Spray-painted with colorful messages in vivid hues, the historic Graffiti Bridge in northwest Oklahoma City was reduced to fragments in 1991. oklahoman archive photo by doug hoke
Built in the 1930s, the Graffiti Bridge was a place where different generations left their mark.
For more than five decades the bridge stood over Western Avenue in Oklahoma City.
Featured Video
Advertisement
Robert Symes Trucking & Excavating completed the task of demolishing and hauling off Graffiti Bridge from NW 59 and Western in June 1991.
When pieces of the bridge crumbled to the ground and vast slabs of layered paint peeled off the concrete, it should have come as no surprise that parts of Graffiti Bridge had begun a second life.
Some people took a piece of the Graffiti Bridge just after its demise, swooping in as piles of concrete and chunks of paint were dumped near the demolition site, which was surrounded by hundreds of mourners.
Randy Powers, a local artist, musician and employee of Oklahoma City Public Schools, has been making art from the bridge’s rubble since it came down. Powers and some friends went to the final resting place of Graffiti Bridge — a nameless field just off Broadway Extension — and removed hundreds of pounds of the bridge’s multi-colored skin. From these large remnants, Powers crafts distinctive jewelry pieces.
"I’ve been doing it for so long, I’ve got it down to an art form,” Powers said. "And I have enough to keep me busy for at least the next 10 years.”
Jeanette Koenig, the owner of Route 66 boutique at 50 Penn Place, has carried Powers’ hand-crafted wares since 1991 and has sold some of them to people from as far away as Denmark.
"People may not have any connection with Graffiti Bridge, but the pieces are so unique to Oklahoma City that many customers choose them to remember our city by,” Koenig said.
With high school football playoffs under way, it’s easy for David Morton to remember what the bridge represented to thousands of students who painted it over the decades.
Morton came to Bishop McGuinness High School in fall 1981 as a counselor and coach of the soccer, track and cross country teams. Now the principal of McGuinness, Morton remembers the bridge was painted primarily by the students of his school, John Marshall and Casady. Students from other schools had their crack at it from time to time, but he said it was basically a three-way battle.
"It was a constant rivalry between those schools,” Morton said. "I would say that if you talked to people in the community, 90 percent of the time it had McGuinness colors on it.”
One of the Graffiti Bridge artists was Chris Bright, the new headmaster of Casady School and a McGuinness alum, class of 1984.
"It was reserved for the high schools in the area to paint and make a spirit statement,” Bright said. "The idea was to completely obscure the prior group of kids.”
Morton dealt with the antics related to painting Graffiti Bridge for about a decade. And while he said it could be a nightmare at times — like when one of his students spilled a bucket of paint on a brand new BMW — Morton conceded Graffiti Bridge’s role in the local high schools.
"It was a love-hate deal,” he said. "That is one of those special things that students remember about high school, maybe more than what they remember about chemistry or English class.”
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
I was there to witness the whole spectacle as my father demolished the bridge. It was amazing to see peoples' allegiance (people chaining themselves to the bridge and to the crane attempting to stop the work). He even had to hire security 24/7 because of threats made to his company and the equipment located at the job. My father feared for people's lifes as he was dumping the concrete. People would rush in to grab a piece before he could unload from the bucket and was scared to death someone would get crushed. To keep everyone safe, he publicized where the rubble was being taken and even spread it out so it would be easier for people to go through and get what they wanted.
I painted that sucker many times, but my Mom also worked in one of the law offices right by there...and indeed, some idiots would paint her building and/or the parking lot. I have a chunk of the bridge on my front porch. Now that I'm older, I would probably curse all the little punks who would be painting the bridge, or the things that were painted on it would be obscene. I was there the night of the BMW - I never saw the paint on it, though. I think the driver was an old Casady alum...just bitter!! POTFI!
Somewhere in my elementary school experience at Deer Creek, a teacher gave us a sketch of the bridge, and then we were asked to graffiti it ourselves with map-pencils and markers, or whatever. My Mom still has mine in plastic somewhere. I think some of the better ones were sold for charity. Damn ole bridge...
I don't recall reading any rumors about devon being bought out or having margin calls, Mister. Do you even know the market cap of Devon, its debt ratio, cash on hand? Or how about the joint venture between Statoil and CHK?
Chesapeake and Devon are going to be bought soon by cash rich Exxon and moved to Houston, so no worries there. Chesapeake won't be expanding in Oklahoma any time soon.
