Lecture on Storefronts of Bristow

[Transcriber's note: This is a lecture by an unknown woman made in conjunction with a slideshow. The click of the slide projector is audible throughout the lecture; however, as of the date of the transcription and without additional information, we unfortunately cannot collate her comments to images. If you have any information about this lecture, please contact the Bristow Historical Society.]

UW: --Slide four is also an example of the assets of Main Street. This is decorative brickwork along the tops of the buildings. Sometimes you find this special decorative brickwork around the windows, as in the Stone building in Bristow. Or you can find the special asset that's hidden, such as the brass pavers which denote the crosswalk in Bristow. When we stop to look at Main Street, we discover that the changes taking place over time have begun to obscure these special assets. It becomes more and more difficult to distinguish those special details that make the community--Main Street particularly--an interesting place to be.

When we talk about a townscape program, there are certain terms that we use, and one of those is "patterns." And you discover patterns at many different levels within the street. One of the places is within the building materials, as in the 00:01:00example of this two-colored brickwork from Elk City. Patterns also occur at different scales, as in this example from Bristow where you can see the patterns of the buildings' shapes and also the patterns of the decorative elements within the building facades themselves. Historically, our Main Streets had very strong patterns. This historic photo of Ada shows examples of the patterns of the rooftops, the patterns of the windows, and the patterns of the storefronts, all of which reinforce each other as your eye travels down the street.

This is an example of those same kinds of patterns being reinforced on a contemporary main street. This particular example, slide number sixteen, is from 00:02:00Galveston. Now as we look at a contemporary main street--and in this example, slide seventeen, we're looking at Bristow's model block--we discover that changes on the street as in this addition of the aluminum to the Anthony's store, begin to disrupt those historic patterns on the street. Slide eighteen is an example of the new pattern that you can add to the street when you add street trees, as they have in Elk City. It's another way of reinforcing the appearance of the street and adding a special level--layer of interest.

Alignment is another term that we use in a townscape program, and this particular example--number twenty--shows the alignment of the rooftops of these three buildings, the alignment of the windows on the second and third floors, and the alignment of the storefront. It's a very strong, horizontal element on 00:03:00this street which gives you a feeling of visual continuity. Slide twenty-one is an example of Granbury, Texas, and how they maintain the alignment in the second floors of the buildings, even though one of the buildings has been altered to accommodate a drive-in bank. Another technique for maintaining that horizontal band on the street, if a building has been demolished, is something like the addition of the brick columns that we see here in Tulsa that finish off a vacant lot.

Let's take a look at the classic Victorian storefront--it had three main parts, or it has three main parts: the band of glass above the display windows, which are called transom windows or the clerestory; the display window itself; and the 00:04:00band beneath the display window, which is the kick plate. Slide twenty-four is an example of a storefront which is almost completely intact on an Oklahoma main street. The glass above the display windows in the Stone building in Bristow is actually the original leaded glass that was put in when the building was constructed. Unfortunately, we don't have the original storefronts intact in many--in most examples on our main streets, and slide twenty-five shows one of the first changes that have happened on the street, and that's the closing-down of the clerestory or transom window area. Now that's occurred for many different reasons. Generally, because of recessing ceilings and putting in heating and cooling ducts, people did not want that exposed to the outside, so they had to come up with an alternative for blocking in that area. Now what's happened when 00:05:00they've done that, is they've begun to destroy the original pattern of the building front as in those two examples. Now, alternatives to how to handle that clerestory area quite obviously--one would be to maintain the original glass, and that's the ideal because you do recapture or maintain the original integrity--design integrity. Possibly a more practical alternative in many of our main street cases in Oklahoma is the idea of using colored panels of just simple plywood that fit within that clerestory area and maintaining the same shape of the original windows so that you keep the pattern of the building façade intact.

Typically, the example in slide twenty-nine is in Bristow and what's happened is 00:06:00the simple closing-down of that clerestory area by using some fiberglass panels. That's totally separated that interesting terra cotta detail work on the top of the building from the pedestrian and the store entrances at the first floor of the building--something that you really don't want to have happen because you're losing a marketing opportunity. An alternative use for that area would be the--using the clerestory area as a place to put the sign advertising the retail establishment within the building as in these two examples in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Another change that we've seen happening on main street is closing down of facades, because possibly the use has changed in that building and there's more privacy required for one reason or another. An alternative to this is the Fig 00:07:00Tree Restaurant idea which--when they needed more privacy for the diners, rather than boarding up the large display windows in the first floor of the building, they simply added a coat of black paint to the glass and added their logo so that they had the privacy for the new use of the space, but on the street you've maintained the original shapes and patterns of the windows.

