Stage Center's Final Curtain Call

-
Oklahoma City Landmark Coming Down


Call it Mummer's Theater, Oklahoma Theatre Center, Stage Center- or Tinkertoy Town. The oft-maligned complex at North Walker and West Sheridan appears to be doomed. Recent plans call for a mixed use high-rise office tower to be built on the site.


Stage Center was designed by John Johanson in 1970 as part of the grand. The building won international accolades from the architectural community. But the eclectic mix of Brutalist facades and inside-out geometry was instantly polarizing and found few fans in the general public.

Through the years the building had a rocky history. Financial troubles continually plagued its tenants. Stage Center had been in disrepair for many years- then a flood further damaged the building in June 2010. It has been vacant ever since.

An eleventh-hour effort by the AIA sought to find a suitable tenant but to no avail.

High Rise Plans from the Daily Oklahoman...

History and Downfall of Stage Center from KOSU...


Comments

JRB said…
Down, but not out.

A last-minute effort to halt demolition of the unique Stage Center/Mummer's Theater complex has been launched. You can help by signing the below petition!

Many preservation groups across the country are coming together to halt the demolition of this iconic building. Act before the meeting on January 16, 2014.

Save Stage Center Petition
January 13, 2014 at 1:10 PM
Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

The Bruce Goff House in Vinita

-
Image
We were recently surprised to learn about a Goff-designed home just an hour away from Tulsa in Vinita, Oklahoma. Vinita is probably best known to OK Mod readers as the home of the Glass House on I-44, also known as (shudder) the World's Largest Largest McDonalds . Anywho, turned out the Goff house was on the market, and the owner was more than happy to let us have a look around. We took a short drive up the turnpike one Sunday afternoon to meet the realtor, snap some pictures, ask some questions and enjoy another one of Bruce Goff's unique creations. The home is known as the Adams House and was built in 1961. The 3,700 square foot home is arranged in a circular floor plan with a large sunken "conversation pit" at the center. Rising up from this pit is a large metal fireplace, its chimney surrounded by skylights, which dominates the entire house. Rooms surround the perimeter with folding accordion doors acting as walls. To maintain some semblance of privacy an inner...
Read more

Visit to the Prairie Chicken House

-
Image
This unique house on the edge of Norman, Oklahoma is known to most as the prairie chicken house. Designed by Herb Greene in 1960, he preferred to call it simply the Prairie House .  Thanks to the  Prairie House Preservation Society  (PHPS) it is now possible for the public to experience one of Oklahoma's most unusual architectural treasures. 
Read more

Oklahoma State Capitol Bank

-
Image
On the Trail of Julius Shulman: Stop 2 "This is a bank," the sign outside the futuristic building read. According to legend a prankster added a strategic question mark and echoed the sentiment of many passers-by: "This is a bank?" That was back in 1964 when it opened. Today the Arvest on Lincoln Boulevard looks a bit less Jetsonian, mostly due to replacement of structural glass below the "saucers," but it's still an unusual bank. Designed by Robert Roloff of the architectural firm Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson & Roloff, the State Capitol Bank caused quite a stir in Oklahoma City when it opened. Heck, it's still pretty shocking today! Originally the flying saucers appeared to hover above the building (as seen in this vintage postcard). All the glass that made that effect possible also made heating and cooling an expensive proposition. Security concerns also mandated replacement of those windows with solid materials and small square portholes...
Read more