The Bricktown Canal opened July 2, 1999 and was an instant hit with Oklahoma City residents even though, quite frankly, it was truly a ride to nowhere. The canal was seen as the most frivilous of the nine Metropolitan Area Projects when the initiative was passed by voters in 1993. And when it opened the canal was primarilly surrounded by empty old warehouses north of Reno Avenue, and just dirt south of Reno.
A decade later the area is dramatically different. Most of the warehouses have been renovated and the waterway is lined with a hotel, theater, shops, a bowling alley, restaurants, clubs and offices. The above video was shot on the day the waterway opened. Coming soon - a rare video of the original Bricktown developer Neal Horton.
My good friend Doug Loudenback, meanwhile, has posted photos of our visit to Union Station at www.dougdawg.blogspot.com and also has given the city a birthday gift - a full scan of the out-of-print book "The Story of Oklahoma City" by Angelo Scott.
I can't begin to keep up with the amount of videos and photo essays being posted by the guys at www.abandonedok.com. I would direct your attention to a couple, however, that Jack and I will be soon updating with our own insights soon. They include a look Lincoln Plaza, Lonestar School and the Walcourt Apartments.
Finally, our friend Dennis Church has launched a great photo website, www.iconoklahoma.blogspot.com, that is definitely worth a look.
Great History Website
Written by Administrator
Saturday, 06 June 2009 20:12
To date we've enjoyed an alliance with Doug Loudenback, who has the excellent history blog www.dougdawg.blogspot.com and with Larry "Buddy" Johnson, who runs the archives division and writes a monthly feature in the library system's "Info" magazine.
Now we're adding yet another llink - www.abandonedok.com. This site has some excellent videos and essays on old buildings in OKC including the Walcourt building (one of the best undiscovered historic treasures left untouched downtown - someone save this building!) and pre-renovation footage of the Skirvin.
The photographer of this snapshot, looking south on Hudson towards Downtown from 12th Street, probably meant to capture the heavy snowfall shrouding Oklahoma City. A series of three ice and snow storms assualted the city in January, 1949. It was the most snow on record and oldtimers said it was the worst in their memory. Power lines snapped and crippled phone lines left the city without long distance service for awhile. City officials even took the drastic step of cordoning off Downtown with barricades – there were so many abandoned cars littering the streets they weren’t letting anymore in until road crews could plow pathways. Downtown hotels filled with workers unable to make it home and they watched helplessly as wreckers towed their cars to a yard until things thawed a bit.
This snapshot also provides us with an excellent view of what neighborhood life was like in Oklahoma City before the automobile-fueled expansion to the suburbs in the 1950s. Now part of Midtown, the area around 12th and Hudson was once referred to as Uptown. In 1949, the area’s residential mix included single family homes, duplexes and hotel apartments. Most of the amenities of daily life were provided within walking distance. Glancing around the photo you can see homes interspersed with the Uptown Grocery, Ned’s Grill, and the Uptown Theatre. On that one stretch of Hudson a doctor, a drug store, 3 beauty shops and a candy store could all be found.
You're Not Really Going to Write About That, Are You?!?
Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 21 April 2009 20:41
Wait, hold on, hold everything. The image is kind of blury. Is that what we think it is? Surely Steve and Jack aren't going to write about that now, are they? Oh yes, some very interesting stories are coming to www.okchistory.com as more fun is pulled out of the attic.
