New name for Bricktown south of Reno

[Patrick]

The area where all the development is occurring on the middle segment of the canal is being renamed "Lower Bricktown" instead of "Bricktown Entertainment District." I think this is a good move because it will help disticnguish the area south of Reno from the area along Sheridan (Bricktown itself), while still connecting the two areas by keeping Bricktown in the name. "Lower Bricktown" makes me think of Lower Manhattan. It gives the area a more urban feel.

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Here's the article:

Area renamed Lower Bricktown

By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman

Say goodbye to the Bricktown Entertainment Center and hello to Lower Bricktown.
Seven years have passed since the Oklahoma City Council and the Urban Renewal Authority designated Randy Hogan as developer for city-owned land between Reno Avenue, Interstate 40, Oklahoma Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard.

Over that time, he had to fight off legal challenges and political battles and a downturn in the theater industry. The project is rapidly approaching completion with Tuesday’s announcement of Toby Keith’s Roadhouse, and Hogan admits he never took the time to come up with a good name for the area.

“I spent about five minutes on the name Bricktown Entertainment Center,” Hogan said. “And over time, it became too generic.”

Urban Renewal director JoeVan Bullard said Hogan is free to choose the area’s identity, though the agency still oversees design standards for new construction.

The new name and logo will begin popping up on the Internet, along the canal trails and on maps and brochures later this year. Hogan said the name is inspired by other locales, including Denver and Manhattan. “This just has a little more spice to it,” Hogan said.

[floater]

I think we tend to copy too much, but I still like the name. Lower Bricktown. It offers a different experience from Bricktown (Upper Bricktown?), too. While the former has new construction and lush landscaping, the former has old warehouses and streets.

[mranderson]

I agree with Floater. We DO copy too much. "Lower Bricktown" could be considered a copy of "Lower Greenville" in Dallas. It also is an arts district.

I wish we would be more original. That is my biggest gripe with the canal. At least it is nicer than San Antonio's.

[Patrick]

LOL, I wish our canal was as nice as San Antonio's. Don't think that will be happening anytime soon! If anything our's is about 1/3 the size of San Antonio's. There's is now almost 3 miles long, with the recent extensions through the convention center.

Yeah, you're right. We do copy too much. Even our canal is a copy. Problem is, when we copy, our copies are usually on a miniature scale. I guess Randy could've become more original. Personally, I don't know why we needed to distinguish it from Bricktown. Just call it all Bricktown. Everyone else will anyways.

[HOT ROD]

I think the idea of Lower Bricktown stems more from LoDo in Denver than it does anywhere else. In LoDo (which stands for Lower Downtown), there are shops, restaurants, venues, and Coors Field. LoDo is also supposed to be the "original" downtown Denver. Can you all see the parallels to Bricktown [ie, restaurants, nightclubs, venues, and Bricktown Ballpark; and Bricktown was the "original downtown OKC"]?

Personally, I like the idea. LoBrick is different from Bricktown as the focus is more venue and retail vs. nightclub, bar, and restaurant. The feel is more inclusive of families and tourists, while the main Brick is more for locals, perhaps?

I like the synergy that is ocurring in Bricktown and I hope it continues on the current scale. Hopefully, OKC will have NO CHOICE but to create another downtown Entertainment District. There had been a push to create a WestTowne Entertainment District (which would exist west of the Arts District). You and I remember this area as pretty much slumville where the OKC County Jail is and numerous vacant warehouses and buildings. Hopefully, once Bricktown matures - development will have no choice but to come west. Then all of us would get our wishes, as downtown OKC would become multi-modal;

now we have a fledgling Arts District, a developing Deep Duece, a pretty nice CBD, a very nice Entertainment District-Bricktown, and a more local oriented Auto Alley district in our downtown neighbourhood. Imagine the addition of the Deep Duece Town Centre which looks like it will happen plus WestTowne Entertainment District (perhaps more adult oriented with Casinos, Bars, Nightclubs, and so on - I know Rob Anderson would second this!!). Downtown would be fully functional with entertainment in every direction! I would say we would then be the envy of every city, not just Tulsa!

[HOT ROD]

Also, I think San Antonio is only twice as big as OKC! A great city very similar to OKC (just much older) but San An is smaller than #2 Dallas in TX, with 1.2 mil. San An has a great military presence (although it looks like OKC is syphoning off as much as it can) but the city is heavily moving toward tourism to offset losses, much like the case is here in Seattle.

We (in Seattle) envy Vancouver, BC for their highrise condos [Van City has half a mil people living in downtown alone, which is only a sq mile!], skyscrapers, subway and rapid transit, and asian commerce - so we try to do the same here [actually San Fran and LA also envy Vancouver, as it is known as the Manhattan of the West Coast with so many downtown residents].

Perhaps OKC is doing the same, matching related cities like San An and Denver [perhaps Indy?] which are close to OKC in size, history, topography [ok that is a stretch for Denver], population, and a general inter-dependance of the cities [corporate, military, governance]. Denver is heavily going after conventions, