I predict a pretty big outrage over this.

Yes, it's been inoperable since 2010 but they've basically just let the thing rot; the tried and true approach of demolition by neglect.

Throw another fair icon onto the trash heap: Monorail, Speedway, Arch and now the Space Needle.


Not sure about an outrage coming. It is just a useless and big concrete pole. I do not think it will be missed.

Not sure about an outrage coming. It is just a useless and big concrete pole. I do not think it will be missed.

Already happening online.


"It's the dismal tide. It's not the one thing." ~ No Country for Old Men

I feel like growing up in the 80's this was always broken down during the fair. Or maybe thats what my parents said so they didnt have to wait in the long line.

When was the monorail built and when did it shut down?

The Space Needle passenger compartment wasn’t air conditioned - or at least not when I rode in it as a kid - and it was like an oven in there!

Not sure about an outrage coming. It is just a useless and big concrete pole. I do not think it will be missed.

New to these parts, are you?

I hope to ask this question as delicately as possible; What is the benefit of preserving fair "icons"? From an outsider's perspective, the "icons" which have been mentioned did not seem worthy of keeping around. It's not as if people have recently traveled to OKC to visit the needle. The "icons" are not exemplary of the architecture or build of their day. They were attractions. If people completely stopped going to Frontier city because ridership and tourism had been replaced by better and newer adventures such as the Boathouse district, or a hypothetical newer park, would we fight to keep an old roller coaster from rotting? Surely not. The icons at the fair fit into the same category. It's not as if the OKC fairgrounds are some hallowed ground like a former Olympic park which will one day be a tourist attraction of desolate rides and buildings.

I'm all for historic preservation of buildings in OKC. The fairgrounds and it's "icons" don't seem to fit into a the category of historic preservation.

Again, I'm not trying to be insensitive but I do feel that nostalgia must be separated from historic preservation for preservation's sake.

Great shots Pete. I knew it was just a matter of time. No one should be surprised by this. It would be cool to see the "arrows to atoms" spire saved and placed somewhere else in town, away from the reach of fairgrounds, before it gets brought down with the rest of it.


While they're at it, they might as well nock down the old WKY pavilion.

I fondly remember the last time we rode it before it closed. Our daughter (now nearly 12) was just a baby. We left her stroller at the base. On one of the revolutions, we got a glimpse of our house (we lived in Linwood, just to the north, at the time).

Hopefully the ornamentation on the top will be salvaged.

New to these parts, are you?

Midly. I moved to OKC 11 years ago. I like the fair and the fair park but this "tower" is pointless and ugly. Nobody come to see it.
Except for few, I am sure it wont be missed and barely notice.

Great comment by aDark.

I hope to ask this question as delicately as possible; What is the benefit of preserving fair "icons"? From an outsider's perspective, the "icons" which have been mentioned did not seem worthy of keeping around. It's not as if people have recently traveled to OKC to visit the needle. The "icons" are not exemplary of the architecture or build of their day. They were attractions. If people completely stopped going to Frontier city because ridership and tourism had been replaced by better and newer adventures such as the Boathouse district, or a hypothetical newer park, would we fight to keep an old roller coaster from rotting? Surely not. The icons at the fair fit into the same category. It's not as if the OKC fairgrounds are some hallowed ground like a former Olympic park which will one day be a tourist attraction of desolate rides and buildings.

I'm all for historic preservation of buildings in OKC. The fairgrounds and it's "icons" don't seem to fit into a the category of historic preservation.

Again, I'm not trying to be insensitive but I do feel that nostalgia must be separated from historic preservation for preservation's sake.

Like any bit of architecture, there are strong emotional ties. The practicality isn't the issue... If things were only saved on this basis, nothing would remain after 30 years or so. It's always easier and cheaper to build something new.


A better question is: What is a city and what attaches citizens to it? It's exactly things like the Space Needle and Stage Center and First National. It's memories and strong identification. If you remove all that, what type of connection remains?

Kind of bums me out. I will survive the demo and it won't change my life, but I remember riding that thing with my dad when I was little in the 70's. It was kind of neat to ride it with my son the last time it ran (2009 I believe). He is 14 now, and every year he wants to walk by it and always hopes someone will fix it (and you hear the big cable clanging to the side in the wind). It had a cool view, and it let you see "OKC" from atop. I guess we can pay $100 per head and go have dinner at Vast for the same view though.

