Have you ever wondered what certain landmarks and buildings around Norman are? You drive past them day after day. You ask your friends what they think it is, but you never take the time to really find out. Well I did take the time. I was most interested in two things, one a building and one a landmark.
The building is the one on McGee just off of Lindsey, here in Norman. You may have noticed it because it has two signs, one for a Hollywood theater and one for the Pioneer Library System.
The landmark is in Andrews Park, next to the Blake Baldwin skate park. It’s a large, underground, cement structure; with two hatches, two doors and two windows. None of which are accessible.
Now as far as the building goes, my guess was it was some kind of sub-library. To find out exactly what it was I went to the source. The building itself. It is owned by the library, and no, it’s not a theater for the librarians personal use. It is, in fact, a large warehouse where the new books bought by the library are sent and cataloged. They also use it for storage, (such as, right now while the Noble branch is being remodeled). The building itself is pretty interesting looking, inside and out. When you go in you find a very large mural of Harry Potter. It’s a huge rectangular shaped room, filled to the brink with shelves upon shelves of books, newspapers and archives. I felt like a kid in a candy store, being the avid reader that I am. The building has been in use by the Library for about 3 years now. Before the Pioneer System bought it, it belonged to the OU law library. “I remember when it was still a theater,” the librarian I spoke to recalled, “I saw Jaws and Superman there.” While I was visiting, a man came in to ask what the building was used for, so as you can see, the unusual appearance does spark interest. While this may be some what of a nuisance to the librarians that work there, I for one am happy to see the appearance was mostly unaltered from it’s former cinema days.
Next, I went to find out about the landmark in Andrews Park. My guess, and the guess of a few others I talked to, was that it’s some kind of bomb shelter or storm shelter, maybe a large storage cellar. To find out what it really was, I went to Norman’s department of Parks and Recreation. Upon entering the department, I found the secretary and an official sitting in the waiting area. The walls were decorated with posters from Jazz ’n June and Medieval Fairs of years past. On the side table next to the official sat a life-sized severed gipsy head floating in a crystal ball. Suffice it to say, it was very distracting while I was trying to take notes. However, I did find out that the structure is 69 ft. wide, 146 ft. long and 14 ft. deep. People’s interest in it is obvious by the footprints found in the dust of the door as if someone were trying to kick it in. Probably local kids trying to get in. The strangest thing about this story is the ending. The structure did not turn out to be a bomb shelter or a storage cellar, long since used for nothing more than to store old Christmas lights. No it’s nothing so practical as that. It is in fact an abandoned water storage unit. Basically, an underground water tower. Why the city would go to so much expense is a mystery, even the officials at the department couldn’t explain. They did however tell me what is down there, now that it is no longer in use. Water, about 3 ft. of it. “They did have an architect look at it a few years back,” the secretary told me. “To see if it could be converted for storage, but the damage was too extensive. It would have cost more then it was worth.” So there it sits, year after year. Sparking the curiosity of the park goers and skater dudes. When, in fact, anything they can imagine is much more fantastic than what it truly is, a big waste of space.
What did I learn from my “search for the truth”? Sometimes fiction is stranger than truth, and even plastic severed heads are pretty creepy.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Oh so tired!
Hey all you peoples in blogging land! What's up?
Things here are great, but I am tired. I slept in late this morning and I almost didn't make it to church.
We just got back from the dollar movie (you gotta love dollar movies!) Nathanael and I watched Monster House. It was pretty good. The story is very crazy, but it's fun and imaginative. I love the colors! Very fall.
I don't have too much going on, just life. I have decided I need to watch a football game. I have never watched a whole game (no, I'm not kidding). I firmly believe that as Christians we must enjoy all good and wholesome things in life (at least once) and what's more wholesome than football? LOL! So at some point I need to sit down and watch a game (hopefully before the season is out!)
Well I need to go to sleep... I'll TTYL!
God Bless,
Rebekah
John 3:16
Things here are great, but I am tired. I slept in late this morning and I almost didn't make it to church.
We just got back from the dollar movie (you gotta love dollar movies!) Nathanael and I watched Monster House. It was pretty good. The story is very crazy, but it's fun and imaginative. I love the colors! Very fall.
I don't have too much going on, just life. I have decided I need to watch a football game. I have never watched a whole game (no, I'm not kidding). I firmly believe that as Christians we must enjoy all good and wholesome things in life (at least once) and what's more wholesome than football? LOL! So at some point I need to sit down and watch a game (hopefully before the season is out!)
Well I need to go to sleep... I'll TTYL!
God Bless,
Rebekah
John 3:16
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Amazon Review
Here is the link to my Amazon Review (that I wrote for my writing class). Go check it out and click, yes, when it asks if it was helpful! Just scroll down to the review titled “Identity Crisis”
G.B.
Rebekah
http://www.amazon.com/Avalon-High-Meg-Cabot/
G.B.
Rebekah
http://www.amazon.com/Avalon-High-Meg-Cabot/
Crazy Days
Well, here you go! All you good folks who have bugged me into a blog, can now sleep easy at night! As for me? My personal thoughts are available for the whole world to see (so I guess I'll be the one with insomnia from now on).
This week has been CRAZY! It started with our 2nd writing class. We had a very interesting time. The discussion differed from Ghost to huge dog houses to the identity of a class mate (she wasn't there at the time). Our assignment for this week was a feature story for a newspaper. For me the hardest thing was deciding what to write about! I finally got it figured out, and while it's not the most fascinating story in the world, at the very least I can say I got my homework done!
Then on Tues. I went to a Derek Webb concert with one of my best friends (Dotty). We had a great time.
Weds. was art class and research at the library and then RUF (Reformed University Fellowship). We meet on the OU campus.
We have moved from our old meeting spot, so it was really hard to find. I ended up in the wrong building, with really creepy half lit rooms. I just knew I was going to end up getting mugged. But I didn't and I found the meeting just fine.
Thurs. I went to the Park and Recreations department to research for my paper. Then I went to the Great State Fair, with my younger brothers (Benjamin and Nathanael) and my friend Dotty.
Fri. I went to a concert at the Jesus Place http://www.myspace.com/thejesusplace
And Now I am trying to get all my homework done and put up this blog and I'm wondering if my friends ended up going to the movies without me (long story).
Have a good day!
God Bless,
Rebekah
Psalm 3
This week has been CRAZY! It started with our 2nd writing class. We had a very interesting time. The discussion differed from Ghost to huge dog houses to the identity of a class mate (she wasn't there at the time). Our assignment for this week was a feature story for a newspaper. For me the hardest thing was deciding what to write about! I finally got it figured out, and while it's not the most fascinating story in the world, at the very least I can say I got my homework done!
Then on Tues. I went to a Derek Webb concert with one of my best friends (Dotty). We had a great time.
Weds. was art class and research at the library and then RUF (Reformed University Fellowship). We meet on the OU campus.
We have moved from our old meeting spot, so it was really hard to find. I ended up in the wrong building, with really creepy half lit rooms. I just knew I was going to end up getting mugged. But I didn't and I found the meeting just fine.
Thurs. I went to the Park and Recreations department to research for my paper. Then I went to the Great State Fair, with my younger brothers (Benjamin and Nathanael) and my friend Dotty.
Fri. I went to a concert at the Jesus Place http://www.myspace.com/thejesusplace
And Now I am trying to get all my homework done and put up this blog and I'm wondering if my friends ended up going to the movies without me (long story).
Have a good day!
God Bless,
Rebekah
Psalm 3
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