Tall Buildings

Edited 4/16/2008 to add the Midwest Building


Jump to Tall Buildings Not Done
Jump To Tall Buildings Which Might Be Done
With last week's announcement by Devon Energy Company, one might start thinking about Oklahoma City skyscrapers, "tall buildings" (Doug Dawg did, anyway). How will the new building match up, and, in fact, how tall are other buildings in Oklahoma City, and where are they located? What once-fine buildings no longer exist? In this project, I've drawn much of the data from Emporis.com ... High Rise Buildings and Low Rise Buildings. But, not all ... a few of the buildings shown below are not in the Emporis database (e.g., the Plaza Court Hotel in Midtown on Shartel).

Another which is not in the Emporis list, probably because it lacks 8 "working" floors, is the Oklahoma State Capitol, shown here.

Is there more to come, soon? Steve Lackmeyer whets our collective appetite again today in Downtown investment trend not at an end. Among other things, he says,

This is turning out to be quite a month for downtown Oklahoma City.

March is just halfway through, yet the ramifications of announcements this month outweigh the entire expanse of the city's original MAPS projects.
* * *
So let's take a deep breath. Have we seen the last big announcement for downtown? Don't count on it.

He is such a tease!

Back in the days of the Pei Plan ... the Urban Renewal masterplan for turning downtown Oklahoma City around in the early 1960s ... plenty of general and specific proposals were made ... some happened but many did not. Click here to jump to, "Tall Buildings That Might Have Been."

For this review, I arbitrarily set the threshold at 8 floors for "tall buildings" ... even though that excluded several vintage as well as many new buildings by that choice. Even then, I did "fudge" by including the Aberdeen Apartments ... it has 7 ground level floors but a full basement, so I gave it a 7.5 and included it just because I wanted to! Otherwise, the vintage and still standing Pioneer Building, at 7 stories and when built in 1908 said to be Oklahoma City's first high-rise, the 7 floor 1922 Osler Building in Midtown, and several others, were excluded.

My "personal favorite" that didn't make the 8 floor threshold requirement is this one, Signature Place, at MacArthur & Northwest Expressway ... though I'd like it better if it didn't have "rent me" banners hanging out front uglifying the architecture.

Using 8 floors as the cutoff, here's what I've come up with ... for buildings which once existed, do now, and as have been announced or are in progress as this is written. When this post is finally done, it will also include buildings which were proposed but never happened, and for that I'll draw heavily on Steve Lackmeyer & Jack Money's masterpiece, OKC: 2nd Time Around.

In the table below, click the link or the miniature image for a look at the building and, sometimes, additional information about it.

Oklahoma City Buildings 8 Stories or More
Summary		Incl Is & Gone	Those Gone	Those Developing	As Will Be
	Downtown	55	16	2	41
	Midtown	3	1	0	2
	Northwest	27	0	0	27
	Northeast	8	0	3	11
	Southeast	0	0	0	0
	Southwest	2	0	0	2

