- CityPlex Towers
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CityPlex Towers 
CityPlex Towers Geography Location Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Organization Care system Private Hospital type Community Affiliated university Oral Roberts University History Founded 1981 Closed 1989 Links Lists Hospitals in Oklahoma CityPlex Towers is a large office space complex located at 81st Street and Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The facility was originally constructed by Oral Roberts University as City of Faith Medical and Research Center and meant to be a major charismatic Christian hospital. The complex is now mostly office space.
Contents
History
In 1977 Oral Roberts claimed to have a vision to build the City of Faith Medical and Research Center, which would be a successful hospital.[1][2] While City of Faith was under construction between 1979 and 1981 Roberts claimed to have more visions of Jesus who encouraged him to continue the project. This included his famous vision of a 900-foot (270 m) tall Jesus in 1980. In a letter, Roberts spoke of the vision: "when I opened my eyes, there He stood...some 900 feet tall, looking at me; His eyes...Oh! His eyes! He stood a full 300 feet taller than the 600 foot tall City of Faith." [3]
The hospital accepted its first patient in November 1981. By 1986 the City of Faith was losing over 10 million dollars per year.[4] In 1987, with costs spiraling out of control, the medical center went largely vacant.[4] Roberts told a television audience unless he raised $8 million by March, God would "call him home" (a euphemism for death).[5] The donations goal was reached but Roberts soon began looking for buyers or people to manage the facility.[4] In 1989, only eight years after it opened, the City of Faith was $25 million in debt and Roberts closed the hospital (the last patient left on 16 October).[6] Most of the complex was converted to office space and leased out as CityPlex Towers.
Structure and use
There are three triangular towers with over 2,200,000 square feet (200,000 m2) of office space.[2] The tallest is the 60-story CityPlex Tower which at 648 feet (198 m) is the second tallest building in Oklahoma (after BOK Tower, formerly One Williams Center). The 60th floor features a dining room with a panoramic view of the Arkansas River and Tulsa. The main CityPlex tower is flanked by 30-story CityPlex West Tower and 20-story CityPlex East Tower, which are 348 feet (106 m) and 248 ft (76 m) high. Cityplex West is wholly vacant above the ninth floor, with many floors still unfinished since the time of construction. Below the fifth floor all three towers are joined within a structure called the base building. The spacious complex includes three auditoriums with theatre-style seating, a fitness center, cafeteria, food court, convenience store and catering services.[7]
Two towers are non-medical. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America was in CityPlex West until April 2005 when they built their own facility. Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma, an orthopedic speciality hospital, operates on the lower floors of CityPlex West and the base building. Christian radio station KXOJ has studios and offices there with transmitting equipment at the top of the 60 story tower. The leasing agent claims the complex is now a major site for call centers.[8] The facility was 50% occupied in May 2007.[9]
During the 1990s, CityPlex was the home of Commercial Financial Services, a large debt collection agency founded by Bill Bartmann, which at one point had almost four thousand employees, but then filed a high-profile bankruptcy in 1998. In November 2010, it was reported that Bartmann would return to CityPlex with his new debt collection company, CFS II, taking a lease for two floors in the 20-story tower.[10]
A large bronze sculpture called Praying Hands sat directly in front of the lobby with a series of fountains and streams headed towards the street until the summer of 1991 when it was moved to the nearby campus entrance of Oral Roberts University.[11]
References
- ^ Ideas and Trends: Oral Roberts's Word on Cancer," New York Times Jan 30, 1983
- ^ "Oral Roberts' Ministry Hits a 'Low Spot'," Dallas Morning News Jan 5, 1986
- ^ "Oral Roberts tells of talking to 900-foot Jesus". Tulsa World. October 16, 1980. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=20080326_222_67873
- ^ a b c Ostling, Richard (1972-02-07). "Raising Eyebrows and the Dead". Time. http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964970,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
- ^ Randi, James (1989). The Faith Healers. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-369-2 and ISBN 0-87975-535-0 pages 186
- ^ "Tulsans have seen upheaval before but are concerned how it affects students.". Tulsa World. 2007-10-07. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071007_1_A1_ISZEW48631. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
- ^ CityPlex website
- ^ http://www.cityplextowers.com/tour-callcenters.htm retrieved 08 October 2007
- ^ NewsOK.com, John Estus and Tony Thornton, How City of Faith Led to Fall, 2 Dec 2007, retrieved 4 Dec 2007
- ^ "Bill Bartmann to return to CityPlex Towers", Tulsa World, November 30, 2010.
- ^ Tulsa World [1] retrieved 09 December 2009
External links
Skyscrapers in Tulsa, Oklahoma Current BOK Tower · Cityplex Tower · First Place Tower · Mid-Continent Tower · Bank of America Center · 320 South Boston Building · 110 West 7th Building · University Club Tower · Cityplex West Tower · Philtower Building · Liberty Towers · Boulder Towers West Tower · Boulder Towers East Tower · Mayo Hotel · First National Bank Building · Cityplex East Tower · Thompson BuildingSee also
Categories:- Buildings and structures completed in 1981
- Buildings and structures in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Hospitals in Oklahoma
- Skyscrapers between 150 and 199 meters
- Oral Roberts University
- Economy of Tulsa, Oklahoma
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