Second stories and what to do with space that's no longer commercially viable are a real problem on Oklahoma main streets. The Coreys (ph) example is in Elk City. An alternative to that simple boarding-up of the windows would be this example of Allen's Alley (ph), which uses the second-story windows as a place for actually painting a sign right on the window. They've also closed off those windows by the use of drapery and some venetian blinds. Typically, though, the 00:08:00Cathy's Half-Size Shop and the Gift House in Ada represent what happens on the street. Rather than trying to select a way of closing down those second-story windows that keeps the design of the building front intact, you have this sort of blanket boarding-up of the second story space.

The complete cover-up is another kind of change that we've seen on many main streets, and that's happened because people wanted something new and something that really looked very up-to-date. What happens when you choose that approach, though, is that the mass of aluminum really effectively erases the architectural detail of the building that it's covering. And very rapidly, as in the June's Fashions photo slide--(chuckles) June's Fashions slide--it becomes Main Street 00:09:00Any Place. This example's in Elk City, and there's nothing really particularly outstanding. All the buildings look the same.

This is an example in slide thirty-nine of a building in Fort Collins, Colorado which was completely covered up as in this photo at the beginning of the townscape problem. You had no more idea what the carriage of that building was like than anything. During a townscape program, this next slide shows you what was discovered beneath all of that aluminum. You can see the arch windows, the two-color brickwork, and the very simple but interesting Victorian storefront that was all lurking beneath that aluminum. So you can reclaim what's behind the aluminum. It's a matter of doing a little bit of historic research with some photos to find out what to expect once you get the aluminum off.

The Jeans Crossing is an example of using the total storefront to advertise the retail establishment, not just the sign, not just the display windows on the first floor, but capture the identity, the architectural interest of the whole building and have that identify the retail establishment. This next slide is also an example of the same concept. In this case, they've gone to the point of actually reflecting some of the architectural details in the diamond pattern between the second and third floor windows in the gold design on the display windows. And this kind of opportunity exists in lots of main streets.

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This opportunity exists on many Oklahoma Main Streets. This particular case in 00:11:00Bristow really only needs some basic maintenance and you could have the original design intact. Now in many cases, changes are necessary on the street, and a townscape program does not mean we really oppose change just for the sake of opposing change. What we do try and have people think about is that when change needs to happen within a building, that it be done sensitively and in keeping with the original design of the building, as in this example where they have altered the storefront but maintained the original brick arches that are part of the building so that you have some compatibility with the renovated first-floor with the rest of the building.

The Leventhal Furs is a good example of a building which has had the first floor entirely renovated, but they've done it in such a way that it's compatible with the colors and the building materials of the second and third floors, so that they did go ahead and make the change but they've maintained the continuing and 00:12:00the unity of the total façade.

Color is quite a big issue in a main street program because it's obviously--it's one of--it's obviously a huge visual element. Unfortunately, when we've had our brick buildings painted, as in the Ada Men's Store example, that begins to eliminate a lot of the architectural detail that was right within the brickwork on the building. The B&B Rexall Drugs in Bristow is also an example of a native stone building, in this case, that's been completely painted and so you've lost that warm, interesting color and texture of the native stone. Once buildings have been painted, there's no safe way to remove the paint without damaging the brick or native stone surface, and so the thing to do is use the paint to 00:13:00recapture the original character of the building as in this example, you can use the color to really bring out those architectural details.

The Jackson Office Equipment building in Elk City is a marvelous opportunity to use color to really highlight the details of that building, and unfortunately that hasn't been discovered yet by the owners.

The mini-mall is a kind of marketing concept that we're beginning to see on more main streets as larger buildings are not really viable for one establishment. This particular example is in Elk City, and let's just juxtapose it with the next example, and that way of advertising the retail establishments in that mini-mall. You can see how much stronger it is when you're using the whole façade of the building to advertise what's going on inside, and not trying to 00:14:00attract people just by the use of a less-than-interesting white plastic sign.

