NW 63rd

[Oski]

It always baffles me why the NW 63rd section at the Chesapeake campus isn't straight, same as streets near the prison in downtown, can anyone please tell me why? Any interesting stories? Thanks!

[Martin]

regarding nw 63rd, that section of classen used to be the interurban route. i'd have to guess that the curve was a safety mechanism to help control vehicle speed when crossing the tracks.

[OKCBayou]

As for the roads by the Prison, I would assume those were built at the current angles to accommodate the railroad (rock island? CRI&P?) that went through that section of downtown. I believe the old adjacent Rock Island station north of the skirvin and portions of the railroad itself were removed in the 1930s.

[baralheia]

In short, this area was shaped by the railroads. The area in downtown followed the old Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railroad (aka Rock Island, originally Chicago, Oklahoma, & Gulf Railroad) mainline through town. Their original east-west alignment through downtown was between 1st and 2nd street with a passenger depot immediately north of where the Skirvin stands today. Additionally, the area between Lee and Hudson that is now home to the Civic Center, Bicentennial Park, and City Hall was originally a large railyard; in addition to the Rock Island's tracks north of 1st, the St Louis-San Francisco (aka Frisco) railroad had tracks just south of 1st and a passenger & freight depot immediately west of Hudson. Both the Frisco and the Rock Island abandoned their tracks and depots by the early 1930's to move a few blocks south to the then-new Union Station, and the City used that land to build the Civic Center and City Hall, both open by 1937.


Image from Doug Loudenback's excellent "Doug Dawgz" blog, "OKC Trains Part 2"

The tracks that still exist west of Classen on the original mainline alignment are still in service today as an industrial spur to feed the Purina plant at 3rd & Klein.

[Oski]

Thank you for all the information, guys!

[HangryHippo]

In short, this area was shaped by the railroads. The area in downtown followed the old Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railroad (aka Rock Island, originally Chicago, Oklahoma, & Gulf Railroad) mainline through town. Their original east-west alignment through downtown was between 1st and 2nd street with a passenger depot immediately north of where the Skirvin stands today. Additionally, the area between Lee and Hudson that is now home to the Civic Center, Bicentennial Park, and City Hall was originally a large railyard; in addition to the Rock Island's tracks north of 1st, the St Louis-San Francisco (aka Frisco) railroad had tracks just south of 1st and a passenger & freight depot immediately west of Hudson. Both the Frisco and the Rock Island abandoned their tracks and depots by the early 1930's to move a few blocks south to the then-new Union Station, and the City used that land to build the Civic Center and City Hall, both open by 1937.


Image from Doug Loudenback's excellent "Doug Dawgz" blog, "OKC Trains Part 2"

The tracks that still exist west of Classen on the original mainline alignment are still in service today as an industrial spur to feed the Purina plant at 3rd & Klein.

Fascinating! Thanks for this!

[baralheia]

Fascinating! Thanks for this!

Happy to share! I knew the basics but I have to give a lot of credit to Doug Loudenback, who sadly passed away last year, for the details. His blog (Doug Dawgz Blog) is a fantastic resource for central Oklahoma history and well worth a read, even if it hasn't been updated in years. I really hope his entire site is archived somewhere.

[OKCDrummer77]

Happy to share! I knew the basics but I have to give a lot of credit to Doug Loudenback, who sadly passed away last year, for the details. His blog (Doug Dawgz Blog) is a fantastic resource for central Oklahoma history and well worth a read, even if it hasn't been updated in years. I really hope his entire site is archived somewhere.

I hadn't heard that. That's really sad. I met him on a few occasions via OKCTalk get-togethers. He was a good dude and a treasure trove of OKC history.

[HangryHippo]

I hadn't heard that. That's really sad. I met him on a few occasions via OKCTalk get-togethers. He was a good dude and a treasure trove of OKC history.

I also missed this (or had forgotten). Very sad news. Doug was one of the good ones.

[Swalell1960]

This thread surprised me with some happy side info: I’ve been trying (admittedly with patience of a cat waiting for a mouse to perhaps wander by…) for the location of the Katy depot. And there it is! Thanks!