By John Dobberstein, Editor
The grain elevator that has towered over downtown Broken Arrow for decades is going up for sale later this month.
The structure owned by Hansen-Mueller enters a live online auction on April 18 as one of five grain silos the Omaha-based firm is selling.
Farmer’s Co-Op of Broken Arrow built the structure and opened it in 1962. It has a 153,000-bushel capacity and and lease with the Union Pacific Railroad.
At 158 feet tall, the building at 413 S. Ash Ave. is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks and has lived somewhat of a charmed life, especially since it anchors the southern end of the Rose District.
Recently the silo was named affectionately by some residents as “Mac.” A Grain Silo Robot Tee depicting the structure appeared on T-shirts this past summer.
A humorous war for affection has also been carried out on Facebook between “Mac” and the mammoth city of Broken Arrow water tower just south of New Orleans Square.
The Broken Arrow silo has Hansen-Mueller’s logo and another painted image of what appears to be a dream catcher topped with a broken arrow at the top. But any dreams of doing something more dramatic with its appearance haven’t come to fruition.
About 15 years ago, a beautification committee spearheaded efforts to spruce up the building and committee members asked local artists to submit ideas.
The goal was to make it one of the most distinguished features in the Rose District. But the structure has competition now from a playful interactive water feature and the historic mural on the side of The Museum Broken Arrow’s building.
But the “Mac” still represents a far-gone era in the early 1960s when Broken Arrow’s population was only 6,000 people and the town’s agricultural roots were much more prominent. While the farmers market still graces the Rose District plaza on the weekends, Broken Arrow now has 120,000 people and farmland on the outskirts of the city continues to be developed.
If the structure is sold, it’s unclear what its future would be. Although it sits on historic property, the cost to tear it down could be prohibitive. Some have suggested turning it into a recreational attraction with activities such as rope climbing. In other cities, new uses have included hotels and museums.
In Omaha, the huge group concrete grain-elevator silos north of Interstate 80 would face the wrecking ball under a plan at City Hall, the Omaha World Herald reported.
New owners bought the property and intend to knock down the majority of the tubular grain bins to make room for multi-family housing, the newspaper said.
At the request of the new owners, city officials studied the demographics of the area and are proposing to designate the property, and some surrounding land in the vicinity, as blighted and substandard so the owners can apply for tax-increment financing, the newspaper noted.
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