Earlier in this thread, I inquired whether, and if so, why, 1928 seemed to be a "building year" in Capitol Hill. Researching the Oklahoman's archives gives the answers:
First, it wasn't just 1928 ... the period of expansion began a few years earlier in anticipation of the Walker viaduct (aka bridge), that being the initial impetus for a substantial period of Capitol Hill growth.
Second, based on my review of Oklahoman articles, my conclusion is that three main reasons for the expansion existed, listed below in their order of probable importance:
- The Walker Viaduct. Viaduct was a popular term in the early days. I'll just call it a bridge. It was approved by city-wide bond election vote on November 30, 1923, following the two worst floods city had known in May and October of 1923. During those major floods, Capitol Hill was basically cut off from the north parts of the city for quite a period of time and damage was huge in Capitol Hill as well as on the north side of the North Canadian. Before the Walker bridge, Robinson was the only direct non-trolley point of connection from north to south (I think), and Robinson south of Reno wasn't much of a road in those days in any event (I'm pretty sure that a Walker private vehicle bridge didn't exist at this point in time). South of Reno, Robinson was relatively narrow (30 to 40 feet wide depending on the point of measurement) and unpaved. See this December 1, 1923 article for the vote. Anticipating that construction, construction began booming -- see this December 31, 1924, article. The Walker bridge formally opened on April 20, 1926, and looked like this pic in an article of the same date:
See these articles for more about that: April 20, 1926; another April 20, 1926 article; and yet another in this same issue, shown by the full page ad below:
Even today, Walker is the superior and more beautiful connection between Capitol Hill and downtown Oklahoma City, much more so than Robinson.
- Earl. Oil, that is. With the discovery of oil and gas in and around Capitol Hill, particularly East Capitol Hill, new residences, and businesses emerged to serve both those citizens as well as the oil operations. I list this factor as 2nd since the boom was already well under way after the Walker bridge announcement.
- Capitol Hill High School. Constructed in 1928-1929, it was ready for official opening in August 1929, per this August 6, 1929 article. City leaders and the Oklahoman touted the new high school as "the best in the state," per this January 5, 1930 article. The new and great school was doubtless invaluable in attracting new residents to Capitol Hill -- nothing remarkable about that -- schools are always a big draw when people are deciding where to live, and now Capitol Hill could rightly boast that it had the very finest high school in all of Oklahoma City, and the entire state.
Honorable Mention -- the Robinson Widening. Not making "win, place, or show," it is nonetheless noteworthy that Robinson became paved and widened from Reno to SW 15th, but not until after the Capitol Hill construction boom was already underway or almost done. Hence, I've not listed this as a "major" reason for the building boom because it was constructed basically after the fact. Much talk had been given to widening Robinson for several years, but its widening was not approved by the Oklahoma City council until August 29, 1928,
per this August 30, 1928, article . When the expansion actually got built I've not yet pinned down, but it was probably not until 1929, if then ... I'm still working on the date of construction. By this action, from Reno to Ash (SW 15th) Robinson became paved and widened. See this
May 11, 1926, article, discussing the prospects and city's general intentions. Note that
this is NOT the Rock Island railroad underpass ... that wouldn't come until 1931, per
this June 19, 1931 article.
Here are some articles evidencing growth during this period:
- 12/31/1924 (already mentioned above)
- 8/26/1928 (largely about residential construction)
- 9/23/1928 (tripling of population over the past 2-3 years)
- 12/9/1928 (higher rental rates and absence of residential vacancies)
- 12/16/1928 (new commercial and residential construction)
- 7/7/1929 (new businesses)
- 9/28/1930 (new construction/businesses) ... a reduced size image of the article appears below
There are other articles, but this should give the scope of what occurred between 1925-1930 or so. Probably not until the late 1940s, when John A. Brown's established its presence on Commerce Street, would downtown Capitol Hill see another influx of comparable growth but, that said, not as remarkable as the growth that occurred from around 1925 to 1930. I've not finished looking at the 1930s or 1940s yet, but, if Capitol Hill mirrored downtown Oklahoma City during that time frame, if it wasn't done by 1931, most plans just didn't get done during those two decades. Actually, John A. Brown's March 5, 1948, formal opening of its Commerce Street store probably ran against the grain of downtown Oklahoma City's general malaise, period of inactivity, or whatever you want to call it, at that point in time.
Re: Historic Capitol Hill
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Originally Posted by Doug Loudenback
) which sometime in the mid 60s turned into Bob's Hot Dog Stand. Stangely I'm drawing a blank on the next two slots (I think Jerrie's record shop was actually in the next block near Mr. Bucks) The last one is just the east end of Cecil's Womans Wear whose entrance was diagonal on the corner with Harvey.
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