Gold Dome

[HangryHippo]

The permit was for a $195,000.00 remodel.

Well, I'll go with "every little bit helps" then. haha

[Praedura]

News9 story:

Iconic OKC Gold Dome Finds A New Owner - News9.com




Direct link to video here:

http://kwtv.videodownload.worldnow.c...84730853AA.mp4

[Praedura]

This appears to be great news for the Gold Dome. Hope that the new owners are up to the task of giving this old gem the treatment it deserves.

[UnFrSaKn]

http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/ar...ving-gold.html

[NoOkie]

My wife works for them. She's very much so looking forward to the extra space.

[OKCTalker]

Any news on special events? There is still a sign outside saying that event space is available.

[Spartan]

We should move this thread to urban development?

[Praedura]

New article on this from the Journal Record:

New owner reveals renovation plans for Gold Dome | The Journal Record

Ther'e a pdf for this article here:
http://www.naisullivangroup.com/OKNe...orGoldDome.pdf

Money quotes:

Lorson said the panels will be repaired, but will remain on the building.

....

He said the panels will be resurfaced with gold metallic chrome.
“We will restore the exterior of the dome to the original luster of bright gold chrome,” he said.
Inside the building, the surfaces will be updated and many of the original accents will be kept.

Then, Teemco will bring its knowledge of earth science to life within the space.

“We’re going to have that space tell a story,” he said. “And that story will be the story of the Earth.”
The dome ceiling will represent the sky while the geodesic dome design will represent the structure of the universe.
“We’re going to have very creative water features on the inside and very creative high-tech stuff,” he said.

The lobby will be open to the public to rent for special events, and schoolchildren will be able to tour the exhibits.

Sounds good.

[Pete]

New owner reveals renovation plans for Gold Dome
by Molly M. Fleming
Published: July 24th, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY – More than 10 years ago, Teemco CEO Greg Lorson was bidding in an auction on the former Citizens Bank Tower against Richard Tanenbaum. Tanenbaum won the auction and has since turned the building into The Classen highrise apartments.

But Lorson never forgot about the building next to the Citizens Bank Tower, the iconic Gold Dome.

“I actually went into that building when it was still a bank,” he said. “I’ve always loved it and have been impressed by it. I’ve always had a love and admiration of architecture. Growing up in Bartlesville with all the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, you get acquainted to the benefits of architecture early on.”

When the Gold Dome went up for sale, Lorson’s company wasn’t in a position to buy it. He then started talking to former owner David Box about his plans for the building and the two eventually reached a point where Lorson was interested in purchasing the building.

The price has yet to be unveiled.

Teemco, an environmental services firm, has been searching for a new space for almost a year, as employees are sitting in corners and hallways at their existing office. Lorson said they plan to be in the new space by November.

The company could have built its own space, or even used some of the space in office buildings downtown, but Lorson said the dome fit better with their image.

“We’re lucky at our company,” he said. “What we do matters. We are so lucky at Teemco that the bigger we become, the more successful we become, and the better off the planet is. We wanted a building that mattered. We wanted to do something that mattered. We wanted that to be symbolic of our company.”

Box said that since Teemco would be the dome’s only occupant – which is what the building was built for – they were the perfect buyers.

The dome was built in 1958 along the thriving Route 66. It has been listed as one of Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Historic Places. It was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

According to the National Register, the building was designed by Robert B. Roloff with Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson, and Roloff. The infamous dome is made of 625 anodized aluminum panels.

Lorson said the panels will be repaired, but will remain on the building.

The gold on the panels was applied by an electroplating process, which would require all the panels to be removed, updated and then reattached to the roof.

“That is not an option,” Lorson said. “That is so beyond our economical consideration it’s not even funny. I’m not sure the dome would even survive if we did that.”

He said the panels will be resurfaced with gold metallic chrome. “We will restore the exterior of the dome to the original luster of bright gold chrome,” he said.

Inside the building, the surfaces will be updated and many of the original accents will be kept.

Then, Teemco will bring its knowledge of earth science to life within the space.

“We’re going to have that space tell a story,” he said. “And that story will be the story of the Earth.”

The dome ceiling will represent the sky while the geodesic dome design will represent the structure of the universe.

“We’re going to have very creative water features on the inside and very creative high-tech stuff,” he said.

The lobby will be open to the public to rent for special events, and schoolchildren will be able to tour the exhibits.

Besides renovating the building, the company will bring a nonprofit organization to the city as well. The company realized the publicity it would receive from the project and decided to use that in a positive way.

The groundbreaking and grand reopening of the building will both be opportunities to throw parties and raise money for the Teemco Foundation. The money raised will be used to benefit Moore tornado victims and a single mother who is seeking a kidney transplant.

[UnFrSaKn]

Via Facebook:

[Teo9969]

The Gold Dome is SCREAMING for lighting on the dome at night...It could be truly incredible. Let a food truck set up shop outside the building at night when nothing is going on and have walk-up business with temporary tables in the parking lot...it would be a pretty cool place to spend an evening.

[Pete]

Yes, lighting up that refurbished dome at night would be iconic.

If nothing else, if they can restore the dome to it's previous brilliance and get this property long-term viability, I'll be very happy.


BTW, score another victory for citizen activism. This property WAS going to be torn down if not for the uprising.

And because of the publicity and concern, this turned into a win/win situation for everyone involved.

[bluedogok]

Here's an article that popped up last week on my Architect Magazine newsletter.

Architect Magazine - TEEMCO Purchases the Iconic Gold Dome Building on Route 66

[JohnH_in_OKC]

Here is a new article from Inhabitat.com website: Buckminster Fuller-Inspired Gold Dome To Be Preserved As Historic Site in Oklahoma

Teemco's website has these two pages: TEEMCO Gold Dome and Architectural Masterpiece to be Preserved

[Mel]

Sounds like all good news for the dome. Outside lighting would look cool.

[Plutonic Panda]

This is an excellent victory! Hopefully we will score more.

[Dustin]

It needs a good power wash.

[Jettmiester]

I'm excited the dome has been saved. :-) I agree on the exterior illumination on the dome. It would be breathtaking to say the least.

[bombermwc]

And if they could just fix the coloring on it. It's run/faded/whatever so badly over the years.

[Spartan]

Did you read that each panel will be repainted?

[Pete]

New sign for this property... New owners must be getting close to starting the renovation:

[warreng88]

Like it better than the old sign. Pete, have you seen renderings of the renovation or have I just missed them?

[Pete]

No, they haven't released the renovation plans other than as described in articles (see post #120 above).

[kevinpate]

Nice looking sign.

[BDP]

Just a note that may be related to this project. The Classen is replacing the "skirt" at the bottom of the building and the awning over the retail. I'm not sure if the original material was the same as what makes up the dome of the gold dome, but they always seemed similar. So, it could provide some early insight as to how they might replace or repair the dome to bring its color back.