HUGE Building Resto project
 

Not sure if you guys are interested in this, but figured if the "lounge" could host jokes, why not a building resto. Besides, we all like waxing nostalgic or we wouldn't be viewing all thos gas station pics.

I will feed as much or as little of this project to the group as interest dictates.

Short back ground. Built in 1902 to house a newspaper and general publishing business. 50,000 square feet. Located in Guthrie, OK, next door to our home. Statehood was announced at the steps of this building to the sound of gunfire coming from one of the tower balconies in 1907.
Building was donated to the Oklahoma State Historical Society in 1975. Opened as a publishing museum and operated until 2012. Budget slashed during the recession and the boiler broke; bottom line is they can't afford to maintain it. Been sitting vacant since 2012.

St. Louis developer tried to buy it and turn it into "Affordable Senior Adult Apartments" using low income housing tax credits. I won't go into detail, but I (and a few other Guthrie citizens) threw a fit. They would have gutted this beauty. They have withdrawn their bid.

So, what to do? I formed a non profit and we are trying to acquire the building, preserve, protect and then restore it to its former glory. Will take between $2m and $4m to get it done.

We have a 9 member board of GREAT folks here commited to seeing this happen.

At the end of this post, there will be a very cool pic of The Building. That is our house in the back ground. If you are interested in the story, we have received two good articles in The Oklahoman this week with more to come.

Articles are here: http://m.newsok.com/article/5556642

and here: http://m.newsok.com/board-in-place-f...rticle/5556968

Sorry you have to see my ugly mug to view the articles.

And here is my favorite pic of the building so far:

Yeah, I can see why you like that picture, Lynn! Looks like many sunsets here in AZ. Best of luck on the resto project. Is that some sort of historical marker on the post near the street on the left side of the building?

Wow Lynn- wonderful and daunting project to be sure. Please take us along!!

Hope all goes well. Cool photo. :biggthumpup:

Yes it is Bill. Talks about Frank Hilton Greer, the guy that built it. His original building was right next to what is now our home, in the parking lot between the two buildings. Both the newspaper buidling and the livery stable (where our house is) were wooden structures that burnt to the ground Easter Sun 1902. Frank had this new building done by October, 1902, as was our current brick structure, still a livery stable.

Frank Greer pissed off the first Gov so badly, that the Governer headed a movement to move the State Capital to Oklahoma City, which was approved in 1910. 1911, Frank was out of business. Got to be careful who you cheese off.

Beautiful building GOOD luck with your restoration... I watched I do not know how many House Restorations - Castle restorations etc on Youtube about 2 months ago... amazing what people can accomplish. One of my parents friends restored a house built in 1792 here in upstate South Carolina. Pegged together rafters and 30-36" thick granite walls... one of the fireplaces has a large crack in it rumored to have appeared after the LARGE Earthquake in Charleston SC in the late 1800's.

FWIW - One could never build a fence, much less a building of that size in 5 months with current regulations... lol

Resto...
 

Lynn...in a world that seems to have little regard for history and often re-writes it to suit the current PC agenda...it is nice to see some folks preserving a piece of our past for future generations.

Some smart guy told me once...

"you can't ever know where you're going...until you know where you've been"

Good luck with the project :flag::beers:

-wilma

I can really appreciate these efforts. I restored 170 year old home lived in by the inventor of the first working typewriter and solar compass. At the time of my purchase the house was destined for demolition. With a lot of TLC, Tons of Lumber and Cash, it has been saved for decades to come.
Enjoy the process as this preservation will become part of yours and the communities legacy. One other suggestion, there are many preservation grants available so hopefully you can take advantage of those.

Lynn, that is one impressive undertaking. We lose historic buildings every few months in Detroit, and the architecture is gone forever. Wish there were more advocates like you and Crush here in MI....

Owning a 100-year-old house myself I can only imagine the amount of work needed to restore and maintain something 10x the size.

Keep the updates coming.

Very worthwhile project Lynn, and the right guy for the job. :biggthumpup:

Mike