Belle Isle

Lots of old photos scattered around the site and wanted to consolidate them in one place.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/belleislenow2.jpg


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


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/b...lesiteplan.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/b...powerplant.jpg


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


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/belleisle5.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/belleisle6.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/belleisle7.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/belleisle8.jpg

Can you imagine what our stable of new breed redevelopers could have done with this station and lake??

In many ways, what happened here is far worse than most of the urban renewal mess.

Sickening. With the right vision, it can be what it once was.

As in, under water?

IIRC, young teens made a drug haven out of this building and then one day someone fell from an upper floor and lost their life. That accelerated the sentiment to remove the building, or at least contributed to it's demise.

My sister made a trip there once. Prob regrets it...

Wasn't there a cemetery next to it? Is it still there?

Such a shame. Looking at this today, you can't help but wonder "what if?"
By the way, in that 5th picture you can see the old Montgomery Ward Auto Center in the lower left quarter of that photo.

I now understand why I've heard people call that stretch of I-44 the "Belle Isle Bridge." When I first moved here and heard that, I didn't know if "bridge" was Okie for "overpass" or something.

Still a graveyard back there. I don't think it's customary to move or develope on top of those. Rhe drug addled teen falling through the floor was a legend my mother told me as a child. I have no idea if it's true. I haven't seen the photo of the fully developed penn square mall next to the derelict power station. It really makes you wonder what could have been. But in the early 90's for wal mart and old navy to come along must have sounded like a dream come true.

It's terrible as it is today, but I'm not convinced that how it was would have been the best use of the space in the long run. This spot represents an incredibly important and strategic position in relation to downtown and the rest of the most important quadrant in OKC (presumptuous, I know, but honest). While I kind of wish the power plant had stayed, the general area is probably better served if it is developed into a vibrant, mixed-use area, which it could easily be turned into with the right set of developers.

^^^^^^^^
All of that could have happened while retaining/redeveloping the power plant, which took up a relatively tiny portion of the site. The two were not mutually exclusive.

Sadly, the power station had become a nuisance. At the right time, alignment, etc., it was quite photogenic in the moonlight when reflected off the lake. Thanks, Pete, for putting these in one place and bringing back the memories.

No disrespect, but "had become a nuisance" is a cop-out right up there with "functional obsolescence" and "too far gone to save". Here's a similar shuttered power plant that "had become a nuisance": Seaholm Power, LLC . Austin . Texas : News

And here's another: Turbine Hall | Tate

The building (Belle Isle) was in fine shape structurally. In fact when they imploded it they couldn't get it to drop on the first attempt. Much better condition than - for instance - Sunshine Cleaners. It just required creative vision, and a better security perimeter while waiting for redevelopment.

That site is one of the biggest all-time whiffs in recent OKC development history. There was an opportunity to do something special, and instead we got lowest-common denominator stuff. It set an incredibly low standard.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Urbanized

^^^^^^^^
All of that could have happened while retaining/redeveloping the power plant, which took up a relatively tiny portion of the site. The two were not mutually exclusive.

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Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that they were. I should have used a different syntactical construction there: "I do wish the power plant had stayed. The rest of the area would have been/would be rightly developed into a vibrant, mixed-use area"

i.e., the lake needed to go (although a bit of pond could have been left).

Perhaps nuisance is not the best word; I was using it as a descriptor that I have heard in context with another word, "attractive," as in a place that looks like it would be fun to check out but not the safest place to be. I would have liked to seen it preserved in some fashion or another. No disrespect taken.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Urbanized

No disrespect, but "had become a nuisance" is a cop-out right up there with "functional obsolescence" and "too far gone to save". Here's a similar shuttered power plant that "had become a nuisance": Seaholm Power, LLC . Austin . Texas : News

And here's another: Turbine Hall | Tate

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Thanks for that link to Seaholm Power in Austin. That will be great! Yes, as I said earlier, what a shame about Belle Isle.

Everyone wants to renovate right up until you hear the word "asbestos". Probably a good thing the "pond" was filled in now that the West Nile virus has become today's polio.

We're so fortunate that none of the dozens of recent historic rehabs have contained asbestos. You're right; would have been a deal-killer.

Asbestos was most commonly used post WWII until the late 70's when widespread bans started being implemented.

So, the buildings everyone most wants to preserve generally predate the common use of asbestos.

For example, only the newer sections of FNC had it and it's already been removed; I believe completely.

The Belle Isle Plant was built in the late 20's / early 30's and almost certainly did not contain asbestos.


And I know most people already know this, but it's really only a hazard if you disturb it.

Moreover, it must be removed for either demo or renovation.

Now, now. Let's not let facts get in the way of a good online chastisement of historic preservation proponents.

This site has some cool old pics of Belle Isle.

Belle Isle: Before Homes, OKC's Entertainment Hotspot. Pictorial tour

This is interesting...

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...3d&oe=574821FA

- https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...3d&oe=574821FA

This is a good read: https://ghostsofoklahomacitysskylinecom.wordpress.com

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pete

Asbestos was most commonly used post WWII until the late 70's when widespread bans started being implemented.

So, the buildings everyone most wants to preserve generally predate the common use of asbestos.

For example, only the newer sections of FNC had it and it's already been removed; I believe completely.

The Belle Isle Plant was built in the late 20's / early 30's and almost certainly did not contain asbestos.


And I know most people already know this, but it's really only a hazard if you disturb it.

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Asbestos use goes way back. It was starting to be widely used in the US towards the end of the 1800's. The simple fact that the old structure was a power plant almost guarantees that there was asbestos in the building at some point. Steam lines, boiler & steam generator lagging, and heat shields, etc.

That being said, I wished it could have been saved. When the building still stood I remember thinking that it could have been turned into a cool hotel with retail around it.

Sad.