Owner of Gold Dome seeks to demolish landmark Oklahoma City building

David Box, who bought the landmark Gold Dome at auction in September, is seeking to demolish the Oklahoma City building after determining it is “prohibitively expensive” to renovate.

 
By Steve Lackmeyer | Published: March 15, 2013    Comment on this article Leave a comment

David Box, who bought the landmark Gold Dome at auction in September, is seeking to demolish the building after determining it is “prohibitively expensive” to renovate.

photo - The Gold Dome, at 1112 NW 23, is shown in May 2005. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman Archives
The Gold Dome, at 1112 NW 23, is shown in May 2005. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman Archives

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City records show Box attempted Wednesday to apply for the demolition permit but was advised he first would need to get a certificate of approval from the city's Urban Design Committee.

“We applied for a demolition permit to see if we could get it,” Box said.

“We were told we need to go to the Urban Design board, and now we need to see if we want to pursue that course.”

Box, also owner of the Greens Country Club and Box Talent, bought the building for $800,000 after it was seized in foreclosure by Bank 7 from the prior owner, Dr. Irene Lam.

Box on Thursday would not disclose whether he had a future development planned for the site, which is at the heavily traveled intersection of NW 23, Classen Boulevard and Western Avenue.

When Box bought the building, he promised he had no intent of tearing it down, though he added he had no plan for the property. He said at the time he did “due diligence” and was familiar with the building's maintenance challenges. He said existing leases would be considered.

A month after the purchase, however, all tenants were vacated from the property.

Box said Thursday he encountered unexpected challenges with the building's roof and mechanical systems.

“The more I got into it, the more problems I found,” Box said.

When the Gold Dome was built at NW 23 and Classen in 1958, the two-story building with the familiar round anodized aluminum roof was touted by Citizens Bank as “the bank of tomorrow.”

The Gold Dome was designed by Robert B. Roloff of the Oklahoma architecture firm Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson & Roloff in collaboration with Kaiser Aluminum Corp. The building was based on the geodesic design by noted inventor, architect and engineer Buckminster Fuller.

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