant lot where we had the previous house demolished. To do this we have to rezone. If you would be willing to write a short letter of support I can give it to our lawyer to take to the meeting. It would be much appreciated. Amy

Let us know how it goes tomorrow!

The meeting is this Thursday 5/13. Will keep you updated.

Quick question Amy, what was the thought process of keeping the glass block window on the north side and replacing the rest of them?

The glass blocks are new. It was an original casement window before. That window as well as the window to the bedroom had been drywalled/paneled over at some point. I suspect in order to not deal with leaky windows and mortar problems. We unearthed the covered windows and replaced them.16856

Let us know how it goes tomorrow!
It passed the Planning Commission unanimously. One hurdle down.