Originally Posted by
UnFrSaKn
Everyone is on the same page as far as this development goes. Yet I’m a preservationist compelled to bring this to everyone’s attention. Whether something is hidden away or there in plain sight, it doesn’t really make much difference with how the city goes about things. This is very well known as you have said.
However your views sound straight out of 50s-70s urban renewal “better and higher use” mentality. Fill in the blanks replacing “Omni Hotel” with “Galleria”, “Century Center”, “Myriad Convention Center” (same story with that one). Next thing you know there’s no Main Street anymore along with whole other square blocks. Did you skip over the part where I agree that the development should happen here, just that I have an issue that Pete pointed out? There was a missed opportunity to do everything they required for the Omni and make it work with what was here hidden away. The problem is always with folks who design things in an studio somewhere (probably not local) with the “clean slate” way of doing things. In this case nobody knew, assuming them as well, yet we know it doesn’t make any difference anyway. Was demolishing Founders Bank for just another fast food joint better and higher use? Wouldn’t you be the same guy with the same attitude pushing for the warehouse district to be demolished for “better and higher use”? Seriously, imagine you’re there looking at deteriorating, abandoned structures and there’s an oil boom going on and a majority trend to “demolish it and they will come” roadmap. Would you say, “Hold on just a minute.”?
Nobody knew about it until I randomly stumbled upon it and now nothing can be done. Nobody can “make people take historic preservation seriously” either. I resent the notion that bringing it to people’s attention makes someone “sound crazy”. You can’t deny, again like Pete has said, the way things happpen in OKC never changes. Bringing a chainsaw to do brain surgery. Read through the Stage Center thread again for a reminder. Im not here to cause controversy, just again pointing out how the same things repeat themselves.
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