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Drive-by
Architecture Monument
to a Successful Con ArtistBy
Luke Warm, Photos by Barclay Gibson |
We
first learned of this architectural aberration when it was included in the Texas
Historic Commission’s Most
Endangered Properties in 1991. At that time ownership was in the hands of
a non-profit organization and the estimated cost of rehabilitating the building
was given as $50,000.
Today rehabilitation is complete and the formerly
vacant building now houses a neat-as-a-pin antique store. An article in the Wichita
Falls newspaper stated that the top floor was recently rented for a Valentine
Day’s dinner. The accompanying photos didn’t show room for a violinist – or a
waiter – so it’s assumed the dinner was more of a indoor picnic. |
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Like the old joke
about the kitchen that was so small only one egg could be boiled at a time, one
has to assume that when an antique is sold in the shop here, change has to be
made outside.
The nameless man who cooked up the idea for this full-sized
miniature made off with an estimated $200K. which back in 1920 was some serious
money. Everything was on the up-and-up and indeed, the building’s longevity proves
that no corners were cut in either material or workmanship. But promotional photos
of the building were taken from the sidewalk – giving the impression that the
building disappeared into the clouds - not unlike Jack’s fabled beanstalk.
The
only discrepancy was that on the building’s blueprints, the scale was 1/ 12th
of normal. One foot was reduced to one inch. Investors assumed that their property
was destined to be a landmark building from which Oklahoma could be seen, or dirigibles
could be tethered. In reality it turned out to resemble a fire department training
tower. |
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Another
view of the "skyscraper"
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2009 | |
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