I actually thought that some corporate would step up and fix it. I don't have the finances myself to fix it, so therefore I have not skin in the game. Yeah, it may not be super pretty, and some people think its an eyesore, but my dad remembers it as I kid, I remember it, my son remembers it, and I know several people that have great memories of it. It may be old, but it has cool memories. Hoping that something changes in the 11th hour to keep it!!!

The space needle wasn't an attraction to people outside of Oklahoma, but it has been a beloved part of the state fair for as long as I can remember.

Like any bit of architecture, there are strong emotional ties. The practicality isn't the issue... If things were only saved on this basis, nothing would remain after 30 years or so. It's always easier and cheaper to build something new.


A better question is: What is a city and what attaches citizens to it? It's exactly things like the Space Needle and Stage Center and First National. It's memories an strong identification. If you remove all that, what type of connection remains?

First, I am a preservationist. The classic argument which a non-preservationist makes is that if we preserve everything which was once appreciated/emotionally tied to a group of people then nothing new would be built and we stunt the growth of our city and/or contribute to further sprawl. I'm sure we agree that not everything can be preserved. From that agreement, the hurdle becomes deciding what is worth saving and what is not.

The two things you mentioned, First National and the Stage Center, were both buildings and both served a purpose. Both were meticulously designed by titans of architecture, during their time. Both were a form of art. Both were originals. I mourn the loss of the Stage Center and am likewise thrilled that we have saved First National. However, these two things are nothing like the monorail or the needle.

The "icons" are attractions. The monorail served no purpose but as a ride within the fairgrounds. . The monorail was not original to OKC, such as the stage center. From a quick wikipedia search I counted 23 other monorails which are no longer operational in USA, alone. I hesitate to use the word "gimmick" to describe a monorail as I believe they can be a good form of transportation - but ours was not that. It was not original. It was not art. The same can be said for the space needle. It was an attraction. There are many like it. Most are notably taller and more striking. I guess one can argue it is an "original" or that it is "art" - I certainly think that is debatable. When you google search space needle there are 15 or so that pop up on a list of "space needles" - OKC's doesn't even show up on a list or on Wikipedia. Not to mention, those "needles" have actual observation decks that can hold a decent number of people. The most similar building to OKC's needle is the Superman Tower of Power ride at Six flags. The ride that "drops" it's passengers. That is taller than our needle.

If you set aside your personal emotional tie to the OKC "space needle" do you think it can stand on it's own as art? Do you think people who have not grown up going to the Oklahoma State Fair would care to see? Would people use it's observation deck? No.

Now, do you think someone who did not grow up in OKC would appreciate the highly unique architecture of the stage center? The First National Center? The Gold Dome?

I am in agreement with you that a city's peoples are attached to that city by their shared experiences. However, I do not believe the space needle qualifies as a symbol of OKC. I think it evokes fond memories for some people who were kids in the 70's or 80's. It is an identifier. I sincerely doubt anyone outside of that age range feels anything about it. I did not grow up in OKC (Tulsa) and I am 31 years old so maybe I am totally off on this. If a majority of OKC people believe the space needle is a symbol of their city then maybe it is worth keeping.

There is always MAPS, let the voters decide how bad they want an observation tower. If we wanted a sculpture they could have painted it. However, It was always unrealistic to get it operational again though.

How are we going to navigate at the fair now?

They could build an iconic round barn on that spot

There is always MAPS, let the voters decide how bad they want an observation tower. If we wanted a sculpture they could have painted it. However, It was always unrealistic to get it operational again though.

The problem is they plan to demolish long before MAPS 4.

So, if there is a groundswell of support, maybe a social funding effort can be made.

The problem is they plan to demolish long before MAPS 4.

What is the expected cost to revitalize and for ongoing maintenance?

Echoes of the other thread, where something ordinary and every day to some people can be special to others.

Is there any reason to preserve a rusty pole that hasn't been maintained in over a decade? Obviously not, and we all know that was the point of not touching it for over a decade. Do plenty of people look back at what it used to be with fondness? Of course. To believe people aren't going to object to this is such an alien concept to me. Often when schools knock down a building, the word goes out to people who went to that school, "hey, come take a brick". Do people NEED a brick? Unlikely. Do they NEED the brick to have a place of honor on the mantel? Absolutely not. But that's the thing. To you, it's a brick. To them, it's their past.

