Secret places
Downtown OKC has nooks and crannies that haven’t been seen in years.
An upscale restaurant with a large equipped kitchen in downtown Oklahoma City has stood empty for 30 years. Nearby, a stocked liquor store has remained closed for about the same amount of time.
A segment of The Underground tunnels that leads to one of downtown’s most popular attractions remains unfinished and closed off to the public. A 33-story slide, meanwhile, remains a tempting ride for the few who know of its existence.
A penthouse view atop one of Oklahoma City’s earliest skyscrapers hasn’t been occupied in decades.
These are the secret places downtown that the public rarely, if
ever, sees.
LIQUOR BY THE WINK
The Cellar Liquor Store was, by its very nature, a discreet operation set up to ensure that, in the days before liquor by the drink, the city’s top dignitaries could enjoy their chosen wine as part of their fine dining experience.
The shelves are still stocked, and a small sign remains, but the store hasn’t been open since Ronald Reagan was president.
The store really is a 40-square-foot closet where bottles could be ordered up by members. Before the passage of liquor by the drink, state laws required restaurant patrons to order a bottle from a detached liquor store that would then be stored for the patron.
The bottle storage area still displays lists of the civic giants who once patronized the restaurant, including oil man John Kirkpatrick, banker Jack Conn and retailer C.R. Anthony.
CELLAR DWELLER
That restaurant was the Cellar, which also still exists in the basement of the Hightower building at 105 N Hudson Ave. Opened in 1964 by banker and building owner Frank Hightower, the Cellar restaurant was designed to be among the city’s swankiest destinations.
The entrance lobby is built from marble, and custom-made light sconces with the Hightower coat of arms are still displayed throughout the space. The restaurant spans
6,500 square feet, half of which is in the extensive kitchen area that includes a marble-top baking area, two large soup vats, and enough cooking space to accommodate not just a restaurant but a sizable catering operation.
Johnson Hightower, the current owner, thinks the time is nearing when the space may be leasable again. It closed in July 1984 during the oil bust. Blocks of surrounding properties had been cleared, creating a desolate ring of surface parking around the Hightower until downtown’s fortunes began to rebound in the late 1990s.
Even with the revival, the timing never seemed right for finding a new life for the Cellar; construction projects have continued almost nonstop around the property for the past dozen years with rebuilding of streets, construction of a garage and current development of the adjoining BOK Park Plaza tower.
Once the tower is complete, Hightower and his leasing manager, Chuck Ainsworth, believe the timing may finally favor the Cellar.
They both say, however, they will only do a deal with the “right” party who has the right concept and sufficient financial backing and resources.
Tunnel vision
Walk a block north of the Hightower, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art stands where the Centre Theater stood empty and blighted for more than a quarter century. The theater was rebuilt as part of the museum’s move to downtown. But visitors may not realize that The Underground pedestrian tunnels that now terminate at the Oklahoma County Courthouse, actually extend under Hudson Avenue.
When the tunnels were being built in the 1970s, several future segments were built anticipating development that never proceeded. Such was the case with a tunnel segment that ran under Sheridan Avenue between the Myriad Botanical Gardens and Devon Energy Center. When the tunnels were being built, the Devon headquarters site was designated for a downtown mall. Yet another tunnel segment was built under Walker Avenue between the gardens and the block that was then Stage Center.
Those tunnels never opened and were eliminated over the past decade. But the unfinished tunnel remains between the courthouse and the art museum.
City engineers once estimated the cost of outfitting the tunnel with electrical and air ducts and creating an opening in front of the museum would be $700,000. To this day, it remains unused with no plans to create an entrance in front of the museum and extend The Underground.
Going down?
Imagine a 33-story slide down yet another iconic downtown building — City Place Tower. That ride, until recently, still could be enjoyed with the right amount of coaxing of the building’s owners or arrangements with security guards.
The slide has door openings on each floor and was originally set up as a fire escape. Code requirements made the slide obsolete decades ago. The slide is currently being used to move construction materials from upper floors to the building’s ground floor.
Penthouse view
When the Colcord Hotel opened in 1910, it was an office tower and stood as the city’s first “skyscraper” at a then awe-inspiring 12 stories high. News accounts at the time recorded more than 10,000 attended the building’s grand opening.
The city’s chamber of commerce quickly claimed the building’s 12th floor, while also using a penthouse abutment above that opened to a rooftop garden. From the penthouse and garden, chamber boosters showed off the city’s growing skyline to business prospects.
The Colcord long ago lost its status as the city’s tallest building and is now a boutique hotel. The penthouse is used for storage, but still has an opening out to the roof where the iconic Colcord neon sign lights the downtown skyline.