We recently learned that a potential new buyer for the First Christian Church plans to demolish all of the buildings on campus for redevelopment. Unfortunately, while it is surrounded by the Historic Preservation (HP) districts of Edgemere Park to the south and Crown Heights to the west, the church is in the Edgemere Park neighborhood, which is not an HP district. Therefore, all any owner has to do is request a demo permit, get it approved, and they can start knocking down this iconic example of Googie architecture right away, much like what happened to Founders Bank last fall.
Although the church is on the National Register, that does not protect it from demolition, which is why we are asking the City Council to declare the building a landmark. Go here to read why this is important.
To show the City Council that First Christian is an integral part of OKC’s architectural landscape and it should be preserved, the Okie Mod Squad started a petition, which quickly gained thousands of signatures. Go here to sign the petition. In addition, we’ve started a Facebook page called Save the Egg, where we are updating people hourly. If you’re not on Facebook, don’t despair — we will post all updates here, too.