TULSA, Okla. — The Warehouse Market building at 11th and Elgin is just one of many Art Deco icons in downtown Tulsa, but its standout façade has seen better days.
"Yeah, I just noticed the ratchet straps recently. I hadn't seen them the past couple months," Modern Spirits customer Stu Bell said.
WATCH: Warehouse Market building showing signs of decay, facade collapse
It's not the most obvious, but at a closer look, you'll notice the west facade of the 91-year-old former public market designed by B. Gaylord Noftsger is now held up by straps and chains.
Not only that, but one of the brick column displays looks to be falling apart. Looking from the air, some of those bricks are seen lying on the roof.
"It just serves as a great geographical reminder that you are stepping into a different zone," Tulsa Foundation for Architecture (TFA) interim executive director Malinda Blank told 2 News.
The building also once hosted jazz greats like Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. If that history wasn't enough, in 1994, Tulsa Historical Society and TFA lobbied the facade's preservation after an owner change while the rest of the building was reduced to its current size.
"I'd say in the last hundred years we've lost about 50% of our art deco buildings," Blank said. "Luckily unlike other cities, we have been able to save quite a few, which speaks to our history."
The efforts of the 90s might have to come through again. This time though, there's a public committee for that purpose.
City of Tulsa said on July 8 it hasn't received any code enforcement violations at the property, but its condition has been discussed among the city's Route 66 Commission, specifically within the Preservation & Design committee.
"The City is working with the Commission to recommend the owner’s application for the Façade Grant Program as a means to promote the preservation of the property and help offset repair costs. We’re following up with the Commission and owner to see what progress has been made."
For more information on the Façade Grant Program, click here.
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