Skyline

[SOONER8693]

In the past week and half, my youngest daughter and I drove from OKC to Wheeling, W.Va. to visit my oldest daughter and her family. In doing so, we drove through Tulsa, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus,O. I took special note of the skyline of each city as I have read with great interest the skyline talk about OKC here on the boards. In my humble opinion, Columbus,O, had the most impressive skyline of those cities mentioned. Granted, St. Louis gets a big boost because of the Arch, but Columbus has a very impressive array of buildings. The Columbus skyline is more spread out than most,especially ours. I wish the OKC skyline was not so compact. Maybe that will change in the near future. Just my 10 cents worth.

[MadMonk]

What? No pictures?!

That sounds like a fun pastime for my next roadtrip.

[BDP]

This pic down't make it look too spread out. I assume there's more to it that this?:



I actually like compact downtowns. IMO, density is improtant to have a true urban downtown. If you spread it out too much, it loses it's synergy.

[SOONER8693]

Yes, there is much more to it than that. I'm sorry there are no pictures. We were going through so fast, I did not have time for pictures. Going, we were in a hurry, as my father-in-law was ill and we did not know how long he had to live. Coming back, he had passed away and we drove all night long to get back to help my wife and mother-in-law with funeral preparations. I'll try to get pics next time.

[jbrown84]

Most people like the density of OKC's skyline, but it would certainly be nice to have more buildings to make it bigger.

Hopefully soon...

[Karried]

Sooner8693, sorry to hear about the loss of your father- in -law.

Understandable about pics, definitely.

[Kerry]

I prefer the compact skyline. OKC just needs more tall buildings. Walking the streets of downtown OKC has a more urban feel than when I worked in downtown Tampa. Downtown Tampa had lots of open space that gave it a park-like feel. Very pretty, but didn't make it any different than other parts of town. When you are in downtown OKC there is no way you can mistake it for any other part of town.

[Kerry]

For skyline photos check out www.emporis.com. BTW Columbus is the largest city in Ohio - most people don't know that becasue they don't have a professional sports team (I don't count the NHL).

[SOONER8693]

Hey everyone, I'm not belittling the OKC skyline, I think it is very nice for our size city, I just wish we had a couple more high-rises to add to it.

[okcpulse]

I have no doubt in my mind that the departure of Kerr McGee, while very sad for OKC might open up opportunity where we wouldn't expect. It's a given that the 30-story office tower will be sold and leased as Class B space. Since Class B space is often absorbed quickly, developers could see this as a sign that Class A and Class B space is in high demand downtown. Heck, the office tower was almost empty anyway.

[Doug Loudenback]

Yes, the idea of taking not only our but other cities' "skylines" pics is a great one! But, unless you plan ahead, well, you just might not be ready when the opportunity exists ...

Like this morning. In driving back from El Reno this morning, it struck me that one of the very nicest views of Okc's skyline is looking North and East from I-40 around Classen ...



... the east/west width of downtown is plainly visible from that vantage point with lots of mid-size buildings in the foreground and most of the taller buildings having a background prominence, as well.

I found myself (1) wishing that I had my camera with me, but (2) wondering at the same time, if I did, would I be dumb enough to pull over on a shoulder and try and find a place to park, get out my car, and then take a few pics!!! :stars: :stars: :stars: Ha ha! Maybe on a Sunday morning, or something, though ... :boff:

[jbrown84]

I personally like the view from I-35 directly east of DT, but have found no good place to take a picture from.

[SOONER8693]

I believe the best view of downtown and the skyline is from atop the parking garage just on the west side of St. Anthony's. However, not everyone passing by can get that view. If you have never seen downtown from there, give it a try.

[jbrown84]

good tip, SOONER. Thanks, I will try it.

[Doug Loudenback]

good tip, SOONER. Thanks, I will try it.

Jbrown84, do you work in the Court Plaza Building? I'm in Ste 800.

[jbrown84]

No, I do not. Is that the nifty building in my avatar?

[Doug Loudenback]

No, I do not. Is that the nifty building in my avatar?

Looks like it. Here's a couple of pics ... the left one was taken in 1928 when the top 4 floors were added (6 floors were built in 1922 or 23 or 24 (I don't recall which) and the right pic was taken last year:


Originally the Cotton Exchange Building, it became the Leonhardt building much later and, most lately, the Court Plaza Building. It's at the SE corner of Kerr & Harvey ... a Subway sandwich shop faces Harvey as does the Harvey Street Grill but its tenants are mainly lawyers and oil and gas people.

[jbrown84]

That's the one. I took the picture and really like it so I made it my avatar. Do they have some kind of black sunshade that rolls down from the top of the building, because it sure looks like it in the picture when you see the big version?

[Doug Loudenback]

That's the one. I took the picture and really like it so I made it my avatar. Do they have some kind of black sunshade that rolls down from the top of the building, because it sure looks like it in the picture when you see the big version?

No, they were just doing maintenance on the exterior ... notice the men on the hanging platform about halfway up the building.