BOK Tower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids BOK Tower |
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°09′18″N 95°59′25″W / 36.1550°N 95.9903°W |
| Completed | 1976 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 667 ft (203 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 52 |
| Floor area | 1,140,673 sq ft (105,972.0 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Minoru Yamasaki & Associates |
The BOK Tower (also known as One Williams Center) is a very tall building, called a skyscraper, located in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. It stands 203 meters (667 feet) tall and has 52 floors.
For a long time, this tower was the tallest building in several states, including Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, and New Mexico. It held this record until 2011, when the Devon Tower was built. The BOK Tower was finished in 1976. It was designed by Minoru Yamasaki & Associates, the same architect who designed the original World Trade Center towers in New York City. Because of this, the BOK Tower looks very similar to those famous towers.
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How the BOK Tower Was Designed
The BOK Tower has a special design, especially in its main entrance area, called the lobby. The lobby walls are made of marble and have decorations that look a lot like the ones in the former World Trade Center towers.
Why It Looks Like the World Trade Center
The reason the BOK Tower looks so much like the World Trade Center towers is because of its history. The building was constructed for a company called the Williams Companies. At the time it was being built, the head of Williams, John Williams, was very impressed by the Twin Towers in New York City.
His first idea was to build four smaller versions of the World Trade Center towers in Tulsa. However, before construction began, he learned that having 25-story towers on small pieces of land would not work well because of the many elevators needed. So, the plan changed. Instead of four small towers, they decided to build one single tower. This new tower would have a base that was a quarter the size of a World Trade Center tower's base, but it would be twice as tall as the four towers he first imagined. People even joked that the architects simply cut the World Trade Center plans in half to design the BOK Tower!
Keeping the Tower in Good Shape
In 2006, the BOK Tower had some big repairs and updates. About $16 million was spent to make it better. This included $6 million for new walking bridges, a new granite look for the bottom of the building, new fitness centers, and new windows. The other $10 million was used to fix damage from a flood that happened in December 2005.
See also
