Pei Plan (Oklahoma City)
Encyclopedia
The Pei Plan was an urban redevelopment initiative designed for downtown Oklahoma City
, Oklahoma
, United States
, in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the informal name for two related commissions of noted architect and urban planner I.M.Pei – namely the Central Business District General Neighborhood Renewal Plan (design completed 1964) and the Central Business District Project I-A Development Plan (design completed 1966). It was formally adopted in 1965, and implemented in public and private phases throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
The plan called for the demolition of hundreds of antiquated downtown structures in favor of renewed parking, office building, and retail developments, in addition to public projects such as the Myriad Convention Center
and the Myriad Botanical Gardens
. It was the dominant template for downtown development in Oklahoma City from its inception through the 1970s. The plan generated mixed results and opinion, largely succeeding in re-developing office building and parking infrastructure but failing to attract its anticipated retail and residential development. Public resentment also developed as a result of the destruction of multiple historic structures. As a result, Oklahoma City’s leadership avoided large-scale urban planning for downtown throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, until the passage of the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) initiative in 1993.
era, Oklahoma City experienced urban sprawl
into outlying municipal and suburban areas in the 1940s and 1950s. At the same time, increased automobile traffic exhausted the limited parking availability in the Oklahoma City downtown area, a phenomenon which was exacerbated by the dismantling of the Oklahoma City Railway after World War II. In addition, real estate lots downtown – a holdover from the days of the Land Run of 1889
that settled the area – were too small to accommodate expanding business sizes. By 1962, 53 downtown retailers had closed or moved to the suburbs.
During the 1950s and early 1960s local Oklahoma City business leaders, including Dean A. McGee, Chamber of Commerce president Stanley Draper, and publisher E.K. Gaylord laid the groundwork for local and state laws authorizing land acquisitions for urban renewal. By 1962, the city council had authorized the creation of an Urban Renewal Authority, which received initial funding from local business leaders that hired architect I.M. Pei to design a comprehensive redevelopment proposal.
At the time, I.M. Pei had received international recognition for urban redesign plans for Cleveland, Ohio
and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, among others.
By the time the plan was ready for official city adoption, Oklahoma City Mayor Jack Wilkes had resigned to become President of Centenary College
in Shreveport, Louisiana
. City Council members chose for his replacement local civic leader and historian George H. Shirk
, also a noted historic preservationist. Despite his preservationist tendencies, Shirk proved to be an enthusiastic supporter of the Pei Plan, and eventually cast the deciding vote in the city council to approve the plan in 1965.
actions. Pei’s original plan had called for the retention of, among other notable Oklahoma City landmarks, the Biltmore and Huckins Hotels.
The original plan also envisioned replacement facilities for downtown’s John A. Brown Department Store, and the replacement of buildings along Main Street with an interior shopping arcade. Pei’s plan had not finalized a site for the proposed convention center, which after negotiations between competing areas of the city was eventually located in an area of southeast downtown generally regarded as “skid row,” with funding ensured by a July 1968 special election.
Large-scale demolition began in 1967, funded with federal redevelopment grants provided under the Johnson
administration. By the early 1970s the redevelopment authority had constructed the new convention center, expanded and rerouted Broadway Avenue (now re-named E.K. Gaylord Avenue) in Oklahoma City as a six-lane commuter thoroughfare featuring the vast Santa Fe Parking Garage, and provided sites for new headquarters of the Kerr-McGee Corporation (now home to SandRidge Energy), Liberty Bank (now the Chase Tower), and Fidelity Bank (now the Park Harvey Center). A pedestrian tunnel project originally designed to connect with the proposed Main Street shopping arcade was also constructed.
Under the Nixon administration, however, generous support of urban renewal effort began to dwindle. Hotel and retail developments originally envisioned as part of the Pei Plan began to disintegrate as retailers opted for shopping mall developments rather than downtown locations (the principal shopping malls in Oklahoma City included Penn Square Mall
, Shepherd Mall, Crossroads Mall
, and later, Quail Springs Mall
). In particular, department store company John A. Brown (which originally featured Oklahoma City-based ownership, but subsequently merged with the Dayton Hudson Corporation in 1971) announced plans to abandon its downtown location on January 30, 1974. The proposed site for the Main Street arcade – which was to have connected to both the underground pedestrian tunnel and the Myriad Gardens – already largely demolished, was minimally redeveloped into a surface-level parking garage owned by public authorities.
