PreservationNation Blog: National Preservation Conference

Coming to you live from Oklahoma this is Oklahoma City!

Charlotte D. Bonini, PhD.
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:29:57 +0000

To be perfectly honest I really wasn’t sure what to expect for this marathon field session heading to Oklahoma City. I knew of the rivalry between Tulsa and OK City, and that OK City is the state capital but not much else. Farin and I headed out early one morning (after stopping at Topéca for our road-trip coffee –- make sure you don’t miss this fantastic local coffeehouse).

It is a two-hour drive to Oklahoma City from Tulsa. And what a gorgeous drive it is! Now, I have driven through rural landscapes before, but what strikes me as unique and oddly beautiful are the oil derricks lazily pumping oil — many of them were just off the interstate.

A painting by Birger Sandzen that captures the blues of the Oklahoma sky.

I have been told that Montana and the Dakotas are big sky country and since I have never been to any of those places I don’t have a comparison -– but to me Oklahoma would rank as one of the top when it comes to big sky country. The sky seems to go on forever. This was particularly evident during our drive back to Tulsa. I kept thinking that I needed to pull over and try to snap a few shots of the sky. However, I have learned that my memory is far better than any picture I could take, so I quickly talked myself out of stopping -– besides we were on I-44 and I wasn’t too keen about pulling off the highway onto the shoulder. What I will share is a painting by Birger Sandzen. For those of you going to Ponca City with Ponca City: Where the 20s Still Roar field session, you might have an opportunity to see this painting in the Public Library. Somehow Sandzen captures the colors we saw in the afternoon sky that day.

So back to Oklahoma City — Dr. Bob Blackburn and his fabulous team were our guides for the day. Dr. Blackburn will be leading two of the three field sessions heading out to Oklahoma City. For those of you in the know Dr. Blackburn is the featured speaker in Tuesday’s Special Lecture.

Murrah Bombing Memorial in Oklahoma City.

The first stop of this field session is at the Murrah Memorial. Initially, I didn’t quite understand why we were stopping here -– isn’t this recent? Well, believe you me, this is a sacred place. I came to understand that some of our preservation colleagues were working in the Journal Record building, which was in the immediate vicinity of the explosion. The damage encompassed a six-block radius. I t is hard for me to imagine seeing it today. The memorial is silent and very moving. It feels like an oasis, a place for reflection. Now I understand why we started our day at the Murrah Bombing Memorial.

The Skirvin Hotel.

Next stop, the Skirvin Hotel; what a gem this is! Where do I begin? This is the kind of project that dogs a city for years and then an investment group -– Marcus Hotels and Resorts to be exact — comes in after being enticed by the passion, planning, and protection of the SHPO’s office and returns this grande dame to her glory days. John Williams, General Manager for the Skirvin, speaks as passionately about the restoration and financing as he does of the history and stories of the “good old days” at the Skirvin Hotel. John’s enthusiasm is contagious and I could just see myself planning to return for her 100th birthday -– which I must add is very tempting. We have been promised that it will be quite the event!

The geodesic interior of the Gold Dome building.

Next stop: the Gold Dome. This 150-foot-diameter dome was an early example of the geodesic dome patented by the Buckminster Fuller and is a 2007 National Honor Award recipient. This is a space that as to be experienced in order to be fully appreciated. Once a bank, the Gold Dome now houses the Oklahoma Main Street program, an eye doctor, restaurant, and multicultural center. Almost all of the original features of this modern gem remain intact.

The Overholser Mansion.

We ended the day at the Overholser Mansion. This is a work in progress, but let me tell you that it was a treat to get to experience in the interior of this once fine three-story, French Chateau-style house. The weekend before we visited, Liz Carr, the museum director, had been covering everything in plastic to prevent damage to the furniture from falling plaster. It is easy to see why the community cherishes this old lady. Liz  has her work cut out for her, but she is enthusiastic about the future of the Overholser Mansion.

I have taken you on an abbreviated version of the day –- mainly hitting the highlights. There is so much more that Dr. Blackburn and his team covered. I will leave it to them to share and you to discover. Make sure you don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to experience Oklahoma City, its neighborhoods, and its treasures!

A “Prairie Cathedral” is Barn Again in Oklahoma

Guest Writer
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:30:37 +0000

The famous rock barn of North-Central Oklahoma.

North-central Oklahoma is not particularly known for rock structures, although a few dot the downtown districts of the area. So rock barns are even less common, and when they grow to massive proportions - well, there’s just one!

A few years ago, though, there were just about none.

