Damaged by flooding, the lights dim at Stage Center

[urbanity]

http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/6...AxADIANwAyADkA

[jbrown84]

I didn't realize it was that bad. I hope they will repair everything. I hate to see it close permanently, or be torn down.

[semisimple]

With all the flood damage Stage Center has sustained, it will most likely be torn down, and the lot will be converted into a giant plaza.

[Spartan]

This is a very dysfunctional building and I would never recommend the design for a new PAC--but I would sure as hell fight to save it. It's a unique and cool design that shouldn't and probably won't ever be recreated. It's had flooding problems for as long as I can remember..and it will flood again the next ten years, mark my words. We just need to expect it I guess and be better prepared to mitigate the damage. The building is worth it in my opinion.

[jbrown84]

With all the flood damage Stage Center has sustained, it will most likely be torn down, and the lot will be converted into a giant plaza.

boo boo boo!

[EBAH]

If it is torn down I would recommend a violent over throw of the city government. That is possibly the most valuable piece of modern architecture in the OKC metro. To loose it would be a monumental loss. I think I Would literally cry...

It is a masterpiece of a truly great architect , John Johansen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Johansen), Johansen's models are even a part of the moma collection. And our own home town rock star architect gave it a renovation in 1992.

If that building is torn down, Im moving...

Although, I hear plazas are really in these days

[ljbab728]

There is no chance that building will be torn down. It was extremely controversial when it was built but it's an OKC icon now.

[Spartan]

If it is torn down I would recommend a violent over throw of the city government. That is possibly the most valuable piece of modern architecture in the OKC metro. To loose it would be a monumental loss. I think I Would literally cry...

It is a masterpiece of a truly great architect , John Johansen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Johansen), Johansen's models are even a part of the moma collection. And our own home town rock star architect gave it a renovation in 1992.

If that building is torn down, Im moving...

Although, I hear plazas are really in these days

I think it's one of those pieces of starchitecture that are so cool in spite of their poor dysfunctional design and layout. It must be preserved.

[ljbab728]

I think it's one of those pieces of starchitecture that are so cool in spite of their poor dysfunctional design and layout. It must be preserved.

It does seem a little like a maze when you're inside of it but I think that makes it more interesting.

[jbrown84]

It does seem a little like a maze when you're inside of it but I think that makes it more interesting.

This ^

[kevinpate]

I never went there often, but I would surely miss the opportunity to return should it go dark permanently.

[metro]

Yes, it must be saved. Definitely an OKC icon in the architecture world.

[FritterGirl]

It will take an extreme effort of private funding to get it rehabbed and have new systems installed to make it an efficient space. Cost estimates I've heard are anywhere between $20-$25 million to bring it up to par.

[Rover]

It might be hard to make it pay as a commercial building. So the question is, does the city "mothball" it and preserve the outside so as to have a piece of "architectural art" as a cost to society, or does the city impose a tax to rehab it and to subsidize it for public use? Is the public that doesn't frequent it willing to pay a tax on it regardless of the use rate?

[Spartan]

It will take an extreme effort of private funding to get it rehabbed and have new systems installed to make it an efficient space. Cost estimates I've heard are anywhere between $20-$25 million to bring it up to par.

What would it cost to just repair the damage done by flooding, and get it back to where it was a month ago?

And let me just mention that in OKC the performing arts are never going to pay for themselves..we're lucky to have as many private beneficiaries of the arts as we do here.

[FritterGirl]

I don't know about cost just to get it back up to basic operations. Haven't heard those. Have just been in with folks who are committed to seeing a total rehab of the building, and the cost estimates are really frightening. I agree, our performing arts here, as in many cities, will always need private support and subsidies. The question is, given the total capacity and space availability of Stage Center, it won't even come close to breaking even.

Don't get me wrong, it's an architectural gem, of historical significance to the city, and should be preserved in some capacity. You just have to ask yourself at what cost? The price of $25 million is roughly half the cost of what it took to redo the Civic Center Music Hall during MAPS I. (Was budgeted at $26 million; they ended up spending $52.4 million. Certainly worth it given the #of shows and attendees).

[Spartan]

How large is the Stage Center? It's so winding and such an interesting design, with bizarre spacial relations, that it is absolutely impossible to get a feel for it in person to compare to size of it to the Civic Center. Maybe 1/4th? It's certainly significant, at least.

