I agree that OKC has come a long way since the 1980s and early 1990s, but what city hasn't? Continually comparing OKC to the early 1990s and justifying mistakes because "at least its better than it was then" is not a recipe for progress. It's good to celebrate progress yet learn from mistakes, and the destruction of this block shows that the city hasn't learned from its mistakes. There is a great thread on this subject not too long ago on here. The link that the thread points to makes an interesting statement that Indianapolis today in many respects offers more than Chicago did in 1990. I wonder how Oklahoma City in 2015 compares to Dallas in 1990?
http://www.okctalk.com/general-civic...c-okc-90s.html
With all of that said, the Preftakes Block buildings are gone forever so the time for lamenting their loss is over. It's time to look forward to a new addition to the OKC skyline and its time for those who want better urbanism and walkability to start gearing up for the next fight. I agree that the west side of downtown has a bright future, especially once Film Row starts to be developed, but it will take some time before we really start to see things come together.
Bookmarks