Urbanized was right about the main structure being built like a Nazi flak tower: tons of reinforced concrete.

I would be surprised if any resident to OKC was not aware of stage center. most people know the structure. they either hate it or love it but they know it.

I would agree that most know it. But I would probably disagree with the idea that they EITHER love it or hate it. I think the percentage of the overall population that either loves it or hates it is pretty small. Both views are amplified in this forum, but I don't think they are in any way representative of popular opinion. An overwhelming number of people are simply "meh." That was a big part of the problem.

I would agree that most know it. But I would probably disagree with the idea that they EITHER love it or hate it. I think the percentage of the overall population that either loves it or hates it is pretty small. Both views are amplified in this forum, but I don't think they are in any way representative of popular opinion. An overwhelming number of people are simply "meh." That was a big part of the problem.

I agree there. after writing it I thought more of a "love , hate or are indifferent to it" but they definately know the structure.

Stage Center Demolition - July 28 2014

https://www.flickr.com/photos/williamhider/sets/72157645992767581/

Could someone post the HD video in about an hour when it's finished from my YouTube? I'll be at a second job. Thanks!

Will Hider - YouTube (http://bit.ly/X3yTa9)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiMaXE-n1Ak
Stage Center Demolition - Oklahoma City (July 28 2014) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiMaXE-n1Ak)

After watching that video, it looks like they took the cheap route in demolition. At that rate it will be Christmas before demolition is complete, lol.

Personally I'm a little unsatisfied at the size of the wrecking ball. It's barely bigger than the chain it's hanging from!

This demolition truly deserves silence.

But I just have to say how sad this is. One day, people will look back and wonder what the hell we were thinking when we tore this building down.

-

This demolition truly deserves silence.

But I just have to say how sad this is. One day, people will look back and wonder what the hell we were thinking when we tore this building down.

-

Very true. I will pass on watching that video.

Just goes to show . . . "Different Strokes For Different Folks" . . .

Frankly, I can't imagine what the hell the local [yokels/arts supporters/string pulling buffoons]--back in the day--were thinking to ever be persuaded to buy into that East Coast Artistic Nonsense in the first place.

Them East Coast con artists are a crafty lot. You gotta give 'em that.
I hope they are enjoying the photos.
Silently.

Personally I'm a little unsatisfied at the size of the wrecking ball. It's barely bigger than the chain it's hanging from!

They are trying to break it down, carefully, into as many small pieces of concrete as possible in order to maximize the number of souvenir jewelry pieces to soon flood the artistic nostalgia market.

They are trying to break it down, carefully, into as many small pieces of concrete as possible in order to maximize the number of souvenir jewelry pieces to soon flood the artistic nostalgia market.

Which will, in turn, make next year's Festival of the Arts very successful.

Which will, in turn, make next year's Festival of the Arts very successful.

I hope that either Judy Collins or Leslie Gore can be there to sing "Circle Game" . . .
(maybe Joni Mitchell? =)

Maybe even Emmy Lou and Neil? . . .

F9N5MGRPV0I

I hope that either Judy Collins or Leslie Gore can be there to sing "Circle Game" . . .
(maybe Joni Mitchell? =)

A trio would be perfect.

I would like a above ground storm shelter built that strong. Minus any asbestos.

That wrecking ball is super weak. Miley was riding one bigger than that!



Why not use one of those hydraulic attachments for a backhoe that has the big concrete crushing jaws?

http://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6701&stc=1&d=1183880975

That works on pre-stressed concrete, or post and beam, like what appears to be shown in your photo. Stage Center was poured-in-place, reinforced concrete, loaded with rebar. Completely different types of buildings. Your chompers would last about 5 minutes.

Which only goes to prove a couple of things I said all along; (1) the idea that somehow SC could be "moved" was total foolishness, and (2) the representations that the building was "falling in on itself" were at best ignorant and at worst deliberately untruthful.

The building may have been designed to tweak the nose of the OKC establishment and confuse the proletariat, and it might have functioned poorly for its intended purpose, but one thing about it: it was built like a brick ****house.

Makes sense, SC is giant blocks of concrete, not really walls you can pull down.

School starts in 3 weeks; I'm sure they want to be completely finished by then and to accomplish that, they'd better pick up the pace.

