Buildings Never Built

[mugofbeer]

At that time, the pro-Khomeini and anti-Khomeini Iranians were fighting each other on the ovals.

[ChrisHayes]

Of all those, I wish the Ron Burks office tower had been built. That would be a really nice addition to downtown. There are others I like, but that's pretty much my favorite.

[Martin]

At that time, the pro-Khomeini and anti-Khomeini Iranians were fighting each other on the ovals.

somehow, this is how i imagine that going down...

[WheelerD Guy]

Speaking of unbuilt developments, is The Oak (catty-corner to Penn Sq. Mall) completely dead?

[Southsider2]

Speaking of unbuilt developments, is The Oak (catty-corner to Penn Sq. Mall) completely dead?

No work is ongoing. Delayed but not dead.

[Roger S]

No work is ongoing. Delayed but not dead.

^^^ What they said with a comma between No and work.

[Southsider2]

^^^ What they said with a comma between No and work.

Lol, good catch!

[KayneMo]

Shepherd Memorial Baptist Hospital, southeast corner of NW 30th and Villa, found here.

[poe]

Of all those, I wish the Ron Burks office tower had been built. That would be a really nice addition to downtown. There are others I like, but that's pretty much my favorite.

Agree. It would’ve looked real sharp against the rest of the skyline.

And that Shepherd Memorial Baptist Hospital concept looks like it could be built today, maybe not as a hospital, but something. I like those clean lines.

[KayneMo]

Agree. It would’ve looked real sharp against the rest of the skyline.

And that Shepherd Memorial Baptist Hospital concept looks like it could be built today, maybe not as a hospital, but something. I like those clean lines.

I agree, the Ron Burks' office tower is probably my favorite too.

Yes it does! The Shepherd Memorial Baptist Hospital reminds me of the new Parkland Hospital in Dallas, built in 2015.

[KayneMo]

Drawing is labeled "Preliminary Study showing the Proposed Development of the Central Riverfront Area - June 1946."

[poe]

I agree, the Ron Burks' office tower is probably my favorite too.

Yes it does! The Shepherd Memorial Baptist Hospital reminds me of the new Parkland Hospital in Dallas, built in 2015.

You’re right! Didn’t even think of Parkland.

[sroberts24]

This is the most depressing thread on OKCTalk!

What was the proposed building for the corner lot on the canal? Cotton something?

[Plutonic Panda]

Every city has buildings never realized. I saw a similar thread about LA one time and I couldn’t believe what had been proposed there over the years.

[Teo9969]

Most of this I'm actually glad did not happen - but definitely a few of these I'd've liked to see. My favorites so far are Shepard Hospital, and really all of the additions to the current existing buildings. Maybe the Ron Burks' office tower by the Skirvin Not my favorite street level, but the tower looks nice, and, hey, beats the heck out of a one story Banc First.

[G.Walker]

Most cities have more buildings that never come to fruition than the one that actually do. Building skyscrapers in tier 2 cities is no easy task. With the exception of Austin, Charlotte, and Nashville....you don't see may skyscrapers or high rises being built in tier 2 cities.

Its easy to admire high rises going up in Dallas, Houston, LA, and Seattle, but those cities are major cities. That is what they are supposed to do.

[Pete]

OU libraries posted a rendering on their social media pages of a proposed expansion to the Bizzell library from 1979. This looks sort of like the "new" part of the library (that was built in the early 80s?), but the version that was built is clearly a very scaled down version.

Attachment 17031

I was at OU at the time, this was all under Bill Bankowsky.

IIRC, that posted image was to be built above the existing north section of the library and that's why it looks like it was on stilts. After very negative and understandable feedback, the school decided to build the addition to the west and that building today (known as the Doris Neuestadt wing) clearly shows some of the same design elements, as seen below:

[David]

Pei Plan which was completely conceptual:

Is this the model that at one time was on display in Crossroads Mall?

[Martin]

I was at OU at the time, this was all under Bill Bankowsky.
IIRC, that posted image was to be built above the existing north section of the library and that's why it looks like it was on stilts. After very negative and understandable feedback, the school decided to build the addition to the west and that building today (known as the Doris Neuestadt wing) clearly shows some of the same design elements, as seen below:

from the rendering it looked to me like it was suspended above the courtyard between bizzell and evans. what ended up being built is way more functional and practical... but i absolutely love the sheer craziness of that concept.

oh, i just now remembered... i don't have any renderings handy, but i distinctly remember that sarkey's energy center was originally supposed to be twin towers.

[Pete]

from the rendering it looked to me like it was suspended above the courtyard between bizzell and evans. what ended up being built is way more functional and practical... but i absolutely love the sheer craziness of that concept.

Yes, there is a small gap between Bizzel and Evans but the building as rendered would have been above the north addition to the library without relying on it for support.

Banowsky loved to dream big, that's for sure.

[Martin]

^
maybe i have my directions mixed up. in the rendering, it looks to me like evans is on the left and the 1950's addition to the library is on the right with the proposed section suspended on 'stilts' between the two. but, i would've been a very young kid when all this happened... so who knows. : ) also interesting is that cars were so close to the library in the rendering... in my time, you couldn't park anywhere close to there unless you were in a service vehicle.

[Pete]

^
maybe i have my directions mixed up. in the rendering, it looks to me like evans is on the left and the 1950's addition to the library is on the right with the proposed section suspended on 'stilts' between the two. but, i would've been a very young kid when all this happened... so who knows. : )

You are exactly right and when I said 'above' the north library addition, I just meant elevated over it so it would be clearly seen, especially from the south oval.

[Martin]

^
the plans for sarkeys (or saxon, originally) would have been around your time. do you remember anything about a second tower? i swear i remember seeing plans in the tower's lobby that depicted two towers and a story that the design had to be scaled back due to funding falling through... but haven't been able to find anything that corroborates that online. i'm starting to question my memory on that.

[Pete]

^
the plans for sarkeys (or saxon, originally) would have been around your time. do you remember anything about a second tower? i swear i remember seeing plans in the tower's lobby that depicted two towers and a story that the design had to be scaled back due to funding falling through... but haven't been able to find anything that corroborates that online. i'm starting to question my memory on that.

Yes, there was at least one other design proposal.

I did a quick search without any luck but will keep digging.

[Laramie]

The thought of this, blew everyone's mind:



Rand Elliott's Turbinortnic Energy Tower, Oklahoman, Friday, May 15, 2009 - https://www.oklahoman.com/gallery/articleid/3369602

This tower was more of a thought; later came the drawings for the Devon Energy Tower Super Skyscraper. The tallest building in Oklahoma. I remember posters thinking that Devon should occupy then Kerr McGee Tower; Larry Nichols said it (KM) wouldn't be big enough. We now have the tallest structure between Chicago and Dallas. Had Nichols gone with the original 925 ft., (54 story structure); it would have been taller than Bank of America Tower in Dallas at 921 ft.

Those designs of Devon Tower blew this OKCTalk site up.