Arcadia
 
Becky and I ran down to the southwest side of Oklahoma City this morning to grab an interview with a homebuilder for an upcoming story, then headed up northeast to shoot some segment intros.  We shot a short intro at the Tres Sueños Winery in Luther, another at Lake Arcadia,  then stopped to get some “beauty shots” in Arcadia proper.
The talk of the town there these days is, of course, the pending opening of Pops, the “Newest, coolest landmark along Historic Route 66!”  According to the hype, it’s going to be a convenience store/restaurant/gas station/gift shop/soda fountain kinda place, with about 12,000 “Pop Bottles” on display.
It was designed by Oklahoma City Architect Rand Elliott who, fortunately for Our Great State, turned down some great job offers from some swank, cosmopolitan architecture firms post-OSU-matriculation and planted firm and lasting roots right here in Oklahoma.  I’ve been told that Pops is the world’s largest cantilever structure to be constructed to date, but I must admit that I’m not well-versed enough in the lingo of the architectural community to either describe what that means or confirm or deny the fact.  What I can tell you, though, is that Mr. Elliott hails from Clinton, OK. and did some amazing work for the Route 66 museum there, among many other nationally recognized and acclaimed projects.  Pops features a 66-foot-tall soda bottle constructed by a local steel company, that will serve as a LED-lit beacon, drawing Rt. 66 travelers inside to experience a unique, Oklahoma -flavored Mother Road experience.
 
Thursday, June 21, 2007