The very prosperous building owner is another reason that we've--very prosperous retailer--is another reason we've seen a lot of changes on main street, and in this case at the Otasco store in Bristow, you can see the typical approach has been to paint the buildings all one color and then store of string the sign down the block to show the joint ownership. This next example is another way of expressing that joint ownership, or the expansion of a prosperous retailer. And simply by using coordinated sign bands placed right within the architecture, you understand that all three of those stores are under the same management, but they've left the original integrity of the three separate structures intact.

The J.C. Penney in Elk City is the more typical approach that we see on Oklahoma main streets of simply painting the buildings the same color and then tacking the sign somewhere midway between the two. Another alternative way of announcing that joint ownership is this example of the awnings and the use of the color--the green paint--to denote the mutual ownership of this, of these three buildings. And the Todd Furniture Store in Elk City is an example of the painting everything one color and spreading the signs out, basically. Not a very exciting approach, it doesn't add very much to the street.

The next section we want to discuss will be signs and the fact that signs come in many different forms in the community [and] are obviously a very strong visual element. In this case, the furniture store and also kitchen stuff in Ada, you see the painted-on sign and you also see the flush-mounted sign. In many cases there's a place right within the architecture of a building to put the sign, and that area was called the sign band. Here's an example of the H&H Tire Center in Elk City that has used that existing place within the architecture to put the sign. You can see what that does to the total façade of the building--you use the whole building as a way to advertise the store, not just the sign, not just the display windows. A much stronger kind of marketing approach.

The Alamo is also a good example of placement of sign within the architecture so 00:17:00that it's integrated into the façade of the building. Both the Alamo and then the Tuckbox Alamo are good examples of that approach.

Sims Mini-Mart is in a group of buildings that the owners got together and decided that they would try a joint marketing approach, and by coordinating their sign bands, using a new coat of paint and some awnings, came up with this kind of a joint statement which really strengthens the street and helps each of the retailers within the establishment attract more customers. The white plastic interior lip sign with the red letters is a very classic sign for main street. The problem is, there's so many of them now that it really doesn't stand out. It's not special, it doesn't say anything unusual to potential customers.

The idea of shape signs is a creative alternative to that very standard white plastic approach and it's something that has a great deal of appeal to pedestrians. The Cook's Fancy is a neat kind of example of using the shapes within the sign and then reflecting it within the display and the display window to reinforce that identity for potential customers.

Awnings are another kind of element on the street and awnings can be used--as in this case at the Big Cheese--to make a clever kind of marketing statement. Or, in this example where we have two retailers within the same building who decide they want to work together, the awnings and the use of coordinated sign bands integrate that whole façade so that they are reinforcing one another's marketing strategy.

Here's an example with two brick buildings--one-story brick buildings in Bristow 00:19:00that are of a very similar type and a joint approach between these retailers using coordinated awnings and placement of signs could make a very strong statement to the street. As it is now, they're each sort of trying to get their own message across and neither one terribly successfully.

Townscape programs are also concerned about pedestrians and the areas within the street that are intended for pedestrian use and for automobile use. And in this example you can see that there's normally very little definition between those zones. There's no way of defining that edge. Now here's one way that could improve that--the use of some simple shrubs to define where the pedestrian area is, where the parking lot is, where the area is for the automobiles.

And here's another way of defining that edge--the use of an inexpensive wooden fence and also some shrubbery. You can see in this example, they've also used some courses of brickwork within the sidewalk to vary the paving surface and add a little bit more interest to the street for the people, and obviously you want people on your streets if you want people to come into your stores and do some business there. But more typically, this example in Ada is the way we find out streets divided into different zones. You can see that the pedestrian zone is gray concrete that's separated from the gray asphalt of the street through the use of the gray aluminum poles--not very interesting, not very inviting.

Here's an alternative: the use of some brick paving along the edge of the 00:21:00sidewalk and the addition of a few street trees and planters. A simple kind of alternative that makes a huge difference to people on the street. Here's another kind of alternative--the use of some granite pavers for the sidewalk surface, and then some plants and trees and benches, that makes the street an inviting place to be and lets the pedestrian know that there really is a place intended for them, that they're welcome on the street, and obviously the automobile zone is clearly defined.

"Street furniture" is an interesting kind of euphemism which refers to the items that we furnish our streets--the signs, the waste receptacles, and in this case also the mailbox. Here's an example of how street furniture can be effectively grouped--you see the waste receptacle, the slight swelling of the corner so that there's a place for the shrubs, and then the bicycle rack. Street furniture can be used to add a lot of special interest and character to the community. Also, 00:22:00makes the street an interest place for people to spend time.

