UNCERTAIN FATE
Preservation Oklahoma wants First Christian Church in OKC to be declared a landmark
More than 3,500 people have signed a petition that is joined by a resolution by Preservation Oklahoma asking the Oklahoma City Council to declare First Christian Church a historic landmark in hopes of preventing it from being razed for commercial development.
First Christian Church, with its distinctive white egg-shaped dome, was one of the city's biggest churches when it opened at NW 36 and Walker Avenue in 1956, led by the popular pastor Bill Alexander. The property was put up for sale two years ago with a dwindling congregation still worshiping there.
Lynne Rostochil, whose architect grandfather R. Duane Conner designed the church, is leading the petition effort to ask the city council to take a stand on the church's future. She led a similar effort last year with the Donnay Building on Classen Circle that led to Braum's Ice Cream & Dairy dropping its plans to tear that structure down for a new store.
Rostochil and other MidCentury preservationists, however, were unable to stop a surprise demolition last year of Founders Bank at Northwest Expressway and May Avenue.
“A lot of us are worried a potential new buyer will come in and try to demolish the church,” Rostochil said. “Right now, there are no protections and we worry it will be like Founders Bank where someone will come in for a demolition permit at 8 a.m. and start tearing it down at 8:30 a.m.”
Church leadership did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Preservation Oklahoma, meanwhile, issued its own request on Thursday asking the city to designate the church a historic landmark. The group added the church to its 2017 listing of endangered historic places and is set to do so again with its latest upcoming list.
“First Christian Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a structure that is architecturally, socially and culturally significant,” said Cayla Lewis, Preservation Oklahoma executive director. “First Christian Church is a shining example of mid-century modern architecture in Oklahoma City, and due to prior losses, is one of the very few examples of this era that remain in the metro area.”
Incoming Ward 2 Councilman James Cooper, set to be sworn in on April 9, said he heard concerns from numerous residents of the nearby Crown Heights neighborhood about the church and is opposed to its demolition.
He said any buyer or developer intending to tear down the church and get it rezoned for commercial development should first consider the interests of the neighborhood and community.
The council has the final say over any rezoning applications, and all but the northeast corner of the property is zoned for single-family residential development.
Cooper said he believes a buyer can find architects and planners in the city who can assist in figuring out how to come up with an adaptive re-use of the church as part of any development.
“Go knock on doors and ask the people of Crown Heights what they want,” Cooper said. “Will that new development fit in with the character of the area? I would absolutely support listing it as a historic landmark. We have to stop this. We keep doing this over and over and over again.”