The Oklahoma State Fairgrounds are, once again, a little less cool.
Yesterday afternoon, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt took a break from acting like he personally won an NBA title to celebrate the destruction of the historic Oklahoma State Fair Arena – a crowning piece of OKC mid-century architecture that, like so many other cool old buildings, is now just a pile of rubble.
Here’s video of the implosion that had to scare the living shit out of motorists who just happened to be driving down I-44 yesterday morning.
In addition to Mayor McSelfie, former Mayor Ron Norick stopped by for the show. The Oklahoman snapped an amazing photograph of the pair right after the roof came down.
That's nice. When Sam Anderson’s grandkid stumbles across that pic in 75 years while researching Boomtown Part II, they surely won’t see the snapshot as an ironically seminal moment; a symbolic visual of our city’s long, storied, and very regretful history of complete disregard for preserving its history, character, and culture.
They’ll obviously view the demolition of a cool structure from yesteryear that future generations will not get to enjoy as economic progress… right?
I know David Holt has an ego the size of the old State Fair space needle. I’m also aware he’s part of the ruling class clique that uses the State Fair Grounds as a publicly funded profit generator for their ancillary business and financial interests, and that the continued gutting of everything that made the state fair cool will make his wealthy benefactors and backers even more money.
But did he really have to bring out a Wile E. Coyote–size TNT plunger to dance on the arena’s ashes? Did he forget his giant anvil?
I know this isn’t in his wheelhouse, but can’t he – gasp – act like he’s been there before and show a little respect? Lots of people have nostalgic memories about the place! I know this because I’m one of them!
When I was a kid, my grandfather would take me to “The Big House” for small-class high school state basketball tournaments, where we’d watch little giants like Arnett, Atoka, and Lomega battle it out for six-on-six girls’ hoops supremacy.
It’s also where I watched the Blazers play hockey, James Maynard Keenan wear prosthetic boobs, and – on one solemn day in 1995 – saw the President of the United States speak at a memorial.
But those are just memories. Whether the arena is there or not, they’re not going anywhere.
What really sucks is that our city – and especially its future generations of residents – have lost another cool, distinguishable piece of its cultural and architectural history to enjoy, restore, and celebrate.
State Fair Arena may have become a dump after decades of neglect, but in its heyday, it was a novel mid-century treasure, a cool and distinct piece of modern architecture that had one of the largest clear-span domes in the world, serving as a metaphoric symbol of our city’s constant craving for relevance.
But now, just like the old Criterion, Biltmore Hotel, Stage Center, Nipple Church – not to mention all the other historic buildings and structures that made the State Fair great (space needle, monorail, Bobo the Clown) – it’s gone, replaced by some boring generic events center that will make all the people who own hotels, restaurants, and fancy horses more money.
Yee haw.
Anyway, I know I’m being Debbie Downer here. I also know I’m ignoring all the costs, challenges, and headaches it would have taken to salvage and modernize the State Fair Arena while still preserving it, but I guess that’s what I get for being a sucker for history and nostalgia, and not some shortsighted politician who's content making the same mistakes as politicians past, and destroy our city's history, culture and past to serve our greedy ruling class.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
