Tulsa Club Building - Blight on Downtown Tulsa

The historic Tulsa Club building, on the corner of 5th street and Cincinatti, Downtown, Tulsa faces an uncertain future. This beautiful building with a great history and equally great potential sits vacant, graffiti adorned and collects city fines as the owner stubbornly resists all reasonable offers.

The building has been cited for violation of fire, electrical and plumbing codes as well as collapsed ceilings and evidence of trespassing and other possible criminal activity. The city had assessed a $1,000 fine each day since August 2007 until a Tulsa County judge awarded the city a $331,815 civil judgment in October for the unpaid charges.

The current owner, Carl J. Marony, of California picked the property up for around $125k sources say and has not done a thing with it. Rather than put it to good use he has opted to negligently let it sit unattended while homeless people smashed their way in and desecrate the structure.

A neighboring building manager, who opted to stay off the record, shared that he had made numerous attempts to assist the situation. From purchasing the building to forming a partnership, Marony has been quite unreasonable in his opinion. His asking price is said to be $3 million for the building in its current state, which is a huge exaggeration based on the current condition and occupancy in the neighboring buildings.

The building was designed by Bruce Goff, noted Oklahoma architect, for his Art Deco and Modern designs and is highly regarded for its original Art Deco design and downtown location. Built in 1927, it was home to the once prestigious Tulsa Club and Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, who had originally commissioned the project.

Tulsa’s own ‘Rockefeller Center’

A 35-foot Christmas tree adorned with lights overlooks an outdoor skating rink where families sip hot chocolate, listen to caroling and enjoy time together.

This holiday scene may sound like New York City’s famed Rockefeller Center, but Tulsans can experience it right outside the BOK Center.

The new downtown arena, with the help of several corporate sponsors, including Arvest Bank and Bank of Oklahoma, is hosting the first Winterfest, beginning Friday through New Year’s Eve.

“We hope this will be something the community embraces and that it will grow into a Tulsa tradition,” BOK Center General Manager John Bolton said.

“The key to this is that it’s active. It’s not sitting down and watching a movie. You’re out doing something fun and getting in the holiday spirit.”

Frisco Avenue from Second to Third streets, located on the west side of the facility, will be closed for the month to make room for Winterfest, which will feature a 50-by-100-foot ice rink, food and beverage vendors, and a music stage.

The rink will be open daily, generally from 4 to 10 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays and noon to 10 p.m. Fridays to Sundays, with some exceptions.

Skating will be $8 per person with skate rental and $5 for those who bring their own skates. Children 3 and under will be $5.

“Not everyone can take their family to a $75- or $80-a-ticket concert, but certainly this will be an affordable entertainment option,” BOK Center Special Events Manager Jeff Nickler said, noting that $1-off coupons will be in upcoming Reasor’s grocery store circulars.

Caroling and holiday music will be featured Thursdays and Sundays, with live bands and choirs performing Fridays and Saturdays. A full, up-to-date schedule of the rink’s hours and entertainment offerings will be available at www.tulsaworld.com/bok.

Planned events include a Dec. 11 Meet the Rockettes Night, when people can get photos with the stars of the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular,” and a Dec. 17 Skate with the Oilers Night, when hockey fans can share the ice with their favorite players.

Coffee, hot chocolate, strudel, funnel cakes, kettle corn, Ike’s chili, hot dogs and other snacks will be for sale, along with horse-drawn carriage rides.

As the presenting sponsor of Winterfest, Arvest Bank President and CEO Don Walker said the bank wanted to do something to give back to the Tulsa region.

“I think this will be a tough year for a lot of families due to the economy,” he said. “They might not be able to travel or have much money to spend on gifts. I think this will be a great place for people to gather close to home.”

Winterfest also will provide the kind of daily activity that downtown Tulsa needs to help recreate itself, Walker said.

“I’ve talked to others before about why we haven’t had more of a Christmas atmosphere downtown,” he said. “We have the parade and we have some decorations, but we needed something else, something big, so we’re doing our best to see this through.”

For the past several years, Oklahoma City has hosted “Downtown in December,” which has an outdoor ice rink, snow tubing rides and other activities.

Bolton said he was inspired by that and a similar event in Owensboro, Ky., where he used to live, that has since been expanded to include amusement rides, outdoor movies and other attractions.

“I think this is the start of something really great for Tulsa,” he said.

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Winterfest 2008

Where: Adjacent to the BOK Center, on Frisco Avenue between Second and Third streets in downtown Tulsa.

When: Friday to Dec. 31. Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. Friday to Sunday, with some exceptions. After Dec. 22, it will open at noon daily.

For an up-to-date schedule and a list of special activities and live entertainment, visit www.tulsaworld.com/bok.

Cost: Skating is $8 with skate rental and $5 for those who bring their own skates. Children 3 and under are $5. Discount rates for groups of 10 or more and private party bookings are available by calling BOK Center Special Events Manager Jeff Nickler at 894-4254.

Food and beverage prices vary.

City Trend: Walkable Urbanism

by Cole Cunningham Gen X’ers are speaking out across the nation and setting a new trend towards walkable urbanism – a place you can live, work, shop and play – all within walking distance. This trend has already hit critical mass in cities such as Washington DC., Denver, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle, which are rated as our country’s most walkable cities. Will Tulsa follow this trend? Tulsans have been living the so-called American Dream for the past 50-60 years. The big house, gas guzzlers in the driveway and a big lawn to mow are part of the low density suburban lifestyle consumers have dictated in the past. But is the American Dream changing? We drive to work, we drive to the grocery store, and we drive to the gym these days. The problems are becoming clearer as developments continue to rise further away from downtown. Effects of sub-urbanism have begun to take their toll on our health and environment, with driving being linked to an increased rate of obesity and greenhouse gas emissions. With pent up demand from Gen X-ers coming into the housing scene, we can shift the tide. What this new demographic wants is largely a walkable urban lifestyle. In fact, national studies suggest that 30-40% of total people want a walkable urban lifestyle, and an even larger percentage of younger generations and empty nesters. And the best part is, with Walkable Urbanism MORE=BETTER. In contrast to sub-urbanism, the more people that join this movement, the better these areas become. As more people move into walkable areas, more restaurants and entertainment venues open making these areas even more attractive and desirable. The tide is turning for Tulsa. Brookside, Cherry Street and downtown are drawing the younger generations in with the convenience of everything in one place. With revitalization of these areas underway, it is apparent there is a healthy and growing demand. Cost of housing in these areas already exceeds the city average, but appreciation is not over, according to national estimations. Chris Leinberger, author of The Option of Urbanism, and authority on the subject says walkable areas command between 40%-200% higher prices than suburban properties (based on $/sq. ft.) nationally. With this in mind our walkable areas are a real bargain. Tulsa is currently subsidizing housing projects all over the city. We need to focus our efforts and invest in the future, urban renewal. Stop social engineering and let the market choose. If we look to more progressive cities and learn from example, we will see that the trend is arriving and we just have to embrace it. _______________________________ Cole Cunningham is a Design-savy real estate professional specializing in mid century modern, contemporary and urban properties throughout the Tulsa area. For more about Tulsa Architecture visit moderntulsa.net.