One thing that WOULD work (I'm surprised you're not seeing it and would expect you will soon) is an excavator with a huge hydraulic jackhammer attachment on the end.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Excavator_jackhammer.jpg

Put me in the ambivalent camp... Although the renderings of the structure that is replacing Stage Center strike me as a fairly generic glass structure. The only element that seems to have going for it is the curvature.

The one line that I do remember about Stage Center that makes me laugh everytime I think about it was when I was giving some friends a tour of the city. I was very proud touring them around. Showing them all of the great things that have been built.

When we got to the end of the tour, one of the people asked me with complete sincerity, "Why did we build our water treatment plant downtown?"

That works on pre-stressed concrete, or post and beam, like what appears to be shown in your photo. Stage Center was poured-in-place, reinforced concrete, loaded with rebar. Completely different types of buildings. Your chompers would last about 5 minutes.

Which only goes to prove a couple of things I said all along; (1) the idea that somehow SC could be "moved" was total foolishness, and (2) the representations that the building was "falling in on itself" were at best ignorant and at worst deliberately untruthful.

The building may have been designed to tweak the nose of the OKC establishment and confuse the proletariat, and it might have functioned poorly for its intended purpose, but one thing about it: it was built like a brick ****house.

The concrete base is not something anyone ever thought to move. The visually iconic elements are the colorful chutes and ladders and the steel boxes. Where did anyone suggest moving anything else?

One thing that WOULD work (I'm surprised you're not seeing it and would expect you will soon) is an excavator with a huge hydraulic jackhammer attachment on the end.


yes I would think that would be much more helpful than swinging a ball at it. especially watching that video and watching it Clumsily tap at the concrete.

This demolition could be completed before this mornings first coffee break...


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/8761d1406644886-stage-center-f16_scang_inflight.jpg

The concrete base is not something anyone ever thought to move. The visually iconic elements are the colorful chutes and ladders and the steel boxes. Where did anyone suggest moving anything else?

I don't have time to scan the thousands of posts, but it was suggested often in the demo debate. "Hey! I have the answer! Jus move/reconstruct it elsewhere if it's so iconic!" In some cases it was suggested that the concrete bases be reproduced, and as I pointed out at the time (and as is being demonstrated now) that would have been a massive undertaking and would likely have cost tens of millions to do, all to reproduce a "failed" building. The possibility of doing so was somewhat-successfully refuted, and that discussion gave birth to the idea of relocating "elements" of the building.

Truthfully, the blue ramps are the only ones that could have been relocated, anyway. The other (orange and yellow) elements that LOOKED like shipping containers were in most cases only one wall or so. The silver boxes on top only house mechanicals like HVAC.

Personally I'm a little unsatisfied at the size of the wrecking ball. It's barely bigger than the chain it's hanging from!

I agree. Surely SC should have a bigger wrecking ball than Miley Cyrus.

It's curious on this board how when we are reminded months later in retrospect that a few posters made some dumb or uninformed comments, someone always rushes in to say "hey, nobody ever said anything that dumb!" as if it was an attack on the integrity of the board itself (which it is not). What is up with that? It's weird. Dumb stuff is always said on message boards; it's the nature of the beast. I've done it myself many times.

This demolition truly deserves silence.

But I just have to say how sad this is. One day, people will look back and wonder what the hell we were thinking when we tore this building down.

-

On the contrary (having just watched the video) this demolition deserves a soundtrack . . .

V92OBNsQgxU

I agree. Surely SC should have a bigger wrecking ball than Miley Cyrus.

Only if they make her ride it on the first strike.

Only if they make her ride it on the first strike.

Not even SC deserves that kind of ending.

Nice shot from today. Wrecking ball is working at the top of the image:


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sc072914.jpg

Not even SC deserves that kind of ending.

Like

I'll say this, I think SC looks a lot better WITHOUT the colored metal on it. The splash of color now appears to have detracted from the intricacy of the concrete. Don't get me wrong though, it was still poor site planning.

This demolition could be completed before this mornings first coffee break...


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/8761d1406644886-stage-center-f16_scang_inflight.jpg

Like. Incredible Like.

Not to get technical, but it doesn't appear as though that F-16 is properly armed for a precision ground strike.

Yeah those air to air missiles aren't gonna do squat to that bunker.

Yeah those air to air missiles aren't gonna do squat to that bunker.

Drop the external fuel tanks, those with the missles might at least take the paint off the conectors

Use this instead...

