Sunday Flashback: The Relics at Clarence Ford Park
Ideas Great But Where’s The Action?
By Robert E. Lee
Wednesday, February 8, 1995
MARY JO Nelson is still worried about the architectural artifacts located in the 1 Santa Fe Plaza (parking garage) building downtown.
That subject was mentioned herein some time back, and Mary Jo got some great suggestions on where the items might be placed – but no action!
Clarence Ford Park was created in a tiny courtyard of that building which, until recently, housed the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.
The courtyard held several fragments of Oklahoma City’s architectural history, most collected as buildings gave way to urban renewal.
When the chamber moved to new quarters, that left no one to look after the fragments of Oklahoma City’s architectural history.
It left them an easy target for vandals. Or thieves.
Ann Byrd, state president of Colonial Dames, suggests moving the artifacts to the Overholser Mansion, a Dames’ project.
Dixie Jensen nominated Myriad Gardens, since most of the items came from buildings that one stood on and near the gardens’ grounds.
Bill Robinson, president of Harn Homestead Museum, thinks they should go to that museum’s grounds.
Byron Gambulos wants them in Carpenter Square Theater, which he owns, one of the few pre-urban renewal buildings left on Main Street.
Harold Stansberry, president of Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority, suggests they go to the old Union Station, now headquarters for COTPA.
Suzanne Silvester, secretary of the Oklahoma County Historical Society, recommends its Museum of the Unassigned Lands, 4300 N Sewell.
James Work would like them moved to Kerr Park. His law firm, Shirk Work Robinson & Work, worked on the bond package for expanding Kerr Park and several other downtown projects such as parking garages, pedestrian tunnel, botanical tune, etc. (Incidentally, Jim told Mary Jo he always wanted to find a law partner named Fish, so the firm could be Shirk Work & Fish.) Rosemary (Mrs. Earl) Wiltsie would locate the items throughout Bricktown, downtown’s most-successful urban renaissance.
Rosemary also suggests the chamber’s Convention & Visitors Bureau produce a brochure picturing and telling about the artifacts. (To which Mary Jo and I add “amen. “) Mary Jo’s own idea would be to locate them at one or more of the upcoming Metropolitan Area Projects. Her second choice is Myriad Gardens, which is my first choice.
Enough for suggestions.
Now, how about some action before vandals ruin ALL of those wonderful bits of Oklahoma City history?
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Comments
OK let me get this right. These “aritfacts” have been sitting in that crappy courtyard, exposed to the elements for how many years? 20? 30? And in all that time no one has done anything to find an appropriate home for this stuff. This article is from 1995 and I can attest that, almost 15 years later, they are in the same place. Doesn’t sound like anyone considers them very valuable at all. How about another alternative for their new home – the landfill at SW 15th and Rockwell.
…except these days in MUCH worse condition. Pieces broken off, edges ground down by skaters, plus other vandalism. It’s shameful.
Ok, since no one else has responded yet, I’ll ask…what ended up happening to the artifacts?