Mustang schools recently finally knocked down the "old gym" that was crumbling back when I went there. It was called the "end of an era" and parts of the floor were sold. People actually bought them. Did Mustang need this crappy old gym? Lord no. The science center that replaces it will be MUCH better than a crumbling building that was used less and less and was insanely out of code. Did people need these pieces of the floor? Less so than Mustang needed the gym! And yet even in this case there were a number of people who thought it should have been repaired instead of replaced.

Setting aside personal attachment? Crazy talk! Personal attachment is the POINT. But let's go ahead and address that. Would people use it as an observation deck if it had been maintained? Well, we're here in the thread that answers that question. Again, that's the point. People object to it having been ignored and allowed to get to the point where demolition is the only option. At this point in time, go ahead and knock the damn thing down and put in another barn, who cares? It's the what "coulda, shoulda, and woulda" that people are going to be talking about.

First, I am a preservationist. The classic argument which a non-preservationist makes is that if we preserve everything which was once appreciated/emotionally tied to a group of people then nothing new would be built and we stunt the growth of our city and/or contribute to further sprawl. I'm sure we agree that not everything can be preserved. From that agreement, the hurdle becomes deciding what is worth saving and what is not.

The two things you mentioned, First National and the Stage Center, were both buildings and both served a purpose. Both were meticulously designed by titans of architecture, during their time. Both were a form of art. Both were originals. I mourn the loss of the Stage Center and am likewise thrilled that we have saved First National. However, these two things are nothing like the monorail or the needle.

The "icons" are attractions. The monorail served no purpose but as a ride within the fairgrounds. . The monorail was not original to OKC, such as the stage center. From a quick wikipedia search I counted 23 other monorails which are no longer operational in USA, alone. I hesitate to use the word "gimmick" to describe a monorail as I believe they can be a good form of transportation - but ours was not that. It was not original. It was not art. The same can be said for the space needle. It was an attraction. There are many like it. Most are notably taller and more striking. I guess one can argue it is an "original" or that it is "art" - I certainly think that is debatable. When you google search space needle there are 15 or so that pop up on a list of "space needles" - OKC's doesn't even show up on a list or on Wikipedia. Not to mention, those "needles" have actual observation decks that can hold a decent number of people. The most similar building to OKC's needle is the Superman Tower of Power ride at Six flags. The ride that "drops" it's passengers. That is taller than our needle.

If you set aside your personal emotional tie to the OKC "space needle" do you think it can stand on it's own as art? Do you think people who have not grown up going to the Oklahoma State Fair would care to see? Would people use it's observation deck? No.

Now, do you think someone who did not grow up in OKC would appreciate the highly unique architecture of the stage center? The First National Center? The Gold Dome?

I am in agreement with you that a city's peoples are attached to that city by their shared experiences. However, I do not believe the space needle qualifies as a symbol of OKC. I think it evokes fond memories for some people who were kids in the 70's or 80's. It is an identifier. I sincerely doubt anyone outside of that age range feels anything about it. I did not grow up in OKC (Tulsa) and I am 31 years old so maybe I am totally off on this. If a majority of OKC people believe the space needle is a symbol of their city then maybe it is worth keeping.

Read the comments on social media that show an exteremely strong connection to this structure and it's really the last surviving tie to the 'old fair'.

It's a strange argument to make that something isn't worth saving because you and even lots of others don't care about it. The point is there are plenty of people who do.

BTW, one big difference with the space needle is that it is publicly owned.

The City of OKC owns it and the OK State Fair Inc. operates it and the entire fairgrounds on the behalf of the citizens of OKC.

Not even with Vast—they have a "Daily Table", a curated buffet from like 11 to 1:30 for like 20 bucks. It's great, too.

Aside from that, did I not read that not only did people step up with proposals to fix the tower (all that German, ach!), but the offers weren't entertained?

The problem is they plan to demolish long before MAPS 4.

I was thinking more about a whole new tower.

A poster awhile back outlined how difficult and expensive it would to repair it. You basically have to find someone that can rebuild all the mechanical components from scratch. Original manufacture is long gone.

