Is Scot Matteson’s 1,907-foot skyscraper a pipe dream? Naysayers never build anything
Big thinkers are people who create a plan, evangelize it to the masses, work it endlessly, and prove the naysayers wrong. Scot Matteson, the man behind the proposed 1,907-foot skyscraper in Bricktown, Oklahoma City, has been met with skepticism over his plan to become the tallest building in the country. Critics have questioned the wisdom of building such a structure in Tornado Alley, given the size of the city and its population of over 621 square miles. However, Matteson argues that the market size and density are not an issue. Ray Ackerman, a visionary who proposed turning the North Canadian River into a national attraction in the early 1980s, was met with derisive cynicism. Despite these challenges, I admire big thinkers who create a plan and evangelize it to masses, work it endlessly to prove them wrong.
Published : a month ago by Russ Florence in Travel
A statue of Ray Ackerman, the man who envisioned the Oklahoma River becoming a national attraction, in the Oklahoma City Boathouse District.
I wonder what Ray Ackerman would have thought of Scot Matteson?
If Matteson’s name doesn’t ring a bell, his project will. He’s the man behind the proposed 1,907-foot skyscraper in Bricktown, which would make it the tallest building in the country.
The plan has been met with skepticism, to say the least. Critics have questioned the wisdom of building such a structure in Tornado Alley. There are also factors of the market. While Oklahoma City is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, it also sprawls over 621 square miles. Density is not an issue.
As for Ackerman, if you don’t know his name, you know his legacy. Ray Ackerman was a visionary. He was an optimist. No dream was too audacious. In the early 1980s ― decades before Riversport OKC and the Boathouse District ― Ackerman proposed turning the blighted North Canadian River into a national attraction.
More: OKC waterfront becomes river of dreams
It seemed preposterous. “We have the only river in Oklahoma,” the joke went, “that you have to mow.” Who would dream of such a thing?
I’m not privy to the conversations, but I imagine that Ackerman’s idea was met with derisive cynicism. Imagine if social media had existed then. The idea would have been beaten to a pulp as soon as it left his mouth.
Is Scot Matteson’s plan a pipe dream? Could it happen? Admittedly, I’ve rolled my eyes at the drawings. But I also admire big thinkers ― people who create a plan, evangelize it to the masses, work it endlessly and prove the naysayers wrong. Can you show me one good thing that naysayers have built?
I have my doubts about Matteson’s plan. But I’m also rooting for him.
A few days ago, I stopped to read a plaque at Will Rogers Gardens about Margaret Annis Boys. You may not know her name either. She was born in 1909 and spent her career as a teacher and principal in Oklahoma City. She loved taking weekend excursions to see wildflowers and foliage across the state.
When she died in 1990, she left $1.5 million to establish a fund to support beautification efforts. The arboretum at Will Rogers wasn’t built by a cynic or a naysayer. It was built by a humble, committed dreamer: Margaret Annis Boys.
Outside of City Hall is a statue of Stanley Draper. Like Ackerman, Draper was known for his Utopian ideas. Better yet, he had the fortitude and tenacity to make it happen. Much of Oklahoma City’s mid-century progress ― Tinker Air Force Base, Will Rogers World Airport, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum ― was because of Draper.
Fittingly, the inscription at the base is a quote from Ackerman: “He dreamed impossible dreams … then inspired and united all who could make them probable.”
Outside the Chesapeake Boathouse, on the west end of the district, is a statue of Ackerman himself, standing tall, arms crossed, gazing toward a downtown and a city that only the visionaries could ever imagine.
There’s not a statue of a cynic in sight.
Russ Florence lives and works in Oklahoma City. His column appears monthly in Viewpoints.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City skyscraper plan might be pipe dream. Or is it?