Old Real Estate
Over at www.okctalk.com, the question is posed as to what are the oldest buildings in Oklahoma City?
Let’s start with a glimpse at buildings still standing from 1907. Real Estate Editor Richard Mize wrote this story in 2007:
In Oklahoma City, the Panic of 1907 might better be remembered as more of a temporary feeling of vague anxiety.
Builders, businessmen and budding statesmen soon shook off the depression and marched forward. They plunged ahead in a building boom that lasted, except for a lull from 1911 to 1913.
In 2007, commercial buildings that were constructed in 1907 are few, however. The Oklahoma County Assessor’s Office lists just nine commercial buildings still standing from Oklahoma’s statehood year.
Statehood-era survivors
Records give clues as to statehood-era construction. Here is a little bit about some of Oklahoma City’s survivors from 1907:
CONEY ISLAND
Ronnie Turk and his father-in-law, Bill Mihas, serve hot dogs at Coney Island at 428 W Main. Originally, the Riley and Danford Building was home to Riley and Danford Cigar Manufacturers, one of three cigar makers in Oklahoma City in 1907. The three-story building, with almost 10,000 square feet, housed the Colonial Hotel on the upper two floors. Bill Mihas has operated the Coney Island since 1979 and has owned the building since 1994.
19 E CALIFORNIA
Dr. French Hickman owns the vacant three-story, 14,850-square-foot building in Bricktown at 19 E California. Hickman said a sign uncovered on the western interior wall — once the exterior wall of the building next door — advertises Avery Manufacturing Co.’s “threshers, wagons and implements.” Hickman said he wants to convert the upper floor to a loft apartment. He said he may move his blues bar, the Biting Sow, at 1 E California, into the bottom floor.
“ICE BEVO” BUILDING
Oklahoma County lists the 594-square-foot portion of the property at 2610 Classen Blvd., the home of Mr. Mower Lawnmower Sales & Service since 1976, as “industrial light manufacturing.” It originally was an ice house. “Ice” and “Bevo” are written on the facade, perhaps referring to a brand of “near beer” sold by Anheuser-Busch during Prohibition.
PIONEER TELEPHONE BUILDING
The seven-story, 49,500-square-foot limestone building at Dean A. McGee and Broadway avenues was the headquarters for Pioneer Telephone Co. until it merged in 1916 with what became the Bell System. “delicately styled structure was a masterpiece of aesthetic functionalism,” Blackburn, Henderson and Thurman wrote in “The Physical Legacy.” William A. Wells — whose mentor was Louis A. Sullivan, considered the father of the skyscraper — designed the building.
But are there older buildings still standing?
The best candidates that come to mind are the old India Temple Building at Broadway and Robert S. Kerr, which has a concrete facade that was added in the 1950s by Kerr McGee, the old Sherman Iron Works building in Bricktown, and the Wells Fargo building in Bricktown (1906), and the Harn Homestead (1904).
Are there any survivors from the 1800s? Glancing at the National Historic Register, the answer at first appearance may be be “no.” But more digging might turn up some interesting clues….
Consumer Reports tests the Snuggie
The Snuggie, a blanket with sleeves that is heavily marketed on TV, has been put to the test by Consumer Reports and its Consumerist blog. The verdict: It pills, sheds lint, creates static and doesn’t cover your backside.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Oklahoma researcher discusses discovery
Dr. Paul DeAngelis discusses a new sugar-based drug delivery platform he created in his University of Oklahoma laboratory and the new company, Caisson Biotech, that has been created to commercialize the technology. The video was provided by Jim Stafford of i2E.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Logos that require a second look
Graphicdesignblog.org posts a selection of corporate logos that contain hidden messages. All are clever designs that reveal aspects of the company other than just its name.
The most famous is the Federal Express logo. As I learned not too long ago, once you see the arrow created by the space between the ‘E’ and ‘x,’ you can’t not see it.
The Hartford Whalers logo has long been a personal favorite. It contains the first letters of both words in the team’s name, and the image of a whale tail.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Ellen’s advice for college graduates
Ellen DeGeneres offers advice (”don’t take anyone’s advice”) in a commencement speech to Tulane graduates. Funny and uplifting.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
More Okies at BIO 2009
Steve Rhines, vice president and general counsel with the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, talks about the Foundation’s work with switchgrass as a biofuel and the interest that has created among visitors to the OKBio exhibition booth at BIO 2009 in Atlanta. showed in the work the Foundation is doing with switchgrass development as a biofuel alternative source.
Video shot by Jim Stafford from i2E.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
McDonald’s meat, straight from the OKC
Ed Sanchez, president of Oklahoma City-based Lopez Foods.
Lopez Foods, a longtime provider of meat to McDonald’s, also has been a fixture in Oklahoma City for years. The company produced a video showing the inner workings of its plant. While watching chunks of meat become ground beef isn’t the most appetizing experiences, the place does appear to be very clean — tidier than most McDonald’s stores that I’ve been in.
Lopez Foods also supplies the Canadian bacon that McDonald’s uses in its Egg McMuffins. And here’s how an Egg McMuffin is created. I have to admit that I’ve never tasted one (are the yolks supposed to be broken or not?) The McDonald’s Web site also answers submitted questions about its offerings, including some sarcastic ones. My favorite question: “What is Chicken McNuggets?”
McDonald’s response:
Chicken McNuggets® are made with white meat chicken, lightly coated in a tempura batter to ensure that they are crispy on the outside, and juicy and tender in the inside.
They also address the eternal question of which came first, the Egg McMuffin or the Chicken McNugget? (It was the Egg McMuffin, by 10 years).
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Oklahomans at BIO Conference in Atlanta
Jim Mason of The State Chamber and a member of the OKBIO group discusses the benefits to Oklahoma’s life sciences community of participation in the national BIO 2009 conference in Atlanta. Video provided by Jim Stafford of i2E.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Bond market weakness will continue
Fitch Ratings this week issued a report on corporate credit markets. As you might expect, the findings were bleak. This graph shows the growth of corporate bonds that have earned Fitch’s lowest “CCC” rating, and the corresponding decline in bonds earnings the highest “AAA” rating.
The report concludes that high-yield bonds will continue to default at rates of 15 percent to 18 percent this year, and those rates will remain elevated next year. The writers foresee “dismal” recovery rates on loans and bonds. Consumer behavior was identified as a key to recovery in the bond market. Meanwhile, weak industry players will be further marginalilzed or dissappear altogether.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Haggling works in down economy
A Consumer Reports survey finds that bargaining works better during a recession. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.
CR’s nationally representative poll found that most consumers who asked for a discount were successful. Among those who haggled, 83 percent negotiated better deals on hotel rates, 81 percent reduced their cell phone bills, and 81 percent went home paying less for clothing.
Consumer Reports offers these tips for successful haggling:
1.Be patient and be nice.
2. Time your haggle. Late in the month, when salespeople are trying to meet their quotas, can be a good time to bargain for big ticket items. Evening or early hours are usually less busy, so clerks have time to talk.
3. Haggle out of earshot of other customers.
4. Research prices and store policies.
5. Learn to read the ticket.
6. Offer to pay cash.
7. Be prepared to walk.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
