Hangar 25 is an airplane hangar located in Burbank, California that was designed by John Picard. The hangar is 62,000 feet, was designed to be more environmentally friendly (relying on solar power for electric vehicles and office operations, low-water plumbing, an innovative non-chemical fire suppression system, etc.), and was the first facility of its kind to ever receive LEED Platinum certification. The facility also received the Environmental Management Award from the Airports Council International-North America. The design of the hangar was meant to be used as a basis for similar projects in the future.

This landmark at the OU has had past troubles with keeping the clock face on the tower. As in 2010 they replaced it for the second time as it was blown down by a Norman wind storm. According to The Oklahoman, “The Verdin Company office in Dallas made the $18,000 custom-built clock and its staff helped install it in the tower. Once the clock was in place, the workers installed its motor, put the clock hands on its face, and then reinforced clocks on the towers’ other three sides to prevent future mishaps”(Tyree). This clock tower has a lot of cool facts behind it, but it will always be a place and a sight that Sooners will avoid. If I really wanted to be in college forever then I might risk the walk under the tower but for now I will just admire its beauty and the myth!

There is a lot of tradition at The University of Oklahoma and the clock tower is a part of it! The clock tower is about one hundred and ten feet tall. In the pictures below, you are able to tell that it is four-faced. One important thing about the tower’s height is that due to it being so tall, you are able to see if from other parts of campus! Since it is visible from places all over campus, it brings a lot of attention and visitors to that area. At the bottom of the tower, it is surrounded by nearby gardening and sculptures. During the weekend of Martin Luther King Day, I learned that the clock tower is where people will meet up and celebrate MLK there! I think that it is very cool and important that our university can use their buildings to allow people to meet and celebrate important people! This is a positive way that the tower has impacted our campus and community!

Atlantic Station is a mall located in Atlanta, Georgia that was designed by John Picard. The mall has a variety of dining and shopping options, a large Regal Cinema and claims to be Atlanta’s premier shopping center. I didn’t realize it until I started reading about this place, but I actually went to this mall when I was in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. We stopped here on the way back to Oklahoma and I got to enjoy fresh California Pizza Kitchen for the first time. The mall isn’t a single enclosed building so it can be difficult to keep track of where you’re going, but there are plenty of maps posted to let you know where you are and where everything is around you. It’s truly a great place to go if you find yourself in the Atlanta area.

The clock tower to me has a negative reputation. It is intriguing that a building can cause someone to have so much fear. Buildings can hold such a significant meaning and allow emotional feelings to arise when one walks past a building. For me, this tower has not affected me, but there is always the lingering thought in my head when I pass it that something could happen. One day I was waiting outside the library waiting for it to be open, and Norman was in the middle of experiencing a snow day. There was a girl waiting by the tower as well. She was most likely waiting for the library to open. Minutes went by and her patience for the library to open quickly began to grow short. I looked over there and saw her walking under the tower. I immediately spoke to myself out loud saying, “NOOO. She did not just do that.” I did not know if she did not realize she walked under it since she seemed so caught up in her phone or if she was unaware of the clock’s abilities. It took everything in me not to just run over there and tell her what she did. Everytime I walk past the tower, I think of the lady and the snow storm. I wonder what the future looks like for her.Many people avoid the clock tower and do not even risk getting near it. Personally I am not that afraid of it, but I make sure that I do not just linger around that area. 

Tyree, James S. “OU Clock Tower Gets a ‘Face-Lift.’” Oklahoman.Com, 8 May 2010, oklahoman.com/article/3459749/ou-clock-tower-gets-a-face-lift. Accessed 24 July 2020.

The Cursed Clock Tower at OU 

The day I toured The University of Oklahoma as a senior in high school, I was informed that the clock tower is cursed. This myth is well known at OU and has caused students to avoid going under the clock despite any situation. The clock tower at OU has influenced me in a positive way because I never would go under the tower. It is next to Bizzell Memorial Library on campus at The University of Oklahoma. A rumor surfaced many years ago that if you walk under the tower as an undergraduate, you will not graduate in four years. That is what the tower is known for on campus. When I was a freshman, I was told about the clock tower and instantly felt a sense of caution everytime I made my way to the Bizzell Memorial Library. When I am on my way to my early classes, I walk around the tower just like all of the other students.

CityCenter Las Vegas is a complex that plays host to multiple major hotels on the Las Vegas strip. The complex was designed in part by John Picard, with Gensler being the executive architectual firm on the project. The complex has approximately 2,400 condos and 4,800 hotel rooms distributed throughout the hotels located within. The plan for the project was announced in 2004 and was originally slated to cost $4 billion, but increasing costs and changes to the original design ended up pushing the price to $9.2 billion. Most of the buildings were finished and opened in 2009, but the Veer Towers didn’t open until 2010.

The Grand Wailea Maui Resort is a luxury resort hotel located in Maui, Hawaii that was designed by John Picard. The resort has a large number of trees, plenty of beautiful water features and the hotel building itself has a sleek, curved design. The resort is 40 acres, was opened in 1991, and is one of the largest private employers in Maui. It is a very well known and very well designed resort and is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful resorts I’ve seen a picture of (that are still within the US).

South Florida State College is a college located in Avon Park, Florida that offers associate degrees, occupational certificates, a GED program, and select bachelor’s degree programs such as elementary education. I started taking my first college class here in the summer right after 10th grade when I was 16. The campus was primarily outside and was much larger than my high school, although is nothing in comparison to OU. The architecture on campus was absolutely beautiful. The buildings were sleek and modern, the insides were (in most buildings) looking really clean and fresh, and the landscaping on campus was beautiful. There was even a nature path that you could go to that would take you into this woods-type area. You’re on a wooden walkway and there’s plenty of room and benches to sit down with friends and hang out, do homework in peace, or just relax in nature. There are many reasons why I prefer OU as a college, but I do strongly prefer SFSC’s architecture and campus.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the primary stadium used by the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. I believe that, for most people, this stadium would be recognizable because of the Falcons and/or because it hosted a Super Bowl recently. However, the stadium also plays host to the Peach Bowl and a variety of NCAA football games. This year, I was able to be part of the Pride of Oklahoma marching band and so I was able to accompany the band and the football team to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, where we unfortunately got stomped out 63-28 by a dominant LSU national championship team. When I first saw the stadium, the size of it reminded me of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but the design of it intrigued me. The inside, however, truly caught me by surprise. At the top of the stadium was a roof that spun open and a circular video screen that is currently the 7th largest video screen in the world. The field looked beautiful and being able to look outside through the glass was such a great experience. Although we didn’t win the game, I will always be able to look positively on my experience in this stadium and with the band.