With a dearth of retail opportunities downtown, residential developments envisioned in the Pei Plan failed to develop. Later phases of reconstruction centered on public works projects rather than private redevelopment. In 1977 the last major demolition was accomplished to make way for the Myriad Botanical Gardens
west of the convention center. That year also saw the construction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
– later the target of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
by Timothy McVeigh
. By 1980, little if any redevelopment activity remained.
with future plans to house the model at the downtown location of the Metropolitan Library System
. In conjunction with several other organizations, the society sponsors an online archive of the Pei Plan and related downtown history.
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the informal name for two related commissions of noted architect and urban planner I.M.Pei – namely the Central Business District General Neighborhood Renewal Plan (design completed 1964) and the Central Business District Project I-A Development Plan (design completed 1966). It was formally adopted in 1965, and implemented in public and private phases throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
The plan called for the demolition of hundreds of antiquated downtown structures in favor of renewed parking, office building, and retail developments, in addition to public projects such as the Myriad Convention Center
Cox Convention Center
The Cox Business Services Convention Center is a multi-purpose complex, located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma....
and the Myriad Botanical Gardens
Myriad Botanical Gardens
The Myriad Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on the southwest corner of Reno and Robinson. The Gardens is home to multiple tiers of densely landscaped areas that surround a sunken lake...
. It was the dominant template for downtown development in Oklahoma City from its inception through the 1970s. The plan generated mixed results and opinion, largely succeeding in re-developing office building and parking infrastructure but failing to attract its anticipated retail and residential development. Public resentment also developed as a result of the destruction of multiple historic structures. As a result, Oklahoma City’s leadership avoided large-scale urban planning for downtown throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, until the passage of the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) initiative in 1993.
Impetus for the plan – 1950s and 1960s
Similar to most urban areas in the post-World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era, Oklahoma City experienced urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
into outlying municipal and suburban areas in the 1940s and 1950s. At the same time, increased automobile traffic exhausted the limited parking availability in the Oklahoma City downtown area, a phenomenon which was exacerbated by the dismantling of the Oklahoma City Railway after World War II. In addition, real estate lots downtown – a holdover from the days of the Land Run of 1889
Land Run of 1889
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands and included all or part of the 2005 modern day Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the U.S. state of Oklahoma...
that settled the area – were too small to accommodate expanding business sizes. By 1962, 53 downtown retailers had closed or moved to the suburbs.
During the 1950s and early 1960s local Oklahoma City business leaders, including Dean A. McGee, Chamber of Commerce president Stanley Draper, and publisher E.K. Gaylord laid the groundwork for local and state laws authorizing land acquisitions for urban renewal. By 1962, the city council had authorized the creation of an Urban Renewal Authority, which received initial funding from local business leaders that hired architect I.M. Pei to design a comprehensive redevelopment proposal.
At the time, I.M. Pei had received international recognition for urban redesign plans for Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, among others.
Original plan
I.M. Pei developed his plan for the 528 acres (2.1 km²) Central Business District through 1964, initially disclosing it only to Urban Renewal Authority principals and principals of the related but privately-financed Urban Action Foundation. Pei’s plan called for the demolition of hundreds of buildings to form “superblocks” that could house large-scale development. Included in the plan were new parking garages (increasing available spaces from the then-available 14,300 to 28,360), a new street grid converting Robinson, Reno, and Sheridan (formerly Grand) Avenue into one-way streets, a new convention center, planned spaces for adjoining hotel development, a major retail center, new residential and office towers, an Tivoli-style outdoor garden, and an arts district centered around a new “Mummer’s Theater.”By the time the plan was ready for official city adoption, Oklahoma City Mayor Jack Wilkes had resigned to become President of Centenary College
Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. City Council members chose for his replacement local civic leader and historian George H. Shirk
George H. Shirk
George Henry Shirk was a lawyer, historian, and former Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In addition to being an author on several subjects related to the history of Oklahoma, he was known as a civic leader and proponent of various municipal development projects within central Oklahoma.-Early...
, also a noted historic preservationist. Despite his preservationist tendencies, Shirk proved to be an enthusiastic supporter of the Pei Plan, and eventually cast the deciding vote in the city council to approve the plan in 1965.
Plan implementation: 1965 – 1980
Implementation of the Pei Plan required a series of land acquisitions while replacement facilities and buildings were being built, and eventually grew to differ from Pei’s original concept as landowners willingly sold properties to the Urban Renewal Authority, while other landowners targeted in the plan vigorously defended against eminent domainEminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
actions. Pei’s original plan had called for the retention of, among other notable Oklahoma City landmarks, the Biltmore and Huckins Hotels.
The original plan also envisioned replacement facilities for downtown’s John A. Brown Department Store, and the replacement of buildings along Main Street with an interior shopping arcade. Pei’s plan had not finalized a site for the proposed convention center, which after negotiations between competing areas of the city was eventually located in an area of southeast downtown generally regarded as “skid row,” with funding ensured by a July 1968 special election.
