That whole "Second Downtown" area

[JWil]

It just seems to be coming more and more into its own. BTW, that's what I call the area between Classen/NWX and NWX/Portland along the Northwest Expressway.

Anyway, the real reason I posted this is because I wonder if people think about how much skyline is there? Especially when you're driving westbound on I-44 and come over Classen at the very start of the Belle Isle Bridge. Think about it: Valliance and 50 Penn to your left-ish area, Penn Square in the foreground and a lot of random low-level buildings right in front of you (due west). I know Baptist Medical Center is some of that, but I'm continually astonished every time I drive that way and see that silhouette as the sun sets behind it.

Good times.

I also think about what the downtown skyline would be with all that, but oh well. Kinda cool having two distinct areas like that.

[metro]

I don't see it as a second downtown like a few posters do on this site. I see it as part of a normal healthy city. Take any other large city and they have mid-rises and even high-rises in other parts of the city. What is DFW without NW Expressway/Tollway areas? Houston has the Woodlands and other parts with midrises, Atlanta has Buckhead which is basically another downtown, So. Cal and the Bay Area have multiple urban centers. I definitely wouldn't call OKC's NW Expressway/ Classen Corridor a second downtown.

[soonerborn]

How old are these buildings? I think the Valliance - or whatever it's going by these days - is the "youngest" building in the mix. Wasn't it constructed during the oil boom of the early 80s? It seems like everything came to a halt in 1983.

[jbrown84]

Valliance was being built for Penn Square Bank in the early 80's when they had their world-infamous bust. 50 Penn is the 70's I believe, and the Marriot is the 80's. Founders Tower is the 60's I would guess.

[solitude]

How old are these buildings? I think the Valliance - or whatever it's going by these days - is the "youngest" building in the mix. Wasn't it constructed during the oil boom of the early 80s? It seems like everything came to a halt in 1983.

It was being constructed originally as the new home of the infamous Penn Square Bank. Penn Square failed in 1982 before it was finished.

[CCOKC]

That skyline has been there for a long time. I am forty one and I remember calling that area uptown when I was a kid. Pretty good logic for a kid I thought.

[HOT ROD]

honestly, if those towers were downtown most of them still wouldn't be seen or make a difference (skyline wise). This is because all of them are rather short in comparison to those that are in downtown.

Even consider the Darth Vader building, Valliance - which is the tallest suburban building in the city. It is only a little bit taller than Mid America (Devon).

By moving the buildings downtown, sure we'd have an even larger CBD and much more density, but the impact on the downtown skyline wouldn't be much at all.

Personally, I like the buildings where they are - although I wish there were several more along the stretch or at least they were closer together to create the 2nd downtown effect.

Metro, I disagree - we dont have to be like Dallas or Atlanta to have a 2nd downtown. In fact, the city calls it the NW Business District - which in itself means, a second downtown from an office prospective.

Also, you said most big cities have 'em. Well, I can disagree with you there also - Seattle doesn't have it (we only have ONE downtown/CBD in the city).

[metro]

So you're telling me Bellevue or Renton doesn't have any Mid-Rises?

[okcitian]

That area that is mentioned, could be called an edge city. Many of these are usually clusters of high-rises in large cities. Examples include Santa Fe of Mexico City (Dubai-like), Le'Defense in Paris, Las Colinas in DFW, and the Galleria area of Houston. These edge cities were created in response to downtown decay but also cheaper land and strategic importance.

[solitude]

Also, you said most big cities have 'em. Well, I can disagree with you there also - Seattle doesn't have it (we only have ONE downtown/CBD in the city).

And it's a MONSTER!

[HOT ROD]

it is solitude, no doubt - but keep in mind that pic is taken from the top of the highest hill in Seattle, so it's a little out of proportion. Also, the towers downtown are on hills, to the left in that pic - those hills are 600 feet, so it's not flat like OKC, Dallas, and Chicago; and skews the pic (making downtown look significantly taller).

And downtown Seattle is NO Chicago or NYC, but I agree we are probably the best city skyline in the 3.3M csa metro range, that's for sure - and it's because we only have one downtown.

Renton has NO skyscrapers, only low rise (I work in one). The suburb of Bellevue (it's not an edge city) does have skyscrapers (and are adding more) but like was said, this is not Seattle; this is a suburb. Everett has a few mid-rises but no skyscrapers. The only other major downtown in the Puget Sound region with skyscrapers besides Seattle and Bellevue is Tacoma.

So, while we do concentrate our skyscrapers in one single area here, i dont think the same effect would be had in OKC considering those suburban skyline towers are significantly shorter than those in downtown OKC. For a city with OKC's layout, I think you need suburban skylines whereas a city with Seattle's layout would look silly with it.

I should note that there are some single skyscrapers outside of downtown Seattle, the tallest being in the University district - Safeco headquarters (but they just sold the tower to the UW).

[HOT ROD]

put that pic into prospective, look in the center of the pic oriented just left of the Space Needle, you will see a white building with verticle lines on it. Well that building is the same height as Chase in OKC. Yet it is on a hill that is roughly 400 feet tall, so it looks much more impressive.

Our geography gives Seattle a HUGE edge in the photo props.

By the way, you can see Key Arena in the pic also - look right in front of the Space Needle. That area is called Seattle Center and is where the 1962 World's Fair was.