8764

I can't believe that they haven't unleashed the concrete-eating nanobots on the structure . . . Johansen was all into stuff like that and they would have provided a quiet, dignified end to this architectural joke of his.

This demolition could be completed before this mornings first coffee break...


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/8761d1406644886-stage-center-f16_scang_inflight.jpg

I like the fighter jet.

South Carolina = SC; SC = Stage Center.

I see what you did there!

After watching that video, it looks like they took the cheap route in demolition. At that rate it will be Christmas before demolition is complete, lol.

Does it matter? There's not even anything approved for the site. Even after it's down and hauled off, it'll sit as a vacant scar for months after that.

I guess no one thought to take a walk-through and document with pics or video the interiors of the building.... I can't seem to find much of anything about how the interior was laid out, or where things were with respect to each other internally.

Here is a basic floor plan:

http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/1570d1337171806-stage-center-stagecenter3.jpg

Use this instead...

8764

Looks like Dover, AFB. Was stationed there for 4 years.

Post apocalyptic landscape courtesy of catch22:


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sc073114a.jpg

Interesting, I captured a few images of my own today, too. Incidentally, might that one have been taken around noon today?

883588368837883888398840884188428843

Also, let the record state that I find it a touch ironic that this is the only time I've passed by this building, saw it, thought "huh, that looks kinda neat", and thought to take a real good look at it. I'm one of those that has no strong feeling one way or the other regarding the demo, but I found the hybrid pile of building/rubble interesting for some reason.

About 1:30pm.

About 1:30pm.

Ah, then you weren't the person I saw looking around when I was there. Carry on. :)

Neither were you the person I saw.

I walked in a counter clockwise direction around the block, and passed a man walking in a clockwise direction around the block. We said Hello twice to each other.

Neither were you the person I saw.

I walked in a counter clockwise direction around the block, and passed a man walking in a clockwise direction around the block. We said Hello twice to each other.

If this building generated this kind of pedestrian activity when it was intact it might have been worth saving.

I saw a couple of folks when I was walking by. Have photos but they're on the phone that doesn't connect to work wifi. One person I saw was in jeans and wearing a black t-shirt and white ball cap. The other person was in shorts, a red and blue striped polo-type of shirt and got into a red truck. Seems as if lots of folks are walking / driving the area to take photos and pay their last respects.

If this building generated this kind of pedestrian activity when it was intact it might have been worth saving.

It was just too "gosh durn werd".

There was nowhere to walk for most of its life. People weren't walking downtown until a few years ago. We walk past it going to the film district and have for the past couple of years. But really, what in that area would generate a lot of foot traffic? Devon? The school that wasn't? There's so much parking south of the Myriad and around it that the only time people park west of the Myriad Gardens is at Sunday night concerts. Even film row doesn't really have the mass appeal of Bricktown or Auto Alley. Any foot traffic would have developed over the next 5 to 10 years as west downtown develops. If we were using foot traffic as a guide, then we didn't wait long enough. There are all sorts of ways it could have been used to draw people in, but it was left vacant.

Also, later in it's life the building was largely obscured by mature trees.

That, combined with being set far back off the street on all sides made it pretty easy to miss even if you were in the area.

That was just the problem Betts, it was just something to walk past. It didn't generate its own pedestrian activity. It was relegated to "art", and not even destination art.

That was just the problem Betts, it was just something to walk past. It didn't generate its own pedestrian activity. It was relegated to "art", and not even destination art.

I saw some great productions at Mummer's/Stage Center over the years. It wasn't about pedestrian activity - it was about going to the theatre.

Now, now, don't go blaming the innocent trees.They just stood silently by and didn't do anything ... just like most of the city.
:)

Thanks. I was kinda thinking about actual images from the interior of the building. There don't seem to be very many of those anywhere...

There are a bunch here, but it's after the flooding:

Stage Center | Abandoned Oklahoma (http://www.abandonedok.com/stage-center/#/)

That was just the problem Betts, it was just something to walk past. It didn't generate its own pedestrian activity. It was relegated to "art", and not even destination art.

That was the city's choice. We could have made it a destination. I still think it could have been a brilliant children's art museum - something that would have tied it to the Myriad Gardens and the new school. It would have been used and enjoyed by a lot more people than the convention center, for an eighth of the cost.