1	Devon Tower Floors: 54 Date: 2012 Where: Downtown Status: Developing	2	Chase Tower Floors: 36 Date: 1971 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
3	1st National Floors: 33 Date: 1931 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	4	City Place Floors: 33 Date: 1931 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
5	Oklahoma Tower Floors: 31 Date: 1982 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	6	Sandridge Tower (Kerr-McGee) Floors: 30 Date: 1973 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
7	Biltmore Hotel Floors: 26 Date: 1932 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	8	Regency Tower Floors: 24 Date: 1966 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
9	Leadership Square North Floors: 22 Date: 1984 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	10	Valliance Tower Floors: 22 Date: 1984 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
11	The Classen Floors: 21 Date: 1967 Where: Northwest Status: Existing	12	360 at Founders Plaza Floors: 20 Date: 1963 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
13	Mid-America Tower Floors: 19 Date: 1980 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	14	Dowell Center Floors: 18 Date: 1927 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
15	Gold Star Library - OCU Floors: 18 Date: 1954 Where: Northwest Status: Existing	16	Union Plaza Floors: 18 Date: 1982 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
17	Park Harvey Apartments Floors: 17 Date: 1956 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	18	50 Penn Place Floors: 16 Date: 1973 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
19	AT&T (SW Bell) Floors: 16 Date: 1928 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	20	BOK Plaza (Fidelity) Floors: 16 Date: 1972 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
21	Leadership Square South Floors: 16 Date: 1984 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	22	Globe Life Floors: 15 Date: 1957 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
23	Lakeview Towers Floors: 15 Date: ??? Where: Northwest Status: Existing	24	OKC Marriott Floors: 15 Date: 1985 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
25	Marriott Renaissance Hotel Floors: 15 Date: 2000 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	26	Sheraton Oklahoma Hotel Floors: 15 Date: 1976 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
27	AT&T Annex (Southwetsern Bell) Floors: 15 Date: ??? Where: Downtown Status: Existing	28	101 Park Avenue (Skirvin Tower) Floors: 14 Date: 1932 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
29	1st National Additions Floors: 14 Date: 1957 & 1972 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	30	Colcord Hotel Floors: 14 Date: 1910 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
31	Corporate Tower Floors: 14 Date: 1980 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	32	Oklahoma County Jail Floors: 14 Date: 1991 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
33	Oklahoman Building Floors: 14 Date: 1991 Where: Northeast Status: Existing	34	Auto Hotel Floors: 13 Date: ??? Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed
35	Oil Center East Floors: 13 Date: 1973 Where: Northwest Status: Existing	36	Oil Center West Floors: 13 Date: 1978 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
37	Skirvin Hilton Hotel Floors: 13 Date: 1910 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	38	100 Park Avenue (Medical Arts) Floors: 12 Date: 1923 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
39	Children's Physicians Building Floors: 12 Date: 2009 Where: Northeast Status: Developing	40	Herskowitz Building Floors: 12 Date: 1910 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed
41	Marie McGuire Plaza Floors: 12 Date: 1972 Where: Northeast Status: Existing	42	OG&E Floors: 12 Date: 1928 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
43	OK Health Department Floors: 12 Date: ??? Where: Northeast Status: Existing	44	Robinson Renaissance (Perrine) Floors: 12 Date: 1927 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
45	St. Anthony Hospital Floors: 12 Date: 1899 Where: Midtown Status: Existing	46	Tiffany House Apartments Floors: 12 Date: ??? Where: Northwest Status: Existing
47	City Center Building Floors: 11 Date: 1921 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	48	County Courthouse Floors: 11 Date: 1937 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
49	Integris Baptist Hospital Floors: 11 Date: ??? Where: Northwest Status: Existing	50	Integris Southwest Hospital Floors: 11 Date: 1969 Where: Southwest Status: Existing
