The history of OKC's skyline: Progress sometimes meant demolishing with dynamite

Linda Lynn, The Oklahoman
·1 min read
According to reports, it only took 5 seconds for the John A. Brown Co. warehouse and the Lawyers Building to fall to the ground during demolition by dynamite on June 13, 1982.
According to reports, it only took 5 seconds for the John A. Brown Co. warehouse and the Lawyers Building to fall to the ground during demolition by dynamite on June 13, 1982.

As Oklahoma City experienced changes throughout steps in its urban renewal plan, many downtown buildings from eras long past were removed — sometimes with dynamite.

And so it was for the John A. Brown warehouse and Lawyers Building that occupied space in the 200 block of Couch Drive. The warehouse had been at that location since it was leased by the department story in the late 1940s. The Lawyers Building had stood since 1909.

Both were being removed to make way for a new, more modern Leadership Square office center.

On June 12, 1982, a story in The Daily Oklahoman told of the impending demolition of the two older buildings in downtown Oklahoma City:

If all goes according to schedule, the Lawyers Building and the John A. Brown warehouse will be reduced to huge piles of rubble by 8:05 a.m. Sunday.

The buildings will be demolished to make way for the $60-million Leadership Square office center. Construction has already started on the south side of the center.

The front page of the June 14, 1982, edition of The Daily Oklahoman featured the demolition of the John A. Brown warehouse, making way for the Leadership Square office center.
The front page of the June 14, 1982, edition of The Daily Oklahoman featured the demolition of the John A. Brown warehouse, making way for the Leadership Square office center.

The downtown buildings, located next to each other on Couch Drive between Robinson and Harvey, are the last obstacles blocking the path of Urban Renewal's redevelopment of the central business area.

The two buildings weren't the first nor the only buildings removed for the 782,000-square-foot project.

On Aug. 5, 1982, a mostly bare site marked where past buildings had stood in downtown Oklahoma City and where Leadership Square would be erected.
On Aug. 5, 1982, a mostly bare site marked where past buildings had stood in downtown Oklahoma City and where Leadership Square would be erected.

The previous year, on Nov. 10, 1981, reporter Gail Mitchell had written:

Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority spokesman Jack Bagby said the destruction of a block of buildings bounded by Robert S. Kerr, Robinson, Harvey and Park avenues, could be the beginning of the end of a long-range plan for the central business district in downtown Oklahoma City.

The site is where the $57 million Leadership Square office complex will be built and is one of the projects involved in a 25-year plan designed in 1964 for the central business district by architect and city planner I.M. Pei.

More: How one architect reshaped Oklahoma City's skyline

After the John A. Brown warehouse and Lawyers Building had been demolished, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in September 1982. The reported project cost at that time was $86 million for the twin "reflective glass" towers and a connecting atrium. Additional stories had been added to the original plan.

March 2, 1983, construction was progressing for Leadership Square.
March 2, 1983, construction was progressing for Leadership Square.

Leadership Square, which has had renovations, as well as changes in tenants, throughout its lifetime, has stood in downtown Oklahoma City for 40 years. The mixed-use office complex opened to the public on June 18, 1984.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: The history of Leadership Square in OKC and the buildings before it