Old AT&T Building and First Baptist

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

The Tulsa skyline is changing as Monday crews got to work on dismantling an old microwave tower on top of what used to be the AT&T building.
Though the tower may be coming down, it's actually a sign of downtown Tulsa rising.

A multi-million dollar crane will be at 5th and Detroit for the next four or five days as, piece by piece, it will take down the microwave tower that has sat on top of the old AT&T building for decades.

The demolition is the first step in a $12 million development project by First Baptist Church.

Monday, it was out with the old along 5th Street, as tons of iron pieces were scrapped and an old microwave tower - unused for years - started coming down.

First Baptist Church now owns the old AT&T building and has big plans for it; at the top of that list, Bobby Hart said, is redoing the roof.

"It is a solid structure. However, it has got to come down someday. It is useless and kind of an eyesore, so we wanted it to come down before we invested any more dollars into the building," he said.

First Baptist is beginning a more than $12 million project for the downtown block. What is now green space will soon be a brand new four-story building for a pre-school and children space.

The church will renovate the first three floors of the Detroit Tower for adult life groups. After all, the congregation is growing at a rapid pace - with 2,000 people alone worshiping just on Sundays.

Hart said, "It is great to see this in a downtown setting because it's not typical in most cities and we're growing really with a younger demographic."

Dismantling the tower is no easy task, especially with the Oklahoma wind.

"It is tricky being a demolition project. We're used to building up downtown Tulsa, not taking it down," said Nic Palmer with Bennett Steel.

Crews used more than 90,000 pounds of counterweight to counteract the wind.

"Play it safe every time. If it gets too out of hand we will shut it down and come back on another day," Palmer said.

First Baptist hopes to break ground this spring and open the new doors in 2017.

"All this work you see going on is just in preparation for that," said Hart.

It's also in preparation for continued growth at their downtown location.

Hart said, "The community is growing around us - East Village just across the street from us and all kinds of new communities that are popping up downtown. So, we hope to see people take advantage of everything there is to do downtown."

It's actually phase three of five for First Baptist, having already redone a number of the buildings.

The next two phases include tearing down another building on the west side of the block to make up for green space lost in this phase.

http://www.newson6.com/story/30301568/tulsa-church-begins-removal-of-tower-on-downtown-building

I wonder what they're tearing down.

The article says they're renovating the first three floors of the AT&T building but doesn't mention what they're doing with the rest of it. Any insight?

[dsjeffries]

I think it's the ugly 1960's addition with no windows. It's at the northeast corner of 4th & Cincinnati.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

The microwave antennas and tower structure on the roof are being removed.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.152418,-95.9863498,3a,46.9y,316.43h,121.24t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHYLhKq8BmJ7rJCi8_ERVMg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DHYLhKq8BmJ7rJCi8_ERVMg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D69.726395%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

[rdj]

I think it's the ugly 1960's addition with no windows. It's at the northeast corner of 4th & Cincinnati.

That is correct.

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

I think it's the ugly 1960's addition with no windows. It's at the northeast corner of 4th & Cincinnati.

5th and Cincinnati? I guess I can live with that. I've long thought the southwest corner of that intersection was ripe for some infill.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

That is correct.

Are you sure? The NE corner of 4th & Cincinnati is a parking lot. I'm guessing you mean SW corner of 4th and Detroit or maybe NE corner of 5th & cincinnati.

[carltonplace]

They have to do a lot more building to make up for all of the tear downs they did just to the east.

Thank their God that they aren't tearing down that Southwestern Bell building. It's one of the best deco buildings left in downtown.

[swake]

They have to do a lot more building to make up for all of the tear downs they did just to the east.

Thank their God that they aren't tearing down that Southwestern Bell building. It's one of the best deco buildings left in downtown.

That's the correct building. They are removing the ugly 50'+ tall antenna array from the top of this building.

[sgrizzle]

So the project is renovating the inside of the old AT&T building (only about a floor a half are usable currently) and building a new building directly north of it which will be styled to be similar to the AT&T building. Then eventually the old walled-over hotel at NE corner of 5th and Cincinnati will come down (a portion of that to become green space) and the education building at the SE corner of 4th and Cincinatti will be shortened.

[rdj]

Are you sure? The NE corner of 4th & Cincinnati is a parking lot. I'm guessing you mean SW corner of 4th and Detroit or maybe NE corner of 5th & cincinnati.

Yes, sorry.  NE corner of 5th & Cincy.  I was reading "the ugly" and stopped there.  Here is the link to the church's website for the project.  http://www.tulsafbc.org/for-our-future/

[dsjeffries]

Yes, sorry.  NE corner of 5th & Cincy.  I was reading "the ugly" and stopped there.  Here is the link to the church's website for the project.  http://www.tulsafbc.org/for-our-future/

Yeah, I meant 5th, too.

[sgrizzle]

Also, this thread:
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=19538.0

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Also, this thread:
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=19538.0

That clears it up!

Looks good! Sounds wasteful to take away 1 green space and add another but renderings look sensible and a better use of space.

[Bamboo World]

I think it's the ugly 1960's addition with no windows. It's at the northeast corner of 4th 5th & Cincinnati.

There are windows, but they've been closed with brick.

The building is the former Wells Hotel, with its old fenestration filled in, with its bricks painted, and with arches applied to the old facade.

Looking northeast at 5th & Cincinnati -- (in the background is a bit of the two-story Southwestern Bell building at 5th & Detroit, before its Art Deco addition): 
Source:  The Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society

Looking east at 5th & Cincinnati, precisely 85 years ago today (showing the much taller Southwestern Bell building with its Art Deco style addition behind the Wells Hotel):

Source:  The Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society

Google Maps street view from June 2014 (with the microwave tower looming over the Art Deco addition):
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1522514,-95.9878411,3a,75y,66.8h,83.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPfWzIpkmjZnXaJq9XOz8ng!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

The building is the former Wells Hotel, with its old fenestration filled in, with its bricks painted, and with arches applied to the old facade.

What happened to the inside of the Wells hotel or what do they use it for? Can it be saved/restored?