Along highway 177, that splits the prairie in two from Stillwater to Chilocco Indian School, there are two structures that can be seen for miles. The OG&E Power plant and the ‘rock barn’.

At first sight, usually from the exit of the interstate south of the barn, you can tell it is big. But, the distance makes it impossible to really make out its real size. You keep driving and glancing towards it as you travel north, and realize that you aren’t quite to it yet, and it looks bigger and bigger the closer you get. When you finally approach it, you start to doubt yourself; it really doesn’t look that big after all. But that is because you are still not right in front of it, staring upwards at the peak of the gambrel roof, which seems to be as high as the clouds.

A landmark like that, standing against the wind and storms of the prairie, is something that everyone in the area knows about. In Ponca City, 20 miles away more or less, a conversation goes like this: “Well, some Colorado investors what to tear down that old rock barn, you know, on the highway to Stillwater”… “THAT one?”…. “Yeah, they think that the rafters and stone might be valuable to build some of those fancy mountain ‘cabins’”….. “they can’t do that!”

That’s a typical conversation, actually, from a few years back. Colorado investors had made some private loans on the property, loans that eventually exceeded the real value of the land and that spectacular building.

It was unusual for a board member of Preservation Oklahoma to hear from property owners who presented demolition as an eventual plan if, with POK help, the land and building did not sell. Usually, preservationists are the ones who hear of the plan at the last minute, when the scaffolding and cranes are in place, and then have to scurry to find a more acceptable solution. This was different.

In a way, for nearly a year, we worked as kind of a gratis Realtor for the owners (living in the cool Rocky Mountains). We accompanied photographers as they flew over the property to create marketing videos. We fielded phone calls from eccentric Californians, and waded through the high grass and weeds to show the building to anyone interested.

On several of those trips, I got to show prospective buyers the inside of the barn. Just like the sight of a massive stone barn on the prairie of Oklahoma, the inside was unexpected. The main door faces west, and on a late summer afternoon, I pulled it open. With the sun at your back, staring into the abyss of a dark building, it takes a while for your eyes to adjust, but when they finally do, you begin to make out the sheer vastness of the space. The barn does not have a loft, and from the floor you are looking straight up at the rafters far above. It is like a cathedral, lofty. Not a brightly lit space dedicated to the profane and sacred, but a cathedral of the prairie. It was constructed to serve as an aid to the humble and hard work of growing grain and raising cattle; perhaps not as important a role as a cathedral plays for the soul, but certainly one that is essential for the body. Then, as all these thoughts run through your mind, your concentration is broken by the sight of two owls, flying high in the rafters. It is awesome to realize that the barn is long enough for them to get to their top speed flying from end to end.

Preservation Oklahoma was happy to be involved in the preservation of the barn, although in the end we really don’t know what role we played beyond giving the owners faith that we would help. We did have the unwavering help and support of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, particularly Daniel Carey and the Southwest office. And we were aided as well by the National Trust’s “BARN AGAIN!” program, assistance that was certainly appreciated. Perhaps all that help and interest bought the barn some additional time. Preservation Oklahoma did not know about the eventual sale, although we were contacted by the owners to tell us it sold. But the barn is still there, a prairie cathedral, and is, from all appearances, still serving its humble yet important role as a functional barn.

— Brett A. Carter

Bret A. Carter, of Historic Images, LLC, is a co-session manager for “Ponca City: Where the 20s Still Roar”, a field session being offered during the 2008 National Preservation Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Don’t miss this opportunity to see the Rock Barn and explore Ponca City.

Oklahoma’s capital, Guthrie. Or, not.

Lori Feinman
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:48:26 +0000

You’ve heard the story of the movement of the US Capital from Philadelphia to the humid, swampy, cow town of Washington. But that was all about the federal government being independent of the states, being able to secure itself, yadda yadda, yawn. The much more interesting and positively scandalous story is that of the move of the Oklahoma state capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. Hear that, and all of a sudden the incredible Victorian building stock in this town makes perfect sense. As does the pride and hard work that the residents of Guthrie have put into preserving the character of the town. On the Guthrie field session, you will join native Charles Scott on a walking tour of the town, hearing historical tidbits related to the buildings as well as learning about the tools that Gutherians (did I just make up a word?) use to maintain and support their NHL district. Outside of Guthrie, the tour visits what really must be one the of the most unusual adaptive use properties in the country- a former Masonic Children’s home from the depression era, reused as a combination office, home, and event space, each function succeeding wonderfully. Lunch will be served here before the in-depth tour, the details of which I will keep to myself - you’ll have to attend to hear about it all. A full day in Guthrie is surprising and inspiring, like all of this part of Oklahoma.