Born Again

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Born Again is an intriguing, if not intentional follow-up to A Tale of Two Cities. While A Tale of Two Cities dismisses the case for saving old structures, Born Again notes the irony of urban renewal and national preservation efforts being launched by Congress at the same time (the late 1940s). Norman architect Arn Henderson provides us with a look at the devastation of historic downtown buildings wrought by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority and then asks “why did all of these buildings have to be torn down?” Thanks goes to the Oklahoma Historical Society for preserving this mid-1970s film and making it available for viewing.

3 Responses to “Born Again”

uberVU - social comments says:

April 24, 2010 at 11:18 pm

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by IMPeiOKC: Check It Out: Born Again http://cli.gs/TZ1zA...
Nancy says:

April 30, 2010 at 2:37 pm

This is such an amazing film on so very many levels. Thank you for sharing it.
Alison Pinkham says:

April 30, 2010 at 7:16 pm

Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I’m more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful well let me know how it turns out! I love what you guys are always up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the great works guys I’ve added you guys to my blogroll. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information.. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.
Patricia Butte says:

December 29, 2011 at 4:16 am

You made some clear points there. I did a search on the subject and found most people will go along with with your website.

Mark your Calendar!

Thanks for stopping in! This is a really exciting project for Oklahoma City. The scheduled date for unveiling is May 3rd, and will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the northeast lobby of the Cox Convention Center. Speakers will include Mayor Mick Cornett and state historian Dr. Bob Blackburn. In addition to the model, the display will include new information panels about the history of downtown and the urban renewal era, and original paintings that were produced almost 40 years ago in conjunction with the introduction of the Pei Plan.

History

Renowned international architect I.M. Pei was contracted in 1964 by the Urban Action Foundation, a non-profit formed to help launch an urban renewal program for downtown Oklahoma City. His work included a creating a 10- by 12-foot model showing how downtown might look in 1989 after the program's completion. The model was part of an ambitious public relations effort aimed at gaining support for tearing down hundreds of old buildings...
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