Heritage Museum Complex and OKC history (Oklahoma City: insurance, home, landscaping)

[happytown]

Oklahoma-Mid Continent Building(Hefner Mansion)


http://www.oklahomaheritage.com/Port...an_april07.pdf -
The Small Group - 8k


Here is a building that has always been a fave of mine...Hidden by huge trees always made it difficult to see it. A really pretty building. Unfortunately they had to cut some of the trees down in front of it to give it an entrance. But The line of big trees along Shartel remain on its east side. I didnt even know it was going to become a museum until some of the trees exposed the front of the building....Landscaping for the frontal view is in the plans. Def forward progress.

I didnt even know it was a previous mansion(Hefner mansion)...Talk about a place to live! But it doesnt surprize me since Heritage Hills does have many mansions that are the same size and more impressive.

Here is an article I uncovered and a website with some pics and some OKC history...Old buildings...A new book about the 'new' OKC. Along with some past buildings that no longer exist.

The Digital Interurban (http://www.okchistory.com/gpage1.html - broken link) - 58k



Heritage center renovates historic Mid-Continent building

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 16, 2005 by Brandice J. O'Brien

Listed among the National Register of Historic Buildings, the Mid- Continent Life Insurance building will become home to the Oklahoma Heritage Center in fall 2006. First, the nearly 80-year-old building at 1400 Classen Dr. is undergoing a $15 million restoration that began recently.

The Oklahoma Heritage Association acquired the 42,000-square- foot facility for $3 million four years ago.

Designed by architect Solomon Layton, who also designed the Oklahoma State Capitol, the building constructed of Indiana limestone and carved Corinthian columns will be brought up to modern- day standards for its new tenant. It will undergo substantial historic preservation and renovation.

It's a very detailed and complex project, said Rand Elliott, president of Elliott + Associates, who is leading the redesign of the building. Smith & Pickel Construction is the contractor.

Air conditioning, fire protection, new lighting and computer cabling are among the changes that will be made to the building.

When finished, the building - via its tenant - will assist Oklahomans in learning more about the Sooner State.

Students of the 21st century have become multifaceted learners, said Shannon L. Nance, president of the Oklahoma Heritage Association. They are intrigued and learn more when they can touch, see, hear and interact with a subject.

Among the exhibits will be the Oklahoma Hall of Fame galleries and a showcase designed by Northern Light Co. of Boston, which has produced exhibits for museums nationwide.

The Oklahoma Heritage Center exhibit will allow young and old alike to meet a virtual Wiley Post or Will Rogers through indescribable futuristic techniques, Nance said. The past will intersect the future and the rich story of Oklahoma will be told in inventive and imaginative ways through exceptional people whose lives molded this state, this nation and this world.