South of St Anthony

[NE Oasis]

A great article in today's Oklahoman about this area. (by our own Steve!)
Seems to me like Dennis Wells has a real good grasp of HIS neighborhood (SoSA) and the planning commision should leave him and his neighbors alone to make a fun mix of architectural styles. Take a look at Free SoSA

[betts]

Pretty funny. However, I happen to think Crown Heights is charming, and about as close to Bag End as you'll get in Oklahoma City. I like what we called the "pointy houses" when we moved here from Denver, land of not-so-charming bungaloes. My sister in law, who is an architect trained at Columbia, thinks the mixture of housing styles in Oklahoma City neighborhoods is interesting, in a good way. So, while I appreciate their plan, I think the alternate is fine too (although my pet peeve is the faux chateau which seems so popular right now in this city).

[jbrown84]

Crown Heights =/= Gaillardia

[metro]

Pretty funny. However, I happen to think Crown Heights is charming, and about as close to Bag End as you'll get in Oklahoma City. I like what we called the "pointy houses" when we moved here from Denver, land of not-so-charming bungaloes. My sister in law, who is an architect trained at Columbia, thinks the mixture of housing styles in Oklahoma City neighborhoods is interesting, in a good way. So, while I appreciate their plan, I think the alternate is fine too (although my pet peeve is the faux chateau which seems so popular right now in this city).

Why is it funny? Also SOSA is not even close to the same as Crown Heights on so many levels. SOSA is filled more with modern thinkers, engineers and architects and the downtown crowd. Crown Heights is a more trendy crowd (Western Ave. crowd) and more traditional architecture.

[betts]

Funny in a good way, metro, which is why my next sentence began with "However". I was amused by the talk about Kincade calendars (which I dislike by the way) and primarily agreed with him, with the exception of comments about Crown Heights. Crown Heights was not really inside the city when it was built. A very elderly friend who grew up there told me "It was the last stop on the streetcar line, and all my friends thought I was moving way out in the country when we moved to Crown Heights". I understand the desire for quaint, and when it succeeds, it's not a bad thing. However, I also agree that we're not going to get Bag End inside downtown OKC, nor should we try. That's why I like Maywood, Block 42 and Central Ave. Villas better than the Hill.

[metro]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm in on the planning for this group and will post updates as it becomes relevant.

[striker]

gotta work on the name... SOSA? maybe something not tied to a business, albeit a hospital.

[metro]

what's wrong with the name? We could call it WOWA, West of Walker Avenue but that sounds sillier. New York has TriBeca, SoHo, LoMex, DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass Dumbo NYC, Brooklyn (DumboNYC.com)), and other districts. So do other metropolitan areas. Why is this any different?

[tuck]

What are the borders? Does it stop at 6th or does it stretch to 4th/5th?

[Luke]

What are the borders? Does it stop at 6th or does it stretch to 4th/5th?

That's what I was trying to figure out myself. Their map isn't very precise.

[metro]

Right now this is more of a hobby, we're meeting to discuss the future of the area and the possibilities currently. Will post updates as relevant.

[tuck]

Who all is involved in this group? I am interested in hearing what is going on. I recently bought a group of small lots on the NW corner of 5th and Dewey and have plans to build a home there.

[metro]

Check your PM tuck.

[metro]

Here are some pictures of another project going up in the unofficial "SoSA" district. It's called Bridge House and Brian Fitzsimmons is the architect. There are at least 3 other modern residences fixing to break ground in the district that I know of so that will start to finally build a critical mass. Also if anyone is interested in helping with possibly making this an official downtown district (especially if you live or own property in the area), then send me a PM.

http://www.fitzsimmons-arch.com/Arch...house%202.html

This is the "Over the Line" House.

http://www.fitzsimmons-arch.com/Arch...0line%202.html

There are a few more going up and I will try and get my hands on the architectural renderings.

[warreng88]

Metro, any idea where those are located?

[Platemaker]

gotta work on the name... SOSA? maybe something not tied to a business, albeit a hospital.

I agree... SoSA is really grasping... it's Midtown.

[metro]

Metro, any idea where those are located?

NW 7th near Francis.

[metro]

I agree... SoSA is really grasping... it's Midtown.

But Heritage Hills is in Midtown, Mesta Park, Walker Ave. District, NW 10th, SoSA aka "cottage district" etc. are all in downtowns and midtowns boundaries, but each "sub district" has it's own unique flavor. SoSA has quite a unique flavor compared to most of MidTown and will be a completely modern neighborhood in probably 10 years or less.

I'm all for open ideas, but so far, I haven't heard of a better name for the neighborhood, and "cottage district" doesn't really truly define the character of the neighborhood or the direction its taking organically anyways. I still don't see how it's different from similar named neighborhoods in most large metro areas like I mentioned above, SoHO, SoCal, LoMex, DUMBO, TriBeCa, etc. NYC is a city of 5 boroughs and 59 districts! Why can't we be open minded and encourage more local flavor in OKC and less cookie cutter houses in suburbia?

Anyhow, we're open to naming ideas besides SoSA, but that's the most catchy and urban/edgy we've heard so far.

[betts]

I think SoSa is a good name. Simple and easy to remember, like SoHo. I agree. Why not have a unique name for a subdistrict that is different from its' surrounds? People will know precisely what you're talking about if the area has a name.

[jbrown84]

Thanks for those links. It's very cool that the area is emerging as a neighborhood of modern homes. Something you don't usually see in cities our size.

I think it should have it's own name, but don't care for SoSA. It just sounds like it's a name, like Sammy Sosa, rather than a clever acronym thing. What about WeWaECla?

West-of-Walker-East-of-Classen

or it could be EClaWeWa:

East-of-Classen-West-of-Walker

[metro]

right, because that would be easy to pronounce.....It has to be something catchy that people can easily remember and pronounce.

[jbrown84]

Eee-cluh-wee-wuh

It's not that hard.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Just cuz NYC did it, doesn't make it cool.

I'm sure we could come up with something other than abbreviated street names and directions crammed together.

[jbrown84]

That would be my preference. There must be a historic name tied to the area.

[metro]

That would be my preference. There must be a historic name tied to the area.

Yeah, "cottage district", but again that name doesn't really apply to the direction the neighborhood is taking. I'm all for HP (historic preservation), but not much in this neighborhood is historic or worth preserving IMO, there are plenty of vacant lots too that more than likely are and will be built with modern structures.