Good Bye downtown Coney Island

[RecycleMichael]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=46&articleid=20120105_46_0_Tulsas364171


Tulsa's iconic Coney Island Hot Weiner Shop restaurant, located at 123 W. Fourth St. downtown, will have to vacate its space by the middle of February.


Owner Jim Economou said he is looking for a new home for the business.

"We want to stay downtown because we believe it is important to us and the community," Economou said.

Coney Island's lease on the site, which is on the bottom floor of a vacant former hotel, expired in November. Economou said the property's owners want to raze the building.

Although Economou said he is looking for a new restaurant site in the downtown Tulsa area, he also has considered the Brady District.

[we vs us]

The razing cannot happen soon enough for that eyesore. 

Also:  good luck to you, Coney Island.

[DowntownDan]

My first preference would have been for a moderate or discount hotel chain to take it over like Sleep or Comfort Inn and restore it to a respectable hotel.  I would expect, however, that the restoration costs would be too high.  This is one building I won't necessarily mind seeing demolished.  I just hope that they would build something there as opposed to creating another parking lot.  If the Coney Island has a strong enough following, it shouldn't be hard to find a new spot downtown.  I don't understand why the article seems to imply that the Brady District is not "downtown."  I think they meant to say that he would prefer to stay in the central business district but would consider the Brady District. 

[TheArtist]

   I am actually shocked that some of you don't think the hotel could be something really neat.  I would have loved to have seen it refurbished to how it looked when it was new or even hammed it up a little with the cheesy garish colors of the era.  It's such a neat looking, retro building.  I would have put period furniture in the lobby, old magazines on the tables, had an old tv playing period shows, fun poster art on the walls, had period music playing, the people at the front desk wear period uniforms, etc. and made it a fun tribute to that wacky retro style.  Young people would absolutely love it and I think the Route 66 tourists would have loved it too.  What a shame that such a unique and iconic downtown building will be lost.   

[Townsend]

    What a shame that such a unique and iconic downtown building will be lost.   

OK, OK, I'll do it...

It's Tulsa by gum.  We don't cotton to thinking like that.

[AquaMan]

I would like to see it updated but its sat empty for a long time. One problem it has as a hotel is the parking lot may have been sold off. It at least is reserved for someone. Hard to imagine someone taking the risk to do it.

When I worked in the World building downtown in the 80's, occasionally some adventurous couple would open the curtains on those sliding glass doors and wave to the office workers across the street....buck naked. I don't think that needs to be recreated.

[custosnox]

The place has potential, but the cost of meeting that potential will likely be far beyond what any intrinsic value might be.  While I hate to see the building razed, it might be the best thing for it.  This is, of course, as long as they plan on building something there and not just turn it into another parking lot

[RecycleMichael]

My grandfather owned the building across the street (now a parking lot next to the Mayo Parking garage). As a teenager, I hung out on the two blocks between the YMCA and that hotel. It was a very cool place in it's day. There was always somebody hanging out on the different floor balconies just watching the street scene.

I used to tell myself that if I won the lottery, I would restore it. I am a little sad it will be gone, just because I remember it fondly. But it has been worthless and a sign of decay for two decades or more.

I have my own little list of things I wanted to see happen before I felt downtown was really back to the days I remember 40 years ago. The first one was reopening the Mayo and it happened. Second was a bowling alley or movie theater (happened). Third was a big downtown retailer like Skaggs or Renbergs (not yet). Fourth was that this hotel would reopen (I guess I now need to drop this one) .

[Conan71]

occasionally some adventurous couple would open the curtains on those sliding glass doors and wave to the office workers across the street....buck naked. I don't think that needs to be recreated.

Reminds me of a drunken night in Tunica many moons ago, but I digress.

[Hoss]

Reminds me of a drunken night in Tunica many moons ago, but I digress.

Oh Lord...Mississippi.  I can remember some nights in Tunica years ago...well, partially remember anyway.

[carltonplace]

The razing cannot happen soon enough for that eyesore. 

Also:  good luck to you, Coney Island.

Fort Worth has a hotel just like this one in their downtown...only fixed up. Its a Doowop style and it looks great. I think this building could be fixed, but whatever.

Here is a representative picture I found on the intrawebs:

[we vs us]

Fort Worth has a hotel just like this one in their downtown...only fixed up. Its a Doowop style and it looks great. I think this building could be fixed, but whatever.

Here is a representative picture I found on the intrawebs:

Here's the thing:  I agree, it COULD be fixed up, but the possibility of that happening is practically nil.  The investment would be massive, the return would be small . . . and IMO we're not viable enough of a destination yet to make a novelty motel work reliably. Fort Worth, by contrast, is.  I guess I just don't see much return on something like that.  Much better to take a chance and see if we can fill in that space with street level retail and some new office space. 

[rdj]

I envisioned a hotel like the Hotel San Jose in Austin.

https://www.sanjosehotel.com/index2.php

[DTowner]

If you had the power to influence the outcome, would you rather (1) this hotel remain as is for a while longer with the hope that a remodel/repurpose might become viable within 5 years, or (2) see it razed and, most likely, made a surface parking lot with the hope that a new building would be built at some point in the future (within 5 years)?

[SXSW]

They should move to the vacated Ike's Chili spot on 5th.

I seem to remember Kevin Stephens having an interest in buying and renovating that motel, back in 2008-09.  That was at the same time he was proposing turning Temple Israel into a Sustainability Center and building townhomes on the parking lot at 14th & Cheyenne.