NW Corner of 23rd & Classen (Rainbow Records)

[TheTravellers]

They've had those two lanes closed since the start of this project, I think. I drove it exactly one time about a month ago and made a mental note to avoid Classen until I saw a post on here about the construction being done, lol.

Yes, the pics on 6/22 show both lanes closed. And to add to the fun, the right lane on Classen is also closed a couple of blocks south of 23rd...

[GoGators]

They've had those two lanes closed since the start of this project, I think. I drove it exactly one time about a month ago and made a mental note to avoid Classen until I saw a post on here about the construction being done, lol.

Luckily there are hundreds of combinations of routes you can take to avoid Classen or any other road under construction in this area. The grid reigns supreme.

[TheTravellers]

Luckily there are hundreds of combinations of routes you can take to avoid Classen or any other road under construction in this area. The grid reigns supreme.

Indeed! We live near NW 36th/May and that's one of the greatest things about living in the central city - you can just go a block or two over and find another straight street, take it a few blocks, get back to your original street, and bam, you're done. 36th between May and Western has had parts of it closed every few months for the last 2 years, and we've always been able to just go around by a block, usually.

[SEMIweather]

Luckily there are hundreds of combinations of routes you can take to avoid Classen or any other road under construction in this area. The grid reigns supreme.

Yeah, it wasn't a complaint really. This is probably one of the easiest large cities in the country to get around in. I grew up in a part of Michigan with a lot of lakes, and that road network was a nightmare lol.

[Urbanized]

Saw a banner on this building yesterday promoting the name of a company responsible for a remodel therein. So it looks like it is more than just street work going on there.

[warreng88]

Drove by yesterday and it looks like a few boards covering windows were caving in. Didn't look intentional. I hope they can secure this place to prevent any issues.

[ManAboutTown]

This is being reported by The Oklahoman today:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...d/71031068007/

[TheTravellers]

This is being reported by The Oklahoman today:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...d/71031068007/

Fantastic news! Seems like the Joklahoman can't afford copy editors anymore - this subhead.... "Rainbow Records played a roll in The Flaming Lips' rise to popularity"

[Rover]

Fantastic news! Seems like the Joklahoman can't afford copy editors anymore - this subhead.... "Rainbow Records played a roll in The Flaming Lips' rise to popularity"

What is your criticism about?

[ManAboutTown]

What is your criticism about?

Using "roll" instead of the correct word "role." It's an easy misspelling that should have been caught by a copy editor.

[Tyson]

Using "roll" instead of the correct word "role." It's an easy misspelling that should have been caught by a copy editor.

Yeah, I was baffled reading that.

[Rover]

Using "roll" instead of the correct word "role." It's an easy misspelling that should have been caught by a copy editor.

LOL I completely missed that.
Seeing a lot of these kinds of mistakes all over the place. I guess no site is immune.

[Harbinger]

^^^
They have corrected the error now.

[BoulderSooner]

This is being reported by The Oklahoman today:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...d/71031068007/

what is being reported?

[Dob Hooligan]

what is being reported?

Anonymous people with money bought the building and want to restore/redo it. Lackmeyer interviewed their architect.

[ManAboutTown]

what is being reported?

An Oklahoma City landmark, part of Oklahoma City’s rock-and-roll history, might finally undergo some much-needed repairs after languishing for the past 20 years.

Kevin Galliart, architect for the owners, recently filed a building permit to clean out and repair the interior and exterior of the 1915 property at 2401 N Classen. The building is best known as the former home of Rainbow Records and one of the last structures in the city with a rooftop billboard that has stood since 1940.

The owners declined to be interviewed, but Galliart said they are committed to preserving the corner, which consists of three storefronts. He said the first priority is to make wall and roof repairs to prevent further damage.

“The owners who bought the building remember the days they used to go in and buy records,” Galliart said. “Right now, we’re trying to keep the building structurally sound and weather tight. They like it the way it is. They want to make it ready to lease.”

Rainbow Records opened at the corner in 1978. The store was where then-manager Scott Booker formed a friendship with The Flaming Lips, then a local band and regular customers. Handling phone calls for the band eventually evolved into the title of band manager just as the group’s members were signing a contract with Warner Bros. and about to become internationally acclaimed, Grammy-winning music icons.

The building has been empty since the store closed in 2003 and most of the building’s windows have been boarded up since the area was hit by a tornado in 2019.

The former home of Rainbow Records, 2401 N Classen Blvd., has been unoccupied since the store closed in 2003. The building initially opened as a grocery store with adjoining storefronts home to an array of tenants including a Xerox shop, real estate office and antiques store. The corner was home to Roberts Drugs, a pharmacy and soda fountain, that operated from 1927 to the mid-1960s.

Assessor records show Leonard Roberts, longtime owner of the corner, sold the building to Winfred and Velma Parker in 1986. The Parkers at the time owned a Hoover vacuum store that opened in the north space of the corner in 1953.

The former home of Rainbow Records initially opened as a grocery store with adjoining storefronts home to an array of tenants. Before the windows were boarded up, passersby could see a collection of vintage vacuum cleaners stacked up inside the closed Rainbow Records storefront. The Parkers sold the property for $425,000 to the new owner, Rainbow Records LLC (unrelated to the store), in April this year.

Redevelopment of the former Rainbow Records store would mark a turnaround for the area, where one adjoining building, formerly a dance studio at 1209 NW 23, has been renovated and leased to Craig’s Emporium while windows have been restored at a long boarded-up storefront at 1215 NW 23, which is now home to Workflow OKC.