Public information is something that every community is concerned about, and this is typically the way it is presented on a tall aluminum pole, which becomes rusted and is easily bent. A very simple alternative to that would be the use of a low wooden stake that actually puts that information at driver's-eye level and doesn't have the spindly quality, I guess you could say, of the aluminum poles.

Another way to add special interest to a community is through the different signage that you use to communicate street names as in this case. The Two Market Street indicator just really makes the place seem a little bit more interesting 00:23:00than just your average standard way of explaining that. Now this is an example of how you can find parking and this is also an example. There's two different ways of presenting it, and just think for a minute which way you would rather get your information and which--and what kind of an impression it gives you of that community.

Parking is always an incredible issue in downtowns. There never seems to be enough parking, so let's take a minute and look at parking lots--and this is a typical one in Ada. You can see that generally, parking lots tend to be rather inhospitable environments that aren't terribly inviting. And a little bit of landscaping can make a huge difference, as in this case with a simple grass median and a few trees, a different type light fixture, makes the parking lot more manageable, less dreadful in the summertime when we have all that heat 00:24:00rising up off the asphalt.

Alleyways are another thing to consider in a townscape program because while you have existing assets in a town, as we talked about in the beginning of the show, there's also hidden opportunities and simple treatments, as in this case the addition of some trees to the alleyway, can make a huge difference in the impression that people have of the community.

Storage tanks and water towers are also another neat kind of opportunity that we have in many Oklahoma towns, and it's potentially a very good project for local arts councils to sponsor a design competition and come up with some sort of a mural that can be used to decorate those tanks. This example is a mural that was done on some storage tanks outside of Boston. Makes them a real asset, rather than some sort of a looming eyesore on the horizon.

Any size community can participate in a townscape program, and this particular example is Normandy, Tennessee. You can see the interesting hand-carved sign they've selected to announce their community and give it a special identity. You can also see here that they've applied some of these principles we've been talking about. They've used some awnings, the use of color coordinating the awnings with the buildings, they've put street trees in, little shrubs and planters, and also some interesting light fixtures. Now this is a very small town. That's the entire main street of Normandy, Tennessee, population 350. Yet they felt strongly that they wanted to make a special statement about their community and chose this approach.

A larger townscape program happened in Chelsea, Massachusetts and in that townscape program stores like Hattie's discovered that behind that oversized 00:26:00sign they had this kind of a storefront lurking. Very simple, brick columns with capitals at the top replace the large sign with a sign that fits within the architecture of the building and simply used some dark anodizing paint on the bright aluminum storefront so that it toned it down and brings the whole façade into a unity so that now Hattie's is not advertised just by her sign, but by the whole front of that building.

Allen's was also a building in a Chelsea and you can see that it's really anybody's guess what's going to be under all of that advertising once it's peeled away from the building, but through using some old photos the designers discovered that behind that advertising would probably be a façade of this type. You can see the dental work in the brick at the top of the building. Well 00:27:00here on the left is Allen's implemented today. And you can also get some sense of the other stores on that block in Chelsea and how they applied these townscape principles we're talking about. Look at the rather attractive shuttered treatment on the second story of the Card Gallery. An alternative to the main street problem, the second-story main street problem we've been talking about for Oklahoma towns.

This is the way the street looked in Chelsea prior to the townscape program. That same lack of definition problem, lack of edge, there's the gray asphalt, the gray aluminum poles, and then the gray sidewalk. Not a very inviting place for pedestrians.

And here's that same street today, after the townscape program. Now you can see, 00:28:00this is a rather elaborate approach. They've bricked the sidewalks, added new light fixtures, the street trees and very elaborate grillwork to protect the trees. But look how inviting and interesting it makes that street, and obviously there's a whole lot more activity going on on that street now because it's more of a vital place to be.

Basically, this gives you an overview of the issues we're concerned about in a townscape program, and once again the thing to consider is What are the assets on your main street and your town. Drop back and look for those and then look at the things that maybe you're not so proud of and begin to consider what kinds of changes could be made that will highlight the assets that exist within your community, strengthen those architectural features in the buildings, and not disrupt those original patterns that existed and that gave main street its special identity and gave the buildings their special unity.

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