Large-scale demolition began in 1967, funded with federal redevelopment grants provided under the Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
administration. By the early 1970s the redevelopment authority had constructed the new convention center, expanded and rerouted Broadway Avenue (now re-named E.K. Gaylord Avenue) in Oklahoma City as a six-lane commuter thoroughfare featuring the vast Santa Fe Parking Garage, and provided sites for new headquarters of the Kerr-McGee Corporation (now home to SandRidge Energy), Liberty Bank (now the Chase Tower), and Fidelity Bank (now the Park Harvey Center). A pedestrian tunnel project originally designed to connect with the proposed Main Street shopping arcade was also constructed.
Under the Nixon administration, however, generous support of urban renewal effort began to dwindle. Hotel and retail developments originally envisioned as part of the Pei Plan began to disintegrate as retailers opted for shopping mall developments rather than downtown locations (the principal shopping malls in Oklahoma City included Penn Square Mall
Penn Square Mall
Penn Square Mall is a two-story, upscale regional shopping mall and 10-screen theater in Oklahoma City, located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and NW Expressway, near I-44. The center was originally built as an outdoor shopping center in 1960 with anchors John A. Brown and Montgomery...
, Shepherd Mall, Crossroads Mall
Crossroads Mall (Oklahoma)
Crossroads Mall is a super regional shopping mall and trade area located in south Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The name of the mall was chosen because it lies at the major intersection of I-35 and I-240, a major crossroads of the city. Today, the mall faces many problems due to the vacancy of all four...
, and later, Quail Springs Mall
Quail Springs Mall
Quail Springs Mall is a super regional shopping mall and trade area located in far northern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It contains four major department store anchors, a 24-screen AMC Theatre, and a total of 130 tenants comprising a total of approximately 1,128,000 square feet of gross leasable area...
). In particular, department store company John A. Brown (which originally featured Oklahoma City-based ownership, but subsequently merged with the Dayton Hudson Corporation in 1971) announced plans to abandon its downtown location on January 30, 1974. The proposed site for the Main Street arcade – which was to have connected to both the underground pedestrian tunnel and the Myriad Gardens – already largely demolished, was minimally redeveloped into a surface-level parking garage owned by public authorities.
With a dearth of retail opportunities downtown, residential developments envisioned in the Pei Plan failed to develop. Later phases of reconstruction centered on public works projects rather than private redevelopment. In 1977 the last major demolition was accomplished to make way for the Myriad Botanical Gardens
Myriad Botanical Gardens
The Myriad Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on the southwest corner of Reno and Robinson. The Gardens is home to multiple tiers of densely landscaped areas that surround a sunken lake...
west of the convention center. That year also saw the construction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Federal Government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, which killed 168 people, including 19 children...
– later the target of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
by Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
. By 1980, little if any redevelopment activity remained.
Public reaction
Public reaction to the Pei Plan became more negative over time as the redevelopment plans failed to create viable retail or residential options, and community activists bemoaned the loss of historical buildings. A preservationist group in Oklahoma City named the “Criterion Group” was named after the Criterion Theater – one of the most significant historical casualties of the Pei Plan – a French-style stage theater torn down in 1973 to make way for the Century Center (an enclosed shopping center now largely vacant). Other casualties included the Baum Building (a Venetian-inspired structure that George Shirk attempted to save), the Hales Building (the owners of which fought condemnation efforts for nearly a decade), and the Biltmore Hotel, razed in 1977 to make way for the Myriad Botanical Gardens project. The delayed but negative reaction to the Pei Plan frustrated efforts by Oklahoma City authorities to instigate other urban renewal plans until the 1993 passage of the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) initiative.Archive
The Oklahoma City/County Historical Society retains a large-scale conceptual architecture model of the early Pei Plan, housed in the northeast corner of the Cox Convention CenterCox Convention Center
The Cox Business Services Convention Center is a multi-purpose complex, located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma....
with future plans to house the model at the downtown location of the Metropolitan Library System
Metropolitan Library System (Oklahoma)
The Metropolitan Library System is a public library system that serves Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. It consists of 12 full-service libraries as well as 5 smaller extension libraries...
. In conjunction with several other organizations, the society sponsors an online archive of the Pei Plan and related downtown history.
External links
- Hillerman Photographic Collection at Oklahoma Historical Society
- IMPeiOKC.com - A website dedicated to the Pei Plan and its architectural models
- Vintage Map of OKC at Dougloudenback.com
- Interactive Map of Historic OKC at Dougloudenback.com
- OKCHistory.com: Historic maps and photographs of OKC
- Searchable Historic Images from the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County
- Map of clearance area under Pei Plan from Imaginativeamerica.com