The building at 2401 N Classen Blvd. is best known as the former home of Rainbow Records and one of the last structures in the city with a rooftop billboard that has stood since 1940. Ginger Casper, who founded Workflow OKC with Chelsea Banks, converted the building into a community space for co-working, creative maker use, collaborative music uses, and meeting rooms and private offices.

Casper said the future of the neighboring former Rainbow Records store is a frequent question asked by visitors. She believes the corner can be fully brought back to life.
“Everybody loves the rainbow building, it’s an iconic corner,” Casper said. “With Craig’s going in, that made this a space for more diversity.”

[Shortsyeararound]

An Oklahoma City landmark, part of Oklahoma City’s rock-and-roll history, might finally undergo some much-needed repairs after languishing for the past 20 years.

Kevin Galliart, architect for the owners, recently filed a building permit to clean out and repair the interior and exterior of the 1915 property at 2401 N Classen. The building is best known as the former home of Rainbow Records and one of the last structures in the city with a rooftop billboard that has stood since 1940.

The owners declined to be interviewed, but Galliart said they are committed to preserving the corner, which consists of three storefronts. He said the first priority is to make wall and roof repairs to prevent further damage.

“The owners who bought the building remember the days they used to go in and buy records,” Galliart said. “Right now, we’re trying to keep the building structurally sound and weather tight. They like it the way it is. They want to make it ready to lease.”

Rainbow Records opened at the corner in 1978. The store was where then-manager Scott Booker formed a friendship with The Flaming Lips, then a local band and regular customers. Handling phone calls for the band eventually evolved into the title of band manager just as the group’s members were signing a contract with Warner Bros. and about to become internationally acclaimed, Grammy-winning music icons.

The building has been empty since the store closed in 2003 and most of the building’s windows have been boarded up since the area was hit by a tornado in 2019.

The former home of Rainbow Records, 2401 N Classen Blvd., has been unoccupied since the store closed in 2003. The building initially opened as a grocery store with adjoining storefronts home to an array of tenants including a Xerox shop, real estate office and antiques store. The corner was home to Roberts Drugs, a pharmacy and soda fountain, that operated from 1927 to the mid-1960s.

Assessor records show Leonard Roberts, longtime owner of the corner, sold the building to Winfred and Velma Parker in 1986. The Parkers at the time owned a Hoover vacuum store that opened in the north space of the corner in 1953.

The former home of Rainbow Records initially opened as a grocery store with adjoining storefronts home to an array of tenants. Before the windows were boarded up, passersby could see a collection of vintage vacuum cleaners stacked up inside the closed Rainbow Records storefront. The Parkers sold the property for $425,000 to the new owner, Rainbow Records LLC (unrelated to the store), in April this year.

Redevelopment of the former Rainbow Records store would mark a turnaround for the area, where one adjoining building, formerly a dance studio at 1209 NW 23, has been renovated and leased to Craig’s Emporium while windows have been restored at a long boarded-up storefront at 1215 NW 23, which is now home to Workflow OKC.

The building at 2401 N Classen Blvd. is best known as the former home of Rainbow Records and one of the last structures in the city with a rooftop billboard that has stood since 1940. Ginger Casper, who founded Workflow OKC with Chelsea Banks, converted the building into a community space for co-working, creative maker use, collaborative music uses, and meeting rooms and private offices.

Casper said the future of the neighboring former Rainbow Records store is a frequent question asked by visitors. She believes the corner can be fully brought back to life.
“Everybody loves the rainbow building, it’s an iconic corner,” Casper said. “With Craig’s going in, that made this a space for more diversity.”

Better be careful of Slackmeyer will get you for plagiarism and/or complain you copied his article..hahhahaha

[Pete]

The only building permits for this site are to cleanup and create a shell for future tenants.

That alone will be a huge improvement and they've been working on that for a couple of months.

[David]

Isn't the southbound BRT stop directly next to this location? Seems like a solid bonus for whatever might be going in here not to mention for Craig’s right next door on 23rd.

[Pete]

Isn't the southbound BRT stop directly next to this location? Seems like a solid bonus for whatever might be going in here not to mention for Craig’s right next door on 23rd.

It's just to the south of 23rd.

[Mississippi Blues]

It's just to the south of 23rd.

Yeah, in front of Walgreens. A brief walk across 23rd and you’re there.

[Pete]

Here are the restoration plans:

[Urbanized]

I was told a couple of weeks ago that the folks behind this are the owners of 24rd Street Body Piercing. No idea whatsoever if that’s accurate, but either way I’m cautiously optimistic regarding a building I’ve for years been gravely concerned about.

[LordGerald]

I was told a couple of weeks ago that the folks behind this are the owners of 24rd Street Body Piercing. No idea whatsoever if that’s accurate, but either way I’m cautiously optimistic regarding a building I’ve for years been gravely concerned about.

I'm not sure why they're keeping the sign. It's hardly "historic." I designed that logo on my brother's Mac, with an X-Acto knife and a sharpie. Makes me laugh every time I see it. My mom saw it in the paper a few months ago and saved me the article.

[Pete]

I'm not sure why they're keeping the sign. It's hardly "historic." I designed that logo on my brother's Mac, with an X-Acto knife and a sharpie. Makes me laugh every time I see it. My mom saw it in the paper a few months ago and saved me the article.

I'm sure they are just keeping the can and backlighting for whatever future tenant takes that space.