51	Kingkade Hotel Floors: 11 Date: 1912 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	52	One North Hudson Floors: 11 Date: 1930 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
53	Physicians & Surgeons Floors: 12 Date: ??? Where: Northeast Status: Existing	54	VA Medical Center Floors: 11 Date: 1931 Where: Northeast Status: Existing
55	YWCA Floors: 11 Date: 1931 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	56	324 Building (Braniff) Floors: 10 Date: 1923 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
57	5100 N. Brookline Floors: 10 Date: 1974 Where: Northwest Status: Existing	58	Plaza Court Hotel Floors: 10 Date: 1960 Where: Midtown Status: Destroyed
59	Campbell Building Floors: 10 Date: 1910 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	60	Classen Center East Floors: 10 Date: 1965 Where: Northhwest Status: Existing
61	Commerce Exchange Floors: 10 Date: 1920s Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	62	Country Inn & Suites Floors: 10 Date: 2001? Where: Northwest Status: Existing
63	Court Plaza (Cotton Exchange) Floors: 10 Date: 1923 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	64	Everett Tower Floors: 10 Date: 1973 Where: Northeast Status: Existing
65	Hales Building (State National) Floors: 10 Date: 1910 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	66	Caliber Center (Hertz) Floors: 10 Date: 1973 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
67	Hightower Floors: 10 Date: 1929 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	68	Character First (Holiday Inn) Floors: 10 Date: 1964 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
69	Landmark Towers Center Floors: 10 Date: 1970 Where: Northwest Status: Existing	70	Landmark Towers East Floors: 10 Date: 1965 Where: Northhwest Status: Existing
71	Landmark Towers West Floors: 10 Date: 1972 Where: Northwest Status: Existing	72	Lee Huckins Hotel Floors: 10 Date: 1910 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed
73	Main Place (Harbour Longmire) Floors: 10 Date: 1923 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	74	Mercy Health Center Floors: 10 Date: 1974 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
75	Midwest Building Floors: 10 Date: 1930 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed Credit Jeff Chapman	76	OK DEQ (SW Bell) Floors: 10 Date: 1957 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
77	OK Savings & Loan Floors: 10 Date: 1928 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	78	Roberts Hotel Floors: 10 Date: 1927 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed
79	Robinson Plaza (IRS) Floors: 10 Date: 1992 Where: Downtown Status: Existing	80	Biomedical Sciences Building Floors: 9 Date: ??? Where: Northeast Status: Existing
81	Classen Center North Floors: 9 Date: 1969 Where: Northhwest Status: Existing	82	Crowne Plaza Hotel Floors: 9 Date: 1970 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
83	Hampton Inn Floors: 9 Date: 2008 Where: Downtown Status: Developing	84	Integris Baptist Building B Floors: 9 Date: ??? Where: Northwest Status: Existing
85	Murrah Federal Building Floors: 9 Date: 1977 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	86	US Bankruptcy Court (Post Office) Floors: 9 Date: 1932 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
87	Waterford Marriott Hotel Floors: 9 Date: 1984 Where: Northwest Status: Existing	88	American National Bank Floors: 8 Date: 1909 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed
89	Cancer Research Center Floors: 9 Date: 2010 Where: Northeast Status: Developing	90	Courtyard Marriott Hotel Floors: 8 Date: 2004 Where: Downtown Status: Existing
91	Halliburton's Floors: 8 Date: 1920 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	92	Insurance Building Floors: 8 Date: 1910 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed
93	Integris Baptist Building C Floors: 8 Date: ??? Where: Northwest Status: Existing	94	Integris Baptist Building D Floors: 8 Date: ??? Where: Northwest Status: Existing
95	Lawrence Hotel Floors: 8 Date: 1912 Where: Downtown Status: Destroyed	96	OK Medical Research Tower Floors: 8 Date: 2010? Where: Northeast Status: Developing
97	One Behnam Place Floors: 8 Date: 1983 Where: Northeast Status: Existing	98	Presbyterian Tower Floors: 8 Date: 1974 Where: Northeast Status: Existing
99	Western Tower Floors: 8 Date: ??? Where: Southwest Status: Existing	100	Aberdeen Apartments Floors: 7-8 Date: 1927 Where: Northwest Status: Existing
101	What's Next? Floors: ??? Date: ??? Where: ??? Status: Coming Soon

