The Devon tower apparently will not have a 48.
Do they not like Jimmie Johnson?

Do they not like Jimmie Johnson?

No, they hate Jeff Gordon twice as much.

Article in today's Journal Record about the crown construction.

Could someone with a membership please post it?

I heard there wont be a 4th, 8th, 15th, 16th, 23rd or 42nd floor, so I don't know what you all are talking about ;-)

I had also been told there will be no 48th floor. Perhaps so the restaurant could be labeled 49 & 50?

The mechanical floor (not the crown) will be the 50th level but labeled 51.

I had also been told there will be no 48th floor. Perhaps so the restaurant could be labeled 49 & 50?

The mechanical floor (not the crown) will be the 50th level but labeled 51.

The roof will be labeled 52. I was also told there will be a utility crane at the top for the window washers and if the need arises for any AC/mechanical work.

I heard there wont be a 4th, 8th, 15th, 16th, 23rd or 42nd floor, so I don't know what you all are talking about ;-)

Man, I miss that show so much.

Crews prepare to crown Devon Tower

By Brianna Bailey
Oklahoma City reporter - Contact 405-278-2847
Posted: 08:09 PM Friday, August 12, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY – Over the coming weeks, construction crews will begin erecting the 60-foot steel crown that will top out vertical construction of the 800-foot Devon world headquarters tower.

The components of the crown structure are manufactured off-site and assembled in a very well-organized dance on top of the roof, said Gavin Kalley, project director for Holder-Flintco, the contractor for the tower.

Workers have poured the foundation for the 50th floor of the skyscraper and wrapped up vertical construction on the main part of the tower structure. The tower is now about 720 feet tall.

Observers will see the angular steel crown structure rise rapidly over the streets of downtown in the coming days, said John Wood, vice president for Houston-based Hines, which is developing the massive tower.

“When the steel begins to go up, the visible progress may seem to be accelerating here over the next few weeks,” Wood said.

Crews will begin the task of dismantling the large construction cranes that loom over the site after the crown is completed and remainder of the structure is glassed in – probably in early 2012.

“On one hand, you love having them there, but they’re attached to the building, so (you’ve) got to get them off so you can close things off,” Wood said.

It will take several weeks just to dismantle the cranes piece by piece once exterior construction is completed, Kalley said.

About 1,200 workers are on the $750 million construction site on any given day, although those numbers change over time. Some crews will leave when certain jobs like demolition are completed, only to be replaced by new workers who are skilled in other areas, such as interior construction.

A steel beam that will be one of the last to be hoisted to the top of the 800-foot tower has been placed on the first level of one of Devon’s downtown parking garages for company employees to sign. The beam was already almost completely covered with signatures by Friday afternoon.

Crews have continued working to erect the massive tower in this summer’s record-breaking heat, with afternoon temperatures in excess of 100 degrees most days. The workers have been taking periodic, mandatory breaks to cool off and have been given training to prevent heatstroke and other injuries.

Despite the weather, progress on the tower construction continues to move slightly ahead of schedule, Kalley said.

“You do feel more of a breeze up top and my team would say it’s a little cooler up there,” he said.

IT....IS....NOT....800!!! Someone please, please for the love of Messiah, correct the reporter!!! *screams*

Yes, that is definitely not right. The tower will be 850 feet and the last concrete level is at 790 feet.




The roof will be labeled 52.

Right, but there is an enclosed floor below the roof and above the two-level restaurant that will be purely mechanical and that will be labeled level 51.

Man, I miss that show so much.

Glad someone noticed ;-)

In Vegas, MGM Resorts is going to demolish the Harmon Tower because of structural defects and could collapse in an earthquake. Good thing Devon has a better contractor and inspectors. LOL

Hey Thunder! you mean its not 720ft right now! did anybody catch that? what the &^%$! that article was from august 12th, last friday! And thunder i'm very sure it was talking about the tower being 800ft right now and then add the 60ft crown and bam! 860ft! But yeah, they were talking about it being 800ft right now with the crown to go, that's how it hit me. So don't panic Thunder buddy!

Doug, I assume he was talking about the construction elevators on the outside of the building? I agree that would be akin to a thrill ride at an amusement park.
Yes.

Doug, I assume he was talking about the construction elevators on the outside of the building? I agree that would be akin to a thrill ride at an amusement park.
Yes.

Most high rises have no 13th floor because of superstitions. The Devon tower apparently will not have a 48.


...depends upon on geographic location/culture, too.

Tetraphobia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia)

"...tetraphobia is an aversion to or fear of the number 4. It is a superstition most common in East Asian regions such as mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea..."

I'll bet they have no problem accepting $4 dollars in change when paying a $6 food bill with a $10 bill. Selective fear is the best kind of fear.

From today. Unfortunately from this angle, you can't see the first part of the steel crown construction:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/devon81611.jpg

I'll take care of that tomorrow if it doesn't rain.

When the Exterior of the tower is complete, are you guys going to be able to take photos of the interior construction?