Of course some kind of preservation effort would have been done a long time ago. The basement level probably looks just as bad if not worse than the top.

It's a strange argument to make that something isn't worth saving because you and even lots of others don't care about it. The point is there are plenty of people who do.

I don't mean to be argumentative. If you read my first comment you'll see this is coming out of a place of curiosity. My last comment ends with the sentiment that if the people care about it then it should be kept. I'm not arguing for its destruction but merely trying to understand why some people seem so riled up about it. It's not the Founders National Bank or the Stage Center. Some of the comments on the OKC talk forum would have you thinking this fair attraction is the only other "space needle" in America or is a symbol of OKC. I'm just suggesting, from an outsider's perspective, it is neither of those things.

Again, if everyone loves it by all means we should keep it!!

(but yes, if saving it is going to cost our city a bunch of money to preserve it or make it work again then no, I personally wouldn't want to spend our funds on that when they could be placed elsewhere)

Every time I drive up or down I-44 I look at the tower. I've done it for years and it is a habit. I got to ride it the last year it was operational. I remember there was still a line to board it. I'm sure it will be missed by many.

The fairgrounds were our City Hall growing up. Most people in OKC have never been to city hall, know where it is, or could even pick it out of a photo lineup if they had to, But we have all been to the Fair. It just seems like all of the older Icons are gone and just being replaced with nothing special, Stage center comes to mind. Is there anything left that is uniqley OKC that wasnt built since MAPS 1 besides the gold dome and first national?
The only other thing that I can come up with is the large cowboy statue at the cowboy hall, but it is so overgrown now it can hardly be seen from I-44.

It's funny and kind of awful to think about this but...

Everyone wails about the atrocities of 60's and 70's urban renewal in OKC. About how it almost permanently ruined the core beyond salvation. And how we are now having to spend billions just to recreate what was once there or to at least fill the gaping holes.

Yet, look at what has happened just in the last 10 years. We cleared an entire city block (bus station, Hotel Black) for a nearly empty office building and 2 huge parking garages. SandRidge tore down 2 historic buildings with faint promises of replacing that never materialized. Stage Center nothing but a fenced-off lot for years and with only a basketball court on the horizon. Tore down everything near Scissortail Park and the convention center; the International Harvester and Film Row buildings were both gems. Took out tons of rail infrastructure for a new interstate. Building a very pedestrian unfriendly boulevard in place of the old interstate. Almost all of the old fairgrounds will soon be gone, etc., etc.

And while all of this was going on, there were loads of justifications.

The problem is those justifications fade (as do the 'leaders' who made them) or never materialize and after time has passed only then do you realize once something is gone it's gone forever.


I have no doubt that decades from now future generations will look back on the last decade or two with the same sort of contempt we have for the decision makers of the last urban renewal wave.

Disappointing but not surprised.

I hate to hear this but knew it would come eventually as there has been no plan to do anything with it other than let it rust. I hope they save the Arrow/Atom atop the tower or I would love to have it! :) I have a representation of the Arrows to Atoms icon tattoeed on me as part of my Sleeve. it gets so much attention and I enjoy telling people the story behind it. people are fascinated by it actually. so for me I will be sad to see it go for sure.

How long do you express disrespect to the 'Arrows to Atoms' space tower?

It's a monument we've left to lie in 'wake' for far too long; do you leave it up while the dead buries the dead; the weather elements will destroy this monument. You don't leave a body out and expose it to further decay.

For the love of this tower it deserves a decent burial.

The problem is those justifications fade (as do the 'leaders' who made them) or never materialize and after time has passed only then do you realize once something is gone it's gone forever.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwUJH70ubM

"Paved paradise, and put up another horse barn".