The bridge was rife with political, cultural, and sociological issues. It was built to bring coal to The Belle Isle electric plant which was built to supply electricity to The Interurban transportation and trolley system. That system connected Guthrie to Norman in a modern light rail commuter train. A byproduct of the plant was heat which helped create Putnam Park. Our parents and grandparents of baby busters swam, cavorted, and frolicked there. Our grandfathers pulled bass and crappie out of the lake until it was filled in to make a Walmart. When our backwards seeing neanderthal city leaders saw fit to rip up the Interurban and trolleys, it meant the inevitable demise of the bridge. One thing that sped up its ultimate fate was the painting by area kids took on a more sinister aspect as the paint no longer was limited to the bridge. It spilled over to local buildings and the parking lot. It began hit the local building owners hard as they had to continually remove graffiti from their walls. Once the bridge was gone, that problem went away. Our city has always had a way of taking things away from our past in the name of progress. I bet Chesapeake wishes the bridge were still there for them to use to access the land they now own on both sides of Western. I guess they could always put it back, if they wish.
Sparky (Mark), Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 7:00 am
I have a Christmas ornament made from the paint from graffiti bridge that I bought at the Paseo Arts Festival in '96. It's always been a great conversation piece during the holidays. Good to know that other items are available. We will be visiting Route 66 Boutique this weekend, sounds like great gifts.
Graffiti Bridge is completed by the Guy James Construction Co. of Oklahoma City. The bridge cost about $9,000 to build — $8,700 came from federal funds. The bridge, which at the time sat in a rural area of the city, was used by the Oklahoma Railroad Co.
Mid-1940s
According to longtime city resident Eloise Price, students from Classen, Central and Harding high schools began painting the railroad bridge in the middle of the night. During the next five decades, Bishop McGuinness, Casady and John Marshall students would also paint on Graffiti Bridge.
Jan. 16, 1984
Oklahoma County commissioners hired an appraiser to look at buying the property at NW 59 and Western, which included Graffiti Bridge. The county’s plans, which had been years in the making, included the removal of Graffiti Bridge.
Oct. 1, 1987
Fifty Edmond High School students gather at Graffiti Bridge the week before the school’s homecoming, vandalize a nearby funeral home and an office building. The building’s owner filed a lawsuit against the city a few weeks later, claiming thousands of dollars in damages and igniting more controversy about Graffiti Bridge’s future. Edmond High’s homecoming dance was canceled after the vandalism spree.
Jan. 7, 1991
Oklahoma City businessman Glen "Dick” Hunt bought Graffiti Bridge from Oklahoma County with dreams of opening a diner — made up of renovated boxcars — on top of the bridge. The price: $37,400.
April 15, 1991
The fate of Graffiti Bridge is sealed when Oklahoma County deeds the bridge to Oklahoma City after the city council buys Hunt’s purchase option. The city plans to demolish Graffiti Bridge within 90 days so Classen Boulevard can be widened.
June 18, 1991
Oklahoma City Council awards a $24,000 contract to demolish Graffiti Bridge to Robert Symes Trucking & Excavating Co.
June 29, 1991
Graffiti Bridge is demolished using a 4,000-pound wrecking ball. It takes 248 thumps before the ball breaks through the top of the bridge. Several hundred people showed up to watch the bridge collapse, and most of them grabbed a piece of concrete or chunk of paint as a souvenir.
Source: The Oklahoman archives
REACTION
Mark Schwartz
"It’s sad that people down the road will hear the stories about Graffiti Bridge but won’t have the chance to go see it again. But that’s part of progress, I guess.”
Schwartz was the only member of the Oklahoma City Council who voted against the demolition of Graffiti Bridge. Before he died Nov. 13 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer, Schwartz showed off a bronze-coated rail stake and chunk of concrete he took from the demolition site in 1991.
Glen "Dick” Hunt
"The city moved quick once they made their minds up. The city wanted progress.”
Hunt is the local businessman who bought Graffiti Bridge for $37,400 in January 1991 with plans to turn the site into a diner, complete with old boxcars for seating.
Don Timberlake
"My kids painted that bridge. I got more pleasure out of the bridge than displeasure, that much I can tell you.”
Timberlake is a local attorney who owned the office building adjacent to Graffiti Bridge and paid thousands of dollars in repairs for the privilege. In October 1987, Timberlake filed a lawsuit against the city after about 50 Edmond High School students went on a rampage at the bridge and painted his building "about every color under the rainbow.” Despite this, Timberlake said he held no ill will toward the bridge.
10
Featured Video
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
I too have a memorial from the bridge. I for one still kinda miss the landmark.