Once considered the most vibrant area of Clinton, OK, filled with hotels, bars, eateries, and thriving business, is now location to seemingly apocalyptic city streets. The destruction of the Calmez Hotel and the dividing location of the newer Frisco Center set this area to become nothing more than a semi-industrial site for factory style business.
Fast forward to 2020+ and even the ice factory has disappeared. What seems like a tragedy, however, lends itself to beautiful potential. The solidarity of the area, the West OK Co-Op has coined as the Ice District, lends itself to a micro-climate of reinvented business and community that could have art as its backbone. Such districts are not uncommon. Around the nation and world, people and townships have focused art and artistic lifestyle to these derelict portions of community to allow a phoenix to rise from the ashes. The West OK Co-Op is already proposing a community and tourism gathering space at the site of the former Calmez Hotel in this district. Movement on the Glancy Motel, the running RT 66 Cafe, plenty of potentially well priced land, and interesting industrial style architecture lend the Ice District to become an entrepreneur's paradise. This would obviously improve the value, quality, and safety of surrounding neighborhoods as well.
The West OK Co-Op hopes to be in conversation with city leadership and be a part of discussions and design. They currently include it on their weekly think-tank meetings. Hopefully, more imagery, renderings, and drawings will pop-up on this page soon.