Tall Buildings Not Done. In their book, OKC: 2nd Time Around, Steve Lackmeyer & Jack Money laid out in magnificent form and content the downtown time zone of the mid-1950s through 2007 ... how we got from there to here. I say again that if you don't already own a copy of this excellent book, you're missing out, big-time!

Fueled by 1959 authorizing legislation at the state level, Oklahoma City established its Urban Renewal Authority in 1962. Internationally well regarded urban planner I.M. Pei came on board and what is commonly known as the "Pei Plan" came to exist. Its sweeping plan involved the destruction of about 2/5 of downtown Oklahoma City, largely on and south of Main, from east to west, and replacing the destroyed buildings with something that dreams are made of!

Thanks is given to Steve Lackmeyer for permission to post the following images ... all are contained in OKC: 2nd Time Around ... click on any image for a larger view.

The 1st image below appears at page 14 of OKC: 2nd Time. If you look closely, you'll see an irregular "gray line" running from the lower right to the upper left and that buildings below that line are a bit darker than those above it. In the 2nd version, below, I've doctored it a bit to highlight the "line" and add names of some of the "tall buildings" that either (1) were marked for destruction and were destroyed, or (2) in the case of the Perrine (Robinson Renaissance) was marked but was spared, or (3) in the case of the Biltmore was not marked for destruction but was.

Credit OKC: 2nd Time and OCURA




The "destruction" phase of the Pei Plan was "successfully" accomplished. The general vision of what would be replacing them is somewhat reflected in the following image which appears at page 10 of OKC: 2nd Time Around:

Credit Okc2nd Time, Greater Okc Chamber of Commerce (COC)
From Left:James T. Yielding, 1st Executive Director of OCURA, I.M. Pei,
and Ralph L. Bolen, Chairman of the OCURA Board of Commissioners

The City of Tomorrow


Of course, the Oil Bust, the Penn Square Bank failure and the resulting bank closing domino effect in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and beyond, marked the death knell of the grand design. The Galleria Shopping area became a parking lot ... but much of it will now become the Devon Tower. To be sure, several new buildings did spring to life before bad times hit, e.g., Myriad Gardens & Convention Center, Corporate Tower, Oklahoma Tower, Kerr-McGee Tower (Sandridge today), Sheraton Hotel, Mid-America Tower, Leadership Square, Liberty Tower (Chase today), and so much good did come of it, even thought not as much as expected.

OKC: 2nd Time Around contains several eye-candy images of some of the things which were planned but never saw the light of day, shown below.

High Rise Apartments
Credit OKC: 2nd Time and OCURA



Galleria Shopping Mall North of "Tivoli" (renamed Myriad) Gardens
Credit OKC: 2nd Time and OCURA



14 Floor Expansion of Skirvin Tower (101 Park Avenue)
Credit OKC: 2nd Time and Greater OKC Chamber of Commerce


Ron Burks became one of the owners of the Skirvin in 1979, along with Bill Jennings, John Kilpatrick, Jr., Bob Lammerts, Jerry Richardson, Dub Ross, and Joe Dann Trigg. See Bob Blackburn's article, A Tradition of Elegance. According to Steve and Jacks' book, and if I interpret it correctly, Burk was principally responsible for opening up the Skirvin lobby (to make it 2 open stories instead of 1), the purchase of a new chandeliers from Europe, and other stuff. At one time, he also owned the downtown Holiday Inn. See pp. 72-73 of Steve and Jacks' book. But Burks wanted more ...

Ron Burks' Office Tower By The Skirvin
Credit OKC: 2nd Time and Howard & Porch



Ron Burks' Hilton Hotel By Myriad Gardens
Credit OKC: 2nd Time and Howard & Porch


Tall Buildings That Might Yet Be. A few others have been identified as possibly being "in the works" ... when a construction contract is signed, I'll move any of them to the "current" table ... but, till then, I consider them as possibilities and uncertain.

Overholser Green. Of the things shown here, this one appears to be the most likely. This Midtown project which calls for development of the block bounded by NW 13th, NW 12th, Walker and Dewey, has, in fact, been approved by OCURA.


This December 6, 2007, article by Steve Lackmeyer says that the project includes,

109 condominiums built in a series of four-to-eight-story buildings above an approximately 220-space garage.

The developer is Wiggin Properties, which owns the 101 Park Ave. building and is converting the Mayo office building in downtown Tulsa into housing.

Although Wiggin Properties has said that construction will start by July 2008 and will include an 8 story hotel, I guess that my "Missouri-Show-Me" side is showing on this one. For lively discussion about this project, see this thread at OkMet.org and this one at OkcTalk.com.

Cotton Exchange. This proposed project would include a 12 story element and will require the approval of the Bricktown Design Committee (and land acquisition), would be located next to the Bricktown Ballpark on Reno.




While this may happen, it is by no means a "done deal." See this thread at OkcTalk.com and this one at OkMet.org for more.

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