Gold Dome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gold Dome is a geodesic dome in Oklahoma City, United States, considered to be a major landmark. Located at the intersection of North West 23rd Street and North Classen Boulevard, it sits in the heart of the city's Asia District.
Once threatened with demolition, it has now been redeveloped into an Asian cultural center complete with office space, retail, restaurants and an exhibit on the works of Buckminister Fuller planned for the vault of the former Citizen's Bank.
[edit] History of The Gold Dome
In 1958, the Citizens State Bank began construction.[1] The Gold Dome building was the fifth geodesic dome constructed in the world; however, it was the first to be used as a bank.[1] It was described as “one of the nation’s most revolutionary bank designs.”[1] The geodesic dome design is patented by the famous futurist and architect, Buckminster Fuller. The architects for the Citizens State Bank were Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson, and Roloff of Oklahoma City.[1] The dome is constructed of 625 panels, ranging in size from 7.5 to 11.5 feet in length, 60 – 70 pounds in weight each, and spanning a diameter of 145 feet.[1] The interior covers about 27,000 square feet.1 The Gold Dome bank was an approximately $1 million investment.[1]
In 1998, the Oklahoma City Government pursued a new zoning area along 23rd street, including the area where the Gold Dome is located in order to preserve the unique architecture and “commercial nature” of 23rd street.[2] Twenty-third Street is located between the urban conservation districts of the Paseo and Jefferson Park to the north, and the historic preservation districts of Mesta Park and Heritage Hills to the South. The new zoning area would require property owners to gain permission from a design review board before demolishing or modifying buildings in this area.[2]
In July of 2001 Bank One, which owned the Gold Dome building, applied to the Urban Design Commission (the result of 1998 efforts) for permission to demolish the building.[3] The bank stated that the structure was too large to serve as a bank and refurbishing it would be too costly (Bank One estimated it would cost roughly $1.7 million).[4] The bank intended to sell the property to Walgreens, which would place the new pharmacy across the street from its competitor, Eckerds.[4]
A group organized to save the Gold Dome, “Citizens for the Golden Dome,” appealed to the Bank One president, urging him not only to save the building in deference to its unique history and contribution to the “urban character” of OKC, but to also apply for landmark zoning from the OKC Historic Preservation and Landmark Commission, and apply for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
In August of 2001, the Bank One president offered different alternatives to demolition of the building, including constructing a smaller building on a portion of the property to serve as the Bank One location next door to the gold dome building.[5] The president left a 60-day window for prospective buyers interested in saving the building to come forward, but did not state what would happen if no one offered to buy the building.[5]
The State Historic Preservation Office declared the building eligible for landmark status, although usually reserved for buildings at least 50 years old.[6]
A Bethany company, Blue Stuff, seemed to be the only viable hope for preservation of the Gold Dome. Blue Stuff planned to move into the building, having outgrown its own location.[6] The company’s spokesman did not feel the Gold Dome would be as costly to repair as Bank One claimed.[6]
Efforts to save the Gold Dome included picketing and marches, but in September of 2001, a couple extended the efforts by writing a song.[6] Also, an Oklahoma based company, Sonic Drive-In restaurants, offered up a billboard, located across the street from the Gold Dome, to the Citizens for the Golden Dome group. On the billboard was written “Stop the demolition of our historic landmark,” as well as the phone numbers for Bank One and Walgreens.[7]
By December of 2001, after several reprieves by the bank president, the time allotted by Bank One for buyers wanting to preserve the Gold Dome to come forward was up. However, the Bank One officials agreed once again to extend the postponement of demolition until January.[4] Bank One stated they were open to other alternatives, but would have to go forward with plans to sell the building to Walgreens if a buyer did not come forward.[4] Bank One even offered to help save the actual dome and have it transplanted to another site.
In July of 2002, a signed contract between Bank One and Dr. Irene Lam was disclosed to the public.[8] Though not finalized, Dr. Lam discussed her desire to preserve the building. Dr. Lam is the current owner of the Gold Dome building.[8]
In 2003, the Gold Dome was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f "Unusual Bank’s Gold Dome Rising", The Oklahoman, 1958-05-08, pp. 46.
- ^ a b Money, Jack. "City Council Protects NW 23 Corridor With New Zoning", The Oklahoman, 1998-08-14, pp. 90.
- ^ Potts, Gregory. "Gold dome gets 30-day reprieve", The Oklahoman, 2001-07-19, pp. 1.
- ^ a b c d Potts, Gregory. "Clock Ticking for Gold Dome", The Oklahoman, 2001-12-03, pp. 1.
- ^ a b c Potts, Gregory. "Group plans to continue protests", The Oklahoman, 2001-07-19, pp. 1+.
- ^ a b c d Potts, Gregory. "Efforts to save gold dome continue, Musicians write song about historic building", The Oklahoman, 2001-10-06, pp. 60.
- ^ Potts, Gregory. "Sonic restaurant owners donate billboard space to save dome", The Oklahoman, 2001-08-15, pp. 65.
- ^ a b Zizzo, Davis. "Bank reports contract on gold dome building", The Oklahoman, 2002-07-25, pp. 11.
