Anniversary Of September 11 Draws Attention To BOK Tower

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- As the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks nears, Oklahomans are reminded that the BOK Tower and Twin Towers share a common history and design.

A New York Times article published Sunday takes a closer look at the links between the towering structures.

Read the New York Times story.

The similarities are easy to explain. The buildings were designed by the same architect: Minoru Yamasaki.

The then Williams Companies building opened its doors for the first time on November 1, 1976. The original building plans called for two 25-story towers. The story is that John Williams picked up one model, plunked it on top of the other and said, "What about this?"

The BOK Tower is 52 stories high and 667 feet tall with 1.1 million square feet. It can house up to 5,000 people, and you can see for 40 miles, operations manager Curtis Williams noted at its 30-year anniversary in 2006. 

"It's like a small city," he said.

The tower was most recently in the news when its sky bridge was taken down to be put up for sale.

8/20/2011 Related Story: BOK Sky Bridge Goes Up For Sale, Comes Down To Earth