Calling All Domeheads

[Sean Citizen]

Join the campaign to save a geodesic dome! http://jetsetmodern.com/dome.htm

[mj]

It's an eye sore, get rid.

[GregF]

It's a shame to demolish it

[Sean Citizen]

The bank is surprised by the opposition it has experienced. "Celebration rally" by 1,000 scheduled for site on August 11. http://www.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=729308&pic=none&TP=getarticle

[iuxta]

i have to say that like mj i think the building is quite ugly and would not be over eager to see it over stay its welcome but then i have never really been taken by geodesic domes.

[deepnote]

well they are really engineering, aren't they, rather than architecture?

this seems more of a cultural icon in an American outpost and if preserved should be for that reason - like the original McDonald's in California, it's not good architecture, just a testament to a phase in American cultural history

I wouldn't want to live next door to it, though

[JL]

Save it! Save it! You may not think it's aesthetically beautiful (I think it is) but it embodies an optimism and experimentation of its time - it's a real piece of cultural history and should be preserved. Anyway - what harmn is it doing - preventing someone making even more money?

[trace]

Clock ticking for gold dome
2001-12-13
By Gregory Potts
The Oklahoman

Bank One officials Wednesday agreed to postpone until January their application with the city to demolish the "gold dome" branch at NW 23 and Classen Boulevard, but warned this likely will be the last time.

Officials first applied with the city's Urban Design Commission in July for permission to demolish the structure to make way for a Walgreens store. The move drew protests from residents who say the building is an Oklahoma City landmark of historical and architectural significance.

A committee of the commission met with bank leaders Wednesday to discuss possibilities for the building's preservation. Bank One Oklahoma President Bill Schehing said the meeting was "productive" and the committee presented an idea that he hopes will become further developed within the next month.

However, he said, the bank doesn't have much time left. "If we don't have another alternative, we will go forward with our game plan with the Walgreens transaction," Schehing said. "If that comes to fruition, we are going to look into the possibilities of donating the dome structure somehow."

Schehing said the bank would be willing to literally save the dome's famous gold-anodized aluminum roof so some community group could reconstruct it elsewhere in the city.

John Yoekel, chairman of the Urban Design Commission's dome committee, declined to disclose details of the committee's proposal for the dome. "I think there is a realistic prospect that we can put together a solution that can work for the bank and the community," Yoekel said.

Bank officials said in July they planned to demolish the building to make way for a smaller Bank One branch and a Walgreens. The bank complained the building was too large for its purposes and it required at least $1.7 million in repairs and upgrades. The bank is required to get the city's permission because the building is in an area of NW 23 designated as an Urban Design District, which affords special protection to buildings.

When bank officials first came before the commission in July, the meeting was crowded with protesters. They said the building, completed in 1958, was one of the world's first geodesic dome structures. The State Office for Historic Preservation said the building was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, even though it is not yet 50 years old, the usual benchmark.

The public outcry persuaded Schehing to ask the commission to postpone considering the demolition application. The bank then announced it would put the building on the market for two months in search of a buyer that would preserve the structure. That time period ended the last day of September without turning up a buyer after publicized negotiations with Blue Stuff, a local company that sells a pain remedy, failed to produce a deal.

Bank officials requested further delays of the demolition application at the October and November Urban Design Commission meetings while they considered their options.

Meanwhile, the bank has been regularly visited by protesters from Citizens for the Golden Dome, a grassroots organization that has decorated the city with billboards and bumper stickers. The group Wednesday presented the bank with 3,500 petition signatures, which Schehing declined to accept. Citizens for the Golden Dome spokeswoman Lisa Chronister said she was "bewildered" and "insulted" by his refusal.

[deepnote]

how about relocating the dome and using it for the Jetson's museum?

[trace]

From AIArchitect (January 2003 - Honors and Awards):
Young Architects Demonstrate Exceptional Leadership

The AIA has chosen five outstanding young architects, defined as professionals who have been practicing 10 years or fewer, regardless of their age, to receive its 2003 Young Architects Award. The award honors individuals who have shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession early in their careers.

Lisa M. Chronister, AIA, is passionate about increasing public awareness of the value of architecture. Most recently, she devoted her time and talents to ensuring that one of Oklahoma’s most precious historic resources, the Gold Dome Bank near downtown Oklahoma City, was saved from demolition. She helped lead a coalition of advocates supporting preservation of the futuristic 1958 building and its distinctive gold geodesic dome roof. Chronister worked on all aspects of the campaign, particularly the public-relations piece of the protest, disseminating information to local and national press. As spokesperson for the group, she generated local press coverage and national attention by making television and radio appearances. The demolition permit was eventually denied, and the decision was upheld through the appeals process in July 2002, when a preservation-minded buyer rescued the property. The National Trust for Historic Preservation validated the group’s efforts by naming the bank one of its 2002 Eleven Most Endangered buildings in the U.S.

Chronister, a project manager/architect at LWPB Architects, Oklahoma City, has served on the AIA Oklahoma Board of Directors in virtually every leadership position during the last five years, culminating in her election to the presidency this year. She engages in many other chapter activities, such as the Disaster Assistance Team, the Food Bank Harvest Food Drive, and the 2001 Central States Regional Conference. Chronister shows equal dedication to her design career: Since her 1994 graduation from the University of Oklahoma, she has worked full-time as an intern, project architect, and project manager for several Oklahoma City firms. She was largely responsible for the design of projects that include the Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery renovation, Federal Corporation Showroom Remodel, and For Heaven’s Sake Child Development Center. She also served as project architect for the downtown YMCA Child Development Center, Department of Environmental Quality Office Renovation, and the Center for Design Arts.

[StephenC]

A refreshing tale of civic pride over money from the US.... perhaps Carrickmines will go the same way

[trace]

The dome, in Baton Rouge, was on a list of Louisiana’s top 10 endangered properties.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/columnists/mike_hendricks/story/430131.html