Some history about the tower:

Built in 1967 at a cost of $450,000, the Arrows to Atoms Space Tower's roots actually lie in the 1957 Semi-Centennial Exposition, held at the then-new Fairgrounds, which had just been relocated to it's current home from it's former location at NE 10th and Douglas. For the 50th anniversary of statehood, the Utility Tower Company was commissioned to construct a 200 foot tall tower, to be unveiled at the expo, to symbolize the progress that the citizens of Oklahoma had made in those 50 years. The red and white tower itself was constructed of steel and fiberglass to resemble an arrow, with a representation of an atom that contained an outline of the state of Oklahoma as the nucleus just below the tip. The symbolic tower was lit from the inside, and it was the central landmark of the Expo. The Expo itself was a really big deal; the fairgrounds was open 24 hours a day from June 14 through July 7 of that year, hosted a large number of exhibits and big name performers, and state received nationwide attention for it's efforts, including a 3-cent postage stamp that commemorated the Expo and depicted the original tower. By the mid-1960's, however, the original Arrows to Atoms tower fell into disrepair and was dismantled due to structural issues. Inspired by Seattle's Space Needle, which had opened in 1962 for the Seattle World's Fair, Fair Park officials constructed the Arrows to Atoms Space Tower as a replacement for the original tower. The new tower evoked much of the same design language, including a spire mimicking the original tower, with the same Oklahoma-atom symbol and red arrowhead at the tip of the spire. The new tower was constructed by Willy Buhler Company of Bern, Switzerland and was officially dedicated during the 1968 fair on September 21st. A plaque at it's base reads as follows:


ARROWS TO ATOMS
SPACE TOWER

The Upward Thrust of the Arrows to
Atoms Space Tower is Symbolic of the
Visionary Surge for Achievement by
Pioneer Oklahomans and the Search
For New Frontiers by Today's Oklahomans

It is to these Strong Confident People
of Pioneering Vision and Industry that
This Monument is Dedicated this 21st
Day of September in the Year 1968

To my knowledge, the Willy Buhler Company built a couple other gyro towers like ours in the United States - most notably, the Astrotower at Coney Island, NY, built in 1964 and demolished in 2013. There are a small handful of gyro towers in the United States, but the information I can find indicates that ours may be the last surviving example of this particular company's work in the USA.

Further reading on this topic:
http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SE010
https://thefatokie.wordpress.com/tag/arrows-to-atoms/
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMF53V_Arrows_to_Atoms_Space_Tower_State_Fair_Park _Oklahoma_City_OK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyro_tower

My tribute to the history of it all. 14973

I'll add that,for me, it was an easy to spot landmark while trying to orient myself at night while trying to figure out which way to go search for my parked car. It was also a great reference as in "meet me east-west-south-north or whatever" to join up or navigate to whatever building or attraction.

I do miss the elevated monorail. It was an enjoyable ride.

My tribute to the history of it all. 14973

That is one seriously cool tattoo. Love it!

It's funny and kind of awful to think about this but...

Everyone wails about the atrocities of 60's and 70's urban renewal in OKC. About how it almost permanently ruined the core beyond salvation. And how we are now having to spend billions just to recreate what was once there or to at least fill the gaping holes.

Yet, look at what has happened just in the last 10 years. We cleared an entire city block (bus station, Hotel Black) for a nearly empty office building and 2 huge parking garages. SandRidge tore down 2 historic buildings with faint promises of replacing that never materialized. Stage Center nothing but a fenced-off lot for years and with only a basketball court on the horizon. Tore down everything near Scissortail Park and the convention center; the International Harvester and Film Row buildings were both gems. Took out tons of rail infrastructure for a new interstate. Building a very pedestrian unfriendly boulevard in place of the old interstate. Almost all of the old fairgrounds will soon be gone, etc., etc.

And while all of this was going on, there were loads of justifications.

The problem is those justifications fade (as do the 'leaders' who made them) or never materialize and after time has passed only then do you realize once something is gone it's gone forever.


I have no doubt that decades from now future generations will look back on the last decade or two with the same sort of contempt we have for the decision makers of the last urban renewal wave.

Its really too bad that our business leaders couldn’t have taken a cue from Bob Simpson, XTO Energy’s founder, and taken more of a preservationalist approach to their campuses downtown. XTO restored a ton of buildings in and around downtown Fort Worth and Simpson’s current company renovated an dilapidated downtown building as well. Fort Worth is a lot better because of the improvements they made. Wish some of that would’ve rubbed off here. Some of the demo’s have been pretty disappointing.

It's funny and kind of awful to think about this but...

Everyone wails about the atrocities of 60's and 70's urban renewal in OKC. About how it almost permanently ruined the core beyond salvation. And how we are now having to spend billions just to recreate what was once there or to at least fill the gaping holes.