I think anything that they do to it, they need to remove the trees that they have tried to cover it up with. Those trees are really unsightly, and just make it worse in my opinion.

[Rover]

The arts do often need patrons, but there are shades of grey. In this case, the cost of refurbing the building will most likely be great. It is my understanding that it has never been very efficient at heating and cooling, so even with upgrades that could be an expensive challenge. In most cases, patrons will cover SOME expense, but if the expense is too great and the attendance is too low they won't. I have gone to many events there in the past, but none seemed well attended. And the building, while an architectural curiosity and gem, isn't practical and not designed to be so. The building needs protecting, but it will be expensive. And people need to USE it to justify it. I hope it makes it.

[Spartan]

I get what you're saying, it's just a weird choice of words for someone arguing FOR something to say they want the city to subsidize the arts. Usually isn't thought of like that by people who are for the arts..

It might be hard to make it pay as a commercial building. So the question is, does the city "mothball" it and preserve the outside so as to have a piece of "architectural art" as a cost to society, or does the city impose a tax to rehab it and to subsidize it for public use? Is the public that doesn't frequent it willing to pay a tax on it regardless of the use rate?

[ljbab728]

How large is the Stage Center? It's so winding and such an interesting design, with bizarre spacial relations, that it is absolutely impossible to get a feel for it in person to compare to size of it to the Civic Center. Maybe 1/4th? It's certainly significant, at least.

I think anything that they do to it, they need to remove the trees that they have tried to cover it up with. Those trees are really unsightly, and just make it worse in my opinion.

Interestingly enough the large number of trees and landscaping were done specifically to hide the building originally because it was thought to be so ugly.

[Spartan]

The architecture of the Stage Center is like a red wine with a strong aftertaste..someone who's a moron and has never tasted wine before might reach for the tea sweetener and sprinkle a packet..or two, into that otherwise perfectly good glass of wine. That is the EXACT same as putting a plaza or ugly (unintended) trees in front of a building to cover it up.

(Although planting trees in normal conditions is a GREAT thing for the community..kind of like putting sweetener in tea, where it belongs)

[ljbab728]

The architecture of the Stage Center is like a red wine with a strong aftertaste..someone who's a moron and has never tasted wine before might reach for the tea sweetener and sprinkle a packet..or two, into that otherwise perfectly good glass of wine. That is the EXACT same as putting a plaza or ugly (unintended) trees in front of a building to cover it up.

(Although planting trees in normal conditions is a GREAT thing for the community..kind of like putting sweetener in tea, where it belongs)

Things like this always remind me of Paris. The Parisiens have in the past been aghast at structures like the Eiffel Tower, the Pompidou Centre, and the glass pyramid entrance in front of the Louvre. They later learned to love and embrace them.

[JLCinOKC]

I love Stage Center! I think it is extremely unique and something that OKC should be proud of. The internal layout is maze-like, but there always seems to be a surprise at every corner. The performance areas are no better or worse than others I have been in. It should definitely be re-habbed because it would be a shame to lose such an architectural gem!

Maybe Devon will pony up the money. It IS right in their new 'hood. I doubt that they would want a gutted out, flooded building catty-cornered to their sparkling new tower.

[Rover]

The architecture of the Stage Center is like a red wine with a strong aftertaste..someone who's a moron and has never tasted wine before might reach for the tea sweetener and sprinkle a packet..or two, into that otherwise perfectly good glass of wine. That is the EXACT same as putting a plaza or ugly (unintended) trees in front of a building to cover it up.

(Although planting trees in normal conditions is a GREAT thing for the community..kind of like putting sweetener in tea, where it belongs)

Yes, and sometimes bad wine just needs to be emptied down the drain. It will never get better.

I know you are a hater of plazas, but they don't hide buildings. And done correctly can enhance, just as proper landscaping (trees) can. Some people like Syrah and some people like Champaigne. Both can be great and both can be bad.

[flintysooner]

I remember attending plays at the Mummer's before it was in Stage Center. Then when it moved there I attended very often for several years. I really enjoyed the intimacy provided by both theaters and always felt that the experience of the performance was enhanced by the place itself.

But the building was hard to heat and cool even then and there were maintenance problems associated with nearly every aspect of the structure as I recall. I do recall a lot of complaints and disparaging comments about the design.

It is definitely one of those things which should be preserved in my opinion.