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Historic downtown buildings are ready for revival.
At this point, it’s impossible to drive through downtown without getting the sense that things are changing. There are signs of construction all over the place. The downtown of 2009 is vastly different from the downtown of just a couple of years ago during the state’s centennial. And the downtown of two years from now (Who knows?) could be like a new city in many ways. From the BOK Center to the new ONEOK Field, there are lots of new structures filling up the landscape. And while I am completely into adding new, fun and enticing elements to the downtown experience, we mustn’t forget about the existing structures that are ripe for the picking.
This past Friday night, I attended a concert at the legendary Church Studio on East Third Street and South Trenton Avenue. Originally owned by Leon Russell decades ago, and more recently by Steve Ripley, the studio has been closed for several years. The studio, currently owned by Randy Miller, is on its way back to relevance. Although there is much work to be done, the completed portions of the studio are clean and modern with a reverence for the history that’s engrained in the walls. This is exactly what we need in downtown as a whole. There are a few good examples of this, most recently the Mayo Hotel, but there are plenty of wonderful spaces and buildings just waiting to be brought back to life.
In the middle part of the 20th century, as suburban life became more appealing and urban sprawl really began to take hold, the idea was that the urban centers had reached their potential. The rural and outlying areas had more space for building and growth in general. In the downtown spaces, you could only build up, not out. This isn’t exactly the case in Tulsa, but there certainly isn’t enough room for tons of new buildings — not without tearing down many that are perfectly suitable for renovation.
Let’s take a lesson from the Mayo, Church Studio and even the Atlas Life Building, which will soon be opening as a hotel (but still keeping the original feel of the space). Forgive the cliché, but there’s just no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
