Dear Full Circle: Please come to MidTown!

[Spartan]

customerservice@fullcirclebooks.com



A Downtown ontheRange: Dear Full Circle: Please come downtown!

This would be kick-ass downtown retail, and it would be huge for MidTown, huge for downtown. It could happen, too bad they'll probably go to Classen Curve. (grrr)

[krisb]

I love it! That is one sweet piece of property in MidTown.

[lasomeday]

Spartan it would have looked more realistic if you would have pulled a Sandridge and photoshopped some people in there. This must have been one of my pictures.

[Midtowner]

It'd be more Sandridge if you showed an empty lot with some trees in it.

[metro]

I'm all for the idea. Not sure how open Jim Tolbert would be to the idea. Steve got any pull with him?

[PennyQuilts]

Where's the parking?

[Platemaker]

There is plenty of parking at the northwest corner of that building in the rear... and accross the street. (Old City Church parking)

[Comm'l Real Estate Guy]

Where's the parking?

Loads of parking around there. The owners own the lot immediately south of that building as well.

[metro]

where's the parking?

there is no parking problem downtown or anywhere in this city!

[wsucougz]

Hadden Hall could be torn down to make way for additional parking. People aren't going to want to walk across the street and no business in their right mind would take a gamble on such a risky parking situation.

[Spartan]

The parking situation is not risky. It's a prominent intersection that is completely safe for pedestrians. Not only is the building right on the crosswalk but traffic along NW 10th is pretty slow anyway. With all of MidTown Redevelopment's properties coming online within the next few years as the renovations wrap up this will be a very active, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly area. Hadden Hall is already under renovations to become apartments, which is useful to Full Circle on its own...affluent rooftops right next door.

Lasomeday--no this isn't anything I took with an actual camera, it's just a crappy cell phone shot that I used photoshop to put a Full Circle logo on. I like the green Full Circle logo on that brick, way cooler than 50 Penn.

You know, Jim Tolbert IS a downtown guy. If it weren't for him there would be no Myriad Gardens, he was one of the original Bricktown developers, AND he's incredibly active in the Arts Council of OKC. He should bring his business, one of OKC's best retailers, downtown as well.

[wsucougz]

Haha. Gotcha.

That's just my impression of the way most people actually think around here.

[BDP]

Where's the parking?

The whole street is parking and usually empty.

People aren't going to want to walk across the street

Why not? I do it all the time. Much easier than using one of the lots.

[Spartan]

REAL downtown bookstores:


Elliott Bay Book Company, Pioneer Square, Seattle


Book People, Downtown, Austin


Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge, Boston


Powell's Books, Downtown, Portland


Dom Knigi, Nevsky Prospekt, St Petersburg


Shakespeare and Co., 5th Arrondissement, Paris


Full Circle, Midtown, Oklahoma City

[lasomeday]

University of Oregon has an insane boodstore right next to campus in Eugene. It has books everywhere! I loved it! I think I bought 5 books there, that is after my bookspree at Powells in Portland.

I hear that the city is really wanting to put angled parking along Broadway if they can get city traffic engineers to open their eyes and get rid of the turning lane. That would triple the amount of parking along Broadway.

Having a bookstore downtown would really create a ton of pedestrian traffic that would make the area really vibrant and hopefully attract more retail! I think this is one of Spartan's best ideas yet!

[betts]

Angle parking would work. And really, since I do it fairly often I can attest that crossing Broadway is no big deal. At least there are lights. On Western you DO take your life into your hands to cross the street because traffic lights are infrequent. And yet Western is blossoming with retail.

[metro]

Hadden Hall could be torn down to make way for additional parking. People aren't going to want to walk across the street and no business in their right mind would take a gamble on such a risky parking situation.

Are you crazy? Why tear it down for more "parking". There is plenty of parking in that immediate area. We need more density, not parking and lots. There are countless parking and vacant lots (literally dozens), within a 2 block radius of that building, not to mention the one already mentioned directly across the street. There is also one just west of it and behind those buildings. As Spartan said, Hadden Hall is going to be upscale apartments.

[wsucougz]

Are you crazy? Why tear it down for more "parking". There is plenty of parking in that immediate area. We need more density, not parking and lots. There are countless parking and vacant lots (literally dozens), within a 2 block radius of that building, not to mention the one already mentioned directly across the street. There is also one just west of it and behind those buildings. As Spartan said, Hadden Hall is going to be upscale apartments.

I was joking, hence my second post. My frustration is that the predominant mentality in this town is exactly as I laid it out.

For example, Oklahoma city Community Foundation tearing down that building for a second parking lot when their original lot is never full and there is a sea of curbside parking within 2 blocks of them.

[metro]

gotcha, i now retract my use of the term "crazy"

[wsucougz]

gotcha, i now retract my use of the term "crazy"

No worries. I am moderately insane, though.

[BDP]

My frustration is that the predominant mentality in this town is exactly as I laid it out.

What's sad is that's why we didn't immediately recognize it as a joke. It's so common to see something like that said in earnest.