Yet, look at what has happened just in the last 10 years. We cleared an entire city block (bus station, Hotel Black) for a nearly empty office building and 2 huge parking garages. SandRidge tore down 2 historic buildings with faint promises of replacing that never materialized. Stage Center nothing but a fenced-off lot for years and with only a basketball court on the horizon. Tore down everything near Scissortail Park and the convention center; the International Harvester and Film Row buildings were both gems. Took out tons of rail infrastructure for a new interstate. Building a very pedestrian unfriendly boulevard in place of the old interstate. Almost all of the old fairgrounds will soon be gone, etc., etc.

And while all of this was going on, there were loads of justifications.

The problem is those justifications fade (as do the 'leaders' who made them) or never materialize and after time has passed only then do you realize once something is gone it's gone forever.


I have no doubt that decades from now future generations will look back on the last decade or two with the same sort of contempt we have for the decision makers of the last urban renewal wave.

Nailed it. I agree completely. Is it "every couple of generations repeat the mistakes of the past because they failed to learn from history?" I think that's much of the problem. It sure seems to be a systemic problem in the city we love.

Its really too bad that our business leaders couldn’t have taken a cue from Bob Simpson, XTO Energy’s founder, and taken more of a preservationalist approach to their campuses downtown. XTO restored a ton of buildings in and around downtown Fort Worth and Simpson’s current company renovated an dilapidated downtown building as well. Fort Worth is a lot better because of the improvements they made. Wish some of that would’ve rubbed off here. Some of the demo’s have been pretty disappointing.

This.
Great example!

Some history about the tower:

Built in 1967 at a cost of $450,000, the Arrows to Atoms Space Tower's roots actually lie in the 1957 Semi-Centennial Exposition, held at the then-new Fairgrounds, which had just been relocated to it's current home from it's former location at NE 10th and Douglas. For the 50th anniversary of statehood, the Utility Tower Company was commissioned to construct a 200 foot tall tower, to be unveiled at the expo, to symbolize the progress that the citizens of Oklahoma had made in those 50 years. The red and white tower itself was constructed of steel and fiberglass to resemble an arrow, with a representation of an atom that contained an outline of the state of Oklahoma as the nucleus just below the tip. The symbolic tower was lit from the inside, and it was the central landmark of the Expo. The Expo itself was a really big deal; the fairgrounds was open 24 hours a day from June 14 through July 7 of that year, hosted a large number of exhibits and big name performers, and state received nationwide attention for it's efforts, including a 3-cent postage stamp that commemorated the Expo and depicted the original tower. By the mid-1960's, however, the original Arrows to Atoms tower fell into disrepair and was dismantled due to structural issues. Inspired by Seattle's Space Needle, which had opened in 1962 for the Seattle World's Fair, Fair Park officials constructed the Arrows to Atoms Space Tower as a replacement for the original tower. The new tower evoked much of the same design language, including a spire mimicking the original tower, with the same Oklahoma-atom symbol and red arrowhead at the tip of the spire. The new tower was constructed by Willy Buhler Company of Bern, Switzerland and was officially dedicated during the 1968 fair on September 21st. A plaque at it's base reads as follows:



To my knowledge, the Willy Buhler Company built a couple other gyro towers like ours in the United States - most notably, the Astrotower at Coney Island, NY, built in 1964 and demolished in 2013. There are a small handful of gyro towers in the United States, but the information I can find indicates that ours may be the last surviving example of this particular company's work in the USA.

Further reading on this topic:
http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SE010
https://thefatokie.wordpress.com/tag/arrows-to-atoms/
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMF53V_Arrows_to_Atoms_Space_Tower_State_Fair_Park _Oklahoma_City_OK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyro_tower

The astrotower at Coney Island stopped operations in 2008 and was demolished after Sandy caused it to sway too much. I think the maintenance on these things are too difficult/expensive even without flooding. They were hoping to turn it into a light tower before Sandy hit. Now there is a tower launch ride in its place.

Very sad. Just keep tearing down anything that is unique in OKC. Not surprised at this, but hate to hear it.

maybe we can buy the Seattle space needle and move it here

maybe we can buy the Seattle space needle and move it here

so much this

The younger Generation will never say or hear, "Meet me at the Tower" or "Meet me at the B-52", and many more.

but instead they'll say, meet me at "Horse Barn 1,100" or "Horse Show arena"?