The rotunda, garden wing and restaurant on the top floor will be open to the public, so I'm sure we'll be able to get photos as those areas are completed.

Sounds like that won't happen until the middle of next year.

Taken about 5 minutes ago:

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/devon81711.jpg

Very nice shot thanks for posting! I always love the shots of the city when the light is at a lower level such as this. The colors seem more vivid or something!

The rotunda, garden wing and restaurant on the top floor will be open to the public, so I'm sure we'll be able to get photos as those areas are completed.

Sounds like that won't happen until the middle of next year.

from john williams about a month ago .. the garden wing (at least restaurant) will be open 1st q 2012 ..

I believe their plan is to complete everything but the interiors of the top half of the floors by early 2012 so they can start moving employees in on the lower levels.

So, that should mean the rotunda, garden wing, lobby and lower levels, park and auditorium will likely be complete in about six to eight months, and the rest of the building will be finished by late 2012.

But that doesn't mean that they can't work on the restaurant, right?

I have no idea about the timing of the top-of-the-tower restaurant.

But, John Williams and his staff have a lot on their plates with the Colcord and garden wing.

but, john williams and his staff have a lot on their plates with the colcord and garden wing.

a new hope

Here's what bouldersooner posted recently after speaking with John Williams:


both the new colcord spots should be open in the feb march time frame 2012 and the 49 floor (start of the V) restaurant, which will be in house, will open around sept 2012

Is there going to be a helipad on top?

Is there going to be a helipad on top?

I asked this question a few pages back with no specific answer. But I bet we'll find out next time Google releases their newest satellite shots!

I doubt it due to shape of building but it'd be sweet. I'm seeing helicopters downtown almost daily from my office window, of course they are mostly either medical choppers at Saints or OU, or a news chopper, but would love to see more choppers DT

I doubt very seriously there would be room on top for a helipad, plus it would have to land in the middle of the crown, surrounded by structure on all sides.

I'd sure hate to be the one trying to land that thing up there in OK winds. I don't think any other downtown building has a helipad.

I couldn't see Mr. Nichols putting a helipad on top. He doesn't seem like the type, in other words he seems pretty basic. Since Thunder uploads so many pictures he is going to have to start paying for bandwidth. J/K

I couldn't see Mr. Nichols putting a helipad on top. He doesn't seem like the type, in other words he seems pretty basic. Since Thunder uploads so many pictures he is going to have to start paying for bandwidth. J/K

Cameron_405 donated my Photobucket account to Pro recently. Bandwidth shouldn't be a problem and all the pictures will remain available.

Finally got my hands on a detailed drawing and can confirm the final height of the building will be 844 feet.

More specific details:

Levels 1-6: 20 feet
Levels 7-46: 14 feet 8 inches
Levels 47-50 (will be labeled 47, 49, 50 and 51): 19 feet 6 inches
Crown (labeled 52): 59 feet 3 inches


Not counting the first steel going in for the crown, we are at 784 feet currently:


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/devoncross2.jpg

...the final height of the building will be 844 feet.

http://stormeffect.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/sad-bunny.jpg

To bad, we lost 81 ft. from the first announcement to the end. Would like for it to have been 925 ft. (taller than any in Dallas) but still glad to have 844 ft. tower. Hope we get more tall ones. Thunder, I'm disappointed too!

yesir guys i'm a little bummed out too, because it makes it closer to 100ft shorter than 50ft of the original 925ft which yeah, sucks, but nevertheless it will be awesome, and still looks tall too. Its just with 81 ft shorter, it does look real thick and not as twin tower like at certain angles. But at other angles, towers very well and just keeps going up, which is what we all want. i can't wait to actually see how the crown will look in real life and on real pictures compared to all these computer shots. Ithink we are ready for the real thing

Quit focusing on just the height compared to other skyscrapers. Devon has completely redefined downtown and actually dwarfs it. There's really no need for it to be taller unless Devon requires it.

Lets take a moment to reflect back on history.

It was four years, one month, and eleven days ago when Pete first broke the news to us. Fast forward, the tower is dominating our skyline. Can you believe it? Over four years, the time flashed before our eyes.

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=10593

Lets take a moment to reflect back on history.

It was four years, one month, and eleven days ago when Pete first broke the news to us. Fast forward, the tower is dominating our skyline. Can you believe it? Over four years, the time flashed before our eyes.

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=10593

Are you as excited as I am about the next four years (and beyond)?

=)

For the big fixated, if it helps any, just remember Devon did take a few floors out of the tower and put the data center which would have occupied that space in a separate structure across town. Danged smart move all in all, even if it does leave the tape measure dangling for some.

Driving into OKC from Edmond I get caught up in the massiveness of the Devon Tower. In some ways it seems so out of scale with the other buildings because it just swallows up the 'new' OKC skyline. But then this thought hit me! Wasn't the twin towers in NYC TWICE as tall as the Devon Tower? Does any know if this is correct?

