Oklahoma City is experiencing a second wind. Having transformed its river from a trickling Army Corps of Engineers drainage ditch into a series of connected lakes that are scullers’ paradises, the Midwestern capital is enjoying an urban renaissance. Now its do-over is moving underground with the reopening of its Conncourse system of pedestrian tunnels, reimagined as a sequence of magnificently saturated zones of color by Elliott + Associates Architects.
The Conncourse—originally named for a local banker, Jack Conn, who helped conceive the system in the early 1970s—has been redubbed the Underground. Construction of the network actually dates to 1931, when William Skirvin won city approval to build a subterranean connection between his eponymous hotel and office towers, but it was Conn who convinced the city to expand the link into a whole network with just over a mile of tunnels. Wind originally drove the city underground. “If you spend any time on the streets of Oklahoma City, your tie stands straight out. It’s blowing 30 miles an hour, constantly,” explains architect Rand Elliott, FAIA.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.