They also wont have visible reminders in front of them that WE HAD, that despite the old narrative"Oklahoma" is NOT a backwater state either.

Oklahomans have always been quiet and humble (too much IMO) mostly because we don't have this or that of our southern neighbour. But OKC did have a lot of icons that made the city unique and citizens should have been proud of, ala the monorail and space needle. Just like Seattle HAS and has chosen to keep, retrofit, and even rebuild and both serve no purpose but tourism, why did OKC make the decisions it made?

There is a small but powerful group in this city that runs this city. They chose to make the fairgrounds into a horse show park BY removing the World's Fair icons. Unlike Seattle, they chose to let them rot and not service/retrofit them then demolish them. People think of Seattle because of the Space Needle and original monorail - back from the 1960's, and a few other things that were selected to remain here. OKC could have done the same as those were uniquely Oklahoman but the choice was different in favor of fields mostly. ...

So what will younger generations say about OKC? Hm, it's a modern city on one hand but for some reason there's all of this 'backwater' horse barn stuff that I have no idea about (and likely ashamed of). ...

but instead they'll say, meet me at "Horse Barn 1,100" or "Horse Show arena"?

They also wont have visible reminders in front of them that WE HAD, that despite the old narrative"Oklahoma" is NOT a backwater state either.

Oklahomans have always been quiet and humble (too much IMO) mostly because we don't have this or that of our southern neighbour. But OKC did have a lot of icons that made the city unique and citizens should have been proud of, ala the monorail and space needle. Just like Seattle HAS and has chosen to keep, retrofit, and even rebuild and both serve no purpose but tourism, why did OKC make the decisions it made?

There is a small but powerful group in this city that runs this city. They chose to make the fairgrounds into a horse show park BY removing the World's Fair icons. Unlike Seattle, they chose to let them rot and not service/retrofit them then demolish them. People think of Seattle because of the Space Needle and original monorail - back from the 1960's, and a few other things that were selected to remain here. OKC could have done the same as those were uniquely Oklahoman but the choice was different in favor of fields mostly. ...

So what will younger generations say about OKC? Hm, it's a modern city on one hand but for some reason there's all of this 'backwater' horse barn stuff that I have no idea about (and likely ashamed of). ...

So much this. So much of OKC's history shoveled to the scrap heap to benefit primarily equine interests. Somehow, it just shouldn't be that a few power players get to use city property as their own personal show arena.

WHO is the power player or players shoving the horse shows down OKCs throats over the objections of the citizens?

It's funny and kind of awful to think about this but...

Everyone wails about the atrocities of 60's and 70's urban renewal in OKC. About how it almost permanently ruined the core beyond salvation. And how we are now having to spend billions just to recreate what was once there or to at least fill the gaping holes.

Yet, look at what has happened just in the last 10 years. We cleared an entire city block (bus station, Hotel Black) for a nearly empty office building and 2 huge parking garages. SandRidge tore down 2 historic buildings with faint promises of replacing that never materialized. Stage Center nothing but a fenced-off lot for years and with only a basketball court on the horizon. Tore down everything near Scissortail Park and the convention center; the International Harvester and Film Row buildings were both gems. Took out tons of rail infrastructure for a new interstate. Building a very pedestrian unfriendly boulevard in place of the old interstate. Almost all of the old fairgrounds will soon be gone, etc., etc.

And while all of this was going on, there were loads of justifications.

The problem is those justifications fade (as do the 'leaders' who made them) or never materialize and after time has passed only then do you realize once something is gone it's gone forever.


I have no doubt that decades from now future generations will look back on the last decade or two with the same sort of contempt we have for the decision makers of the last urban renewal wave.

This is a great post and worthy of it's own thread, IMO.

Oklahoma towns and cities have a huge problem with 2-steps forward, 1-step back thinking. Good is the enemy of great here, and it's easy to get caught up in the nice things that are being developed and forget to take into account the big picture. OKC will have some nice new things and decent fairground facilities when the dust settles, but not much if any of it will be truly unique or note-worthy. Just nice.