According to wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center), 1 WTC was 1,368 ft and 2 WTC was 1,362 ft. Counting the spire, 1 WTC was 1,727 ft.

If the Devon Energy Center is to be 844 feet then that means that it will be tied with Chicago's Park Tower for the 35th tallest building in the U.S. and 153rd in the world.

For some perspective, here is the view from the observation deck on the top of the 850-foot-tall GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Center. When in Midtown Manhattan, standing on top of a building with near-identical height to Devon Tower, you FEEL like you are on a building that is a peer to the Empire State and that towers above the rest of NYC. Devon Tower is NOT a short building, in any city.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5386067489_f5a9dcf87f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/93779577@N00/5386067489/)
GE Building Top of 30 Rock View 2601 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/93779577@N00/5386067489/) by Brechtbug (http://www.flickr.com/people/93779577@N00/), on Flickr

Another view:

http://www.bug.co.uk/images/us-ny-topofrock.jpg

It will be the 36th tallest (not 35th).

It will be the 36th tallest (not 35th).

If Chicago's Park Tower is 35th at 844 and we tie with it, essentially we will be 36th but if Devon is a foot or 6 taller at 850, we'll be the 35th.

Got back from doing video of the steel work going on the crown. Interesting story...

I parked on 2nd and Hudson to get one last show closer to the tower. I'm extremely busy today with flying to Denver tomorrow and being gone all next week and still gotta pack. I'm kind of in a hurry.
When I get out, I noticed a construction worker had either just parked and was on his way south towards the tower. He saw me and smiled and said hey, then we started talking as we walked. I told him about what I've been doing over the past year, and I found out he was a worker at Devon. He said something like, "See this mark on my hardhat? It means I can go all the way to the top if I wanted to." He talked about how beautiful the view is of the Myriad Gardens looking down in the morning, and how he can see Tinker AFB and very far away. He said that looking straight down the elevator shaft is something else. I said that I heard that the crown will be finished by late September, and he said that's probably about right. He said that they'll keep the bucket hoists (elevators) up for quite some time, since he said there are no working elevators inside yet. I mentioned OKCTalk, and that a crane operator took a cell phone camera picture and posted it.

I quickly showed him one of the time lapse videos I did. He said Devon should have "paid me for that shot". The one he saw was of the glass going up from June. We only talked for maybe five minutes, then he said he had to go to work.

I got a close up of two guys welding the steel for the crown. I also got two shots of new sections going up then being left at the top. I would get more, but I'm too busy. Maybe next Friday when I get back, it won't be too hot. The following Wednesday will be my last day off this month, and is the last day of the month.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I couldn't pass up getting some dramatic video of the demolition of the old Post Office on 5th and Harvey. It's a gigantic pile of twisted rubble. Lots of noise and dust. They have equipment standing on 30-40 feet of rubble, scraping the sides of it and pulling it down. It's about 98% gone.

By the way, this is off topic. I'm also trying to sell a PS3 Slim and if I don't find a buyer by today, I'll be gone for a week. Took it to a post office to ask about this Nigerian address. I knew it was a fraud but thought I'd ask them. It was some scam garbage from Craigslist. So...not a lot of luck so far. Send a PM if you're interested. It's used, but brand new and you know I take care of stuff.

I'll post the photos from video today when I get it done.

If Chicago's Park Tower is 35th at 844 and we tie with it, essentially we will be 36th but if Devon is a foot or 6 taller at 850, we'll be the 35th.

According to this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_the_United_States, we'd be tied for 33rd with the Chase Tower in Chicago and the GE Building in NYC if it were 850ft.

According to this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_the_United_States, we'd be tied for 33rd with the Chase Tower in Chicago and the GE Building in NYC if it were 850ft.

Either of those would be way more awesome!

August 18 2011

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-2.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-3.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-4.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-5.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-6.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-7.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-8.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Downtown%20OKC/Devon%20Tower/August%202011/devontowerprogress8-18-11-9.jpg

William, have we mention how much we love you? How about you get in contact with Devon to set up an area at the opening ceremony day where people can get an autographed picture (of either you, you next to the tower, or tower itself)?

Wouldn't it be great if we had another big skyscraper project lined up to keep these nice construction folks in town?

Wouldn't it be great if we had another big skyscraper project lined up to keep these nice construction folks in town?

The concrete company has rumor circulating that another tower is coming, but there is no official announcement. Its a race with OKCTalk vs NewsOK on being first to break the news. :-) I'm betting the huge block where the Ford dealership used to be across from the Ford Center will be the next tower.

The concrete company has rumor circulating that another tower is coming, but there is no official announcement. Its a race with OKCTalk vs NewsOK on being first to break the news. :-) I'm betting the huge block where the Ford dealership used to be across from the Ford Center will be the next tower.

You mean the convention center location? Nah. It's not likely to go all towerish.

The block where the Ford dealership was is the site that was chosen for the new convention center.

You mean the convention center location? Nah. It's not likely to go all towerish.

That lot is not big enough for a convention center. lol