Century Center

[poe]

Something like Denver Pavilions would be a great fit for the area.

[David Pollard]

I'm not familiar with the Denver Pavilions, but I think this space does have enormous potential. First of all, the 'bunker' look and feel MUST go!

On the light end of the renovation scale the perimeter walls could be extended right up to the pavement with floor to ceiling glass. At least this would give the impression of being more open. The interior walls could then be partially broken open to provide a variety of retail spaces that have direct access to the street: critical! A 'medium intervention' renovation could include building on top of the existing structure with new pilings for a taller/denser building going right through the old one while still making use of the existing space; albeit with a total renovation. Finally, the ultimate solution would be to rip the thing down and build a new high density structure altogether. Would Sheraton be a likely candidate to occupy such a space?

In any case, it does seem a bit incongruous to have dead retail and blank walls in the true heart of the city. My REAL preference? Rebuild the Criterion in its original splendor, but I think it is probably more likely to have OKC made the nation's capitol than THAT happening!

[ljbab728]

My REAL preference? Rebuild the Criterion in its original splendor, but I think it is probably more likely to have OKC made the nation's capitol than THAT happening!

Putting the Baum Building back up on that site might be nice as well.

[Pete]

They've tried to renovate that space many times, adding lots of windows to the north side, reconfiguring the interior, etc.

Nothing has ever worked and it seems they may need to tear it down and start all over.

[Just the facts]

Nothing has ever worked and it seems they may need to tear it down and start all over.

I vote for this, but no destruction until a viable project is proposed. OKC already tried the "tear it down and wait for development" game. 50 years later some sites are still waiting. I would rather see the Century Center than a vacant lot. However, since the property is owned by two different groups a solution might be a long ways off.

[soonerguru]

Can we just tear the ****er down? A garbage and weed-ridden lot would be a visual improvement.

[Pete]

Built in 1977 and never even successful during that last boom cycle. 34 years of ugliness, emptiness and failure.

It really is an embarrassment to downtown, especially given it's central location.

[Just the facts]

Built in 1977 and never even successful during that last boom cycle. 34 years of ugliness, emptiness and failure.

It really is an embarrassment to downtown, especially given it's central location.

Did you mean to put this in the Stage Center thread?

[Steve]

More history on Century Center: http://www.okchistory.com/index.php?...aces&Itemid=77

[David Pollard]

I used to work downtown at Cities Services in the early 80's and I THINK I remember a Schlotsky's at Century Center. Little did I know then that that was probably the heyday of the Center.
Gut it or re-purpose it!

[kevinpate]

I used to work downtown at Cities Services in the early 80's and I THINK I remember a Schlotsky's at Century Center. Little did I know then that that was probably the heyday of the Center.
Gut it or re-purpose it!

A too warm day the summer of '89 was my one and only time to eat there. Wasn't bad, and it was the closest spot for a day with a limited time frame.

[Pete]

Starting in '82, I worked in the Oil & Gas Building just across the street and frequently ate lunch at Schlotzsky's or the little Mexican place. This was only a few years after CC opened for business and even then it was a weirdly configured, dark and depressing place.

Then, they put a bunch of windows in the north side and moved Taylor's news and books over from across the street. There may have been one or two small tenants in that entire space, and none of them lasted very long. Not sure when Taylor's went out but it's been completely vacant ever since and had been effectively so from shortly after inception.

[Rover]

LOL. The little Mexican restaurant may have been the straw that broke this camel's back. The ventilation in the area was so bad that the whole commercial area smelled like old stale Mexican food. It was a fairly repulsive smell to most. The whole retail area had a sort of temporary look to it and was unappealing. It is hard to believe someone can't do something pretty nifty in that much open area.

[kevinpate]

hmmm, how many in the capitol will have to relocate once the powers that be get serious about working on the structure? Maybe some of those entities could set up temp digs at the vacant Century Center during the renovations? Owners get some income and let's face it, the state knows a thing or two about slipping into dead mall spaces, along with other seemingly dead spaces.

[Pete]

In an article today, Steve Lackmeyer mentions the Century Center Garage will soon be sold.

I'm assuming it will go to the Sheraton people who also own the mall below.

Perhaps they are finally going to do something with that sad property.

[Urbanized]

Cool. Maybe they'll tear it down and build this:

[Urbanized]

Or this:

[Steve]

In an article today, Steve Lackmeyer mentions the Century Center Garage will soon be sold.

I'm assuming it will go to the Sheraton people who also own the mall below.

Perhaps they are finally going to do something with that sad property.

Make no assumptions. Just wait and hope for the best.

[Just the facts]

They've tried to renovate that space many times, adding lots of windows to the north side, reconfiguring the interior, etc.

Nothing has ever worked and it seems they may need to tear it down and start all over.

Do you have any ideas why they have never made it work? I wonder if it has anything do with its proximity to the convention center. That stretch of Sheridan doesn't do much to inspire walking and on the other side is a parking garage. It is kind of a no-mans land.

[Steve]

It was a bad idea that was the result of two things:
1. City/Urban Renewal officials were intent on there being a shopping mall attached to the hotel no matter whether it made any sense;
2. The national developer was forced to team up with a corrupt local developer, which resulted in the architectural mess you still see today.

How do I know this? Simple. My father was one of the top executives with the national developer, and that is how my family ended up moving here from New York (small world, eh?)

[Just the facts]

It was a bad idea that was the result of two things:
1. City/Urban Renewal officials were intent on there being a shopping mall attached to the hotel no matter whether it made any sense;
2. The national developer was forced to team up with a corrupt local developer, which resulted in the architectural mess you still see today.

How do I know this? Simple. My father was one of the top executives with the national developer, and that is how my family ended up moving here from New York (small world, eh?)

Your point #1 is what concerns me about the new convention center proposal. People instinctively don't "cut through" buildings to get where they want to go. I think Devon will also learn quickly that their rotunda doesn't attract the crowd they are hoping for.

[Steve]

I fully understand your concerns. I think there are some details yet to publicly emerge that may (or might not) change your perception on the Rotunda.

[Just the facts]

I fully understand your concerns. I think there are some details yet to publicly emerge that may (or might not) change your perception on the Rotunda.

I look forward to any announcement but I think they will be disappointed if they are planning on people passing through on their way to MBG. However, if they put in an LED wall like they have at the Comcast Center then they will be able to draw a crowd.

[kellyc]

I worked at the Sheraton in 1988-89. I had a lot of bad times in the Century Center I must say. The hotel needs the parking so you can't very well raze the whole thing. Given that there are 4 floors of parking and only two floors of retail/whatever space, maybe they need to cut their losses and gut floors 1 and 2 and make the whole thing a parking garage?

The parking garage design was quite bad IMO. The spiral exit to the parking garage becomes a bad bottleneck when a big meeting or convention lets out. Imagine youself as a valet trying to retrieve a customer's car quickly but are stuck in the stupid spiral parking exit. The COTPA employees who worked in the collection booth were always pretty slow and the bad design created a lot of stress for people trying to get out of there.

I can remember convention attendees who drove large vans having trouble getting into the garages. I've seen vans damaged before. Sometimes folks had to let a little air out of their tires to be able to make it into the parking without damaging their vehicle.

On the other hand, I always seemed to like Taco Casa (I think I was the only one who liked it though).

[UnFrSaKn]

Putting the Baum Building back up on that site might be nice as well.

Cool. Maybe they'll tear it down and build this:

For the record, the Baum Building is my favorite of all the old buildings that were once downtown. The first postcard I saw of it on Doug's blog is what got me interested in the history of the city and would get me involved in RetroMetroOKC. Photos of the Baum Building.