Crosses on The Sandridge and Chase Tower's!

[Steve]

I'm not sure how it started, but here's an interesting tidbit: if you watch my OKC Central show from two weeks ago, you'll see an old photo of two towers with crosses lit up in them for Christmas - it was decades ago and the two towers were First National and CityPlace (then Liberty). This has been going on a while.... and it was the very first thing I saw when I first arrived in Oklahoma City back in 1976.

[kevinpate]

If the building owners wanna put up a michelin looking man adorned in spaghettio's, I'm fine with that too.

[Pete]

Yep, crosses have been a part of the OKC skyline for decades.

It would be interesting to know when the first one appeared -- I think it goes back to at least the 60's.

[fuzzytoad]

I won't make a big deal about this (knowing the terrain in which I live), but, 2 points:

1) A cross is not a symbol of Christmas, it is a symbol of Easter, so, when a cross is used for Christmas, it is a misplaced symbol of Christianity's season;

2) I'm not a fan of religion being pushed of on people. That said, a kindler-gentler symbol, and one more in keeping with the season, would be a star with light beams bursting downward, i.e., more like Christmas, the birth of Christ, than like his death on the cross.

didn't you watch Big Bang Theory?

It should be an apple tree. Or more appropriately an apple, but I can see the city having some litigation problems with that(or maybe a windfall).

[Spartan]

What percentage of Oklahoma City are Jews? It's 2% nationally (as a race, not a religion - about the same anyway). That may explain why there's no Jewish symbols on downtown buildings.

But how many Oklahomans are open-minded to Judaism as opposed to any other non-Christian religion? A lot..myself included.

[jstanthrnme]

I think it would be a cool idea for the Devon tower to integrate a christmas lighting scheme as part of its building plans.

The appearence of a 3 dimensional Christmas tree is kind of what I am envisioning, but I'm sure there are better ideas out there. This is definately something they should consider though, because of this tradition with other OKC skyscrapers.

[mburlison]

I like them, should be more. I would expect to see Muslim symbols in Dubhai, here we have crosses.

[fokochang]

Yes. You're right. There should be more than two.

lol. passive aggressive much?

[Spartan]

I think the crosses are just done every year because it's incredibly easy to do.

[fuzzytoad]

I like them, should be more. I would expect to see Muslim symbols in Dubhai, here we have crosses.

funny you should mention that.. I was in Dubai in 92-93.. I was also in Bahrain and most of the other emirates of the UAE around that time..

I'm sure things have changed since then, but when I was there, I didn't see many symbols of anything during the time of Christmas..

consumerism was in full swing, for sure, but there wasn't a dedicated "showing" of any one religious Winter Holiday Icon that was offered to the populace at large..

Sicne many American, British, Soviet and Autralian military personnel were stationed there, we saw enough Santas and Menorahs at various business establishments to satisfy the "spirit", but there was never any oppresive "Muslim" influence that caused any of us to feel that the holidays were ruined..

It was only upon returning to the U.S. that I felt like there was some competitiveness during this time of year. And it felt new... Like someone had flipped a switch and we all had to suddenly fight about which singular religion had the most ownership over the last few weeks of the year..

When I was a kid, in the 70's and 80's I Never felt like I was being oppressed by one religion or faction of a religion. I never felt pressured to believe one myth or tradition over another.. I suspect that many kids today probably feel the same way and roll their eyes at all the adults who seem to feel some need to glorify their traditional beliefs over another based on what's displayed on a building or how a certain business decides to advertise their intent for the holidays..

Santa wasn't a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Buddist, or whatever the flavor-of-the-month downtrodden religion is in season.. none of your religious icons(or saviors) were born on December 25th.. Get over it and let the children have their holiday...

[mburlison]

I said i would 'expect' to, not that there were. I didn't say I had any belief that Christ was actually born in December. I didn't say Santa was any of those things, and I sure had missed the memo that Christmas was only about Santa. You are free to believe what you want, I have no problem with crosses being displayed. To make it clear, I would not be offended to see Muslim symbols on buildings in the Muslim world. I don't think the crosses on the building are "oppressive" or "pushy", at any rate, read what I said, if you want to argue with someone, keep looking, I'm just stating my opinion.

[OKCTalker]

You get to put whatever you want on whatever building you own. Although I'm sure some people write letters to the owners of those two buildings, they don't get to vote on what goes on the sides.

[Urbanized]

Uh, I'm not especially religious, but I am pretty certain that Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) was indeed a Christian. No question, there is some pagan influence in the St. Nick tradition, but dude was not originally the secular elf we think of today; he was a Christian saint. Other than that, I am O.U.T. on this whole debate. Good luck arguing religion on the Internet.

[kevinpate]

The new Devon building, once completed, needs lots of red and white lights in a chubby peppermint stick swirl pattern

[fuzzytoad]

The new Devon building, once completed, needs lots of red and white lights in a chubby peppermint stick swirl pattern

agreed

[kevinpate]

Crystal Bridge on the other hand, that needs to be like a mondo torte or pumpkin role

[Dustin]

Crystal Bridge on the other hand, that needs to be like a mondo torte or pumpkin role

Mmmmmmm!!! I love pumpkin rolls.. lol

[soonerguru]

Something tells me the Devon building will have a REALLY, REALLY BIG CROSS.

I think one skyscraper cross is enough, personally. And I think it would be cool to have a Star of David and a half moon somewhere, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

[OKCDrummer77]

Crystal Bridge on the other hand, that needs to be like a mondo torte or pumpkin role

Or a giant yule log.

[hoya]

I think a star of David would be fine, if it was during some season that was particularly meaningful for Jews. My understanding is that hannukah isn't really that big a deal to them, it just gets emphasized because it's the same time as Christmas.

[fokochang]

or how about no lites and save energy

[gmwise]

I was hoping for a public observation deck (Devon Tower), open to the public for a fee which all the proceeds would be donated on a rotation monthly to various local charities.

[okcpulse]

I think it's symbolic. I'm big on symbolism.

[zuluwarrior0760]

The crosses have been there for decades in one form or another,
but the most enduring image I have of 4-19-95 was coming
down Broadway Extension and seeing the Chase Tower crosses
lit in April. At that moment, that building's crosses became a
landmark and not a symbol. It was oddly comforting to see
during such a horrid time. Sandridge's crosses are of course
lots brighter, but Chase's will always be more meaningful.......
at least to me......

[BoulderSooner]

I won't make a big deal about this (knowing the terrain in which I live), but, 2 points:

1) A cross is not a symbol of Christmas, it is a symbol of Easter, so, when a cross is used for Christmas, it is a misplaced symbol of Christianity's season;

2) I'm not a fan of religion being pushed of on people. That said, a kindler-gentler symbol, and one more in keeping with the season, would be a star with light beams bursting downward, i.e., more like Christmas, the birth of Christ, than like his death on the cross.

a couple of things

the cross is not a symbol of Easter it is the symbol of Christianity all year round and is in no way a misplaced symbol

a cross on a building is in no way pushing religion on anyone. and the Cross doesn't represent the death of Christ (that would be the crucifix) It reminds us of Christ's victory over death.