All that being said, the Space Needle itself doesn't seem like a huge loss. It was iconic because it was big and central, but a new icon could take it's place and be even better. The problem is that there's never going to be anything like that even considered with the current culture of public development here.

Back during the 80’s and early 90’s I lived catty corner from the fairgrounds over on 12th & Goff. My house faced east and I could look across I-44 and see the space needle cabin raise and lower, watch the spotlights and helicopters, fireworks at 89er’s, as well as soak in the sounds and smells as I sat on my front porch on southerly breezy evenings.

On other nights, when the fairgrounds was quiet, I could hear the wind howl through the space needle, and hear the steel cables banging against the huge steel column.

A friend and I used to ride our bicycles around the fairgrounds at night. Sidewalk racing around the buildings, grandstands and space needle. It was cool and spooky at the same time.

Channel 4 had a story this morning on the needle demolition. Apparently they had engineers do a structural study after the storm that took out the arch. The tube itself supposedly has structural damage and it must be repaired or taken down. My wife turned off the tv to leave for work just as the guy being interviewed was starting to talk dollar figures so I didn’t hear that part.

Channel 4 had a story this morning on the needle demolition. Apparently they had engineers do a structural study after the storm that took out the arch. The tube itself supposedly has structural damage and it must be repaired or taken down. My wife turned off the tv to leave for work just as the guy being interviewed was starting to talk dollar figures so I didn’t hear that part.

They let it sit there without any maintanence for a very long time.

Demolition by neglect, then the inevitable, "it's too expensive to fix and is dangerous".

Not a very good explanation when the entire function of Oklahoma State Fair Inc. is to properly manage these facilities on behalf of the citizens of OKC.

They let it sit there without any maintanence for a very long time.

Demolition by neglect, then the inevitable, "it's too expensive to fix and is dangerous".

Not a very good explanation when the entire function of Oklahoma State Fair Inc. is to properly manage these facilities on behalf of the citizens of OKC.Very true.

They let it sit there without any maintanence for a very long time.

Demolition by neglect, then the inevitable, "it's too expensive to fix and is dangerous".

Not a very good explanation when the entire function of Oklahoma State Fair Inc. is to properly manage these facilities on behalf of the citizens of OKC.

"It's too expensive to fix and is dangerous" kind of sounds like the current state of Oklahoma politics.

They let it sit there without any maintanence for a very long time.

Demolition by neglect, then the inevitable, "it's too expensive to fix and is dangerous".

Not a very good explanation when the entire function of Oklahoma State Fair Inc. is to properly manage these facilities on behalf of the citizens of OKC.

Sounds like this might be a good time to push for a FOIA request on their meetings.

They let it sit there without any maintanence for a very long time.

Demolition by neglect, then the inevitable, "it's too expensive to fix and is dangerous".

Not a very good explanation when the entire function of Oklahoma State Fair Inc. is to properly manage these facilities on behalf of the citizens of OKC.

Sounds like this might be a good time to push for a FOIA request on their meetings.

They let it sit there without any maintanence for a very long time.

Demolition by neglect, then the inevitable, "it's too expensive to fix and is dangerous".

Not a very good explanation when the entire function of Oklahoma State Fair Inc. is to properly manage these facilities on behalf of the citizens of OKC.

As it was with everything else that was removed. All the more reason that the secret actions of the fair board fraternity need to be exposed to the light.

Sounds like this might be a good time to push for a FOIA request on their meetings.

They operate outside the OK Open Meetings Statute and have been less than helpful when I've called for information. One person was downright rude.

As it was with everything else that was removed. All the more reason that the secret actions of the fair board fraternity need to be exposed to the light.

Yeah, the storm didnt cause the damage. The engineers were hired to look at everything and they said the rust will become an issue in the future. They said 1.8 million dollars in repairs were needed, I dont think that included getting it operational. Not sure how much it would have cost if they continually maintained it. Painting it every couple of years is probably an expensive endeavor.

They let it sit there without any maintanence for a very long time.

Demolition by neglect, then the inevitable, "it's too expensive to fix and is dangerous".

Not a very good explanation when the entire function of Oklahoma State Fair Inc. is to properly manage these facilities on behalf of the citizens of OKC.

Perfectly stated, Pete. Agree 110%. Purposeful neglect to facilitate too-expensive repairs that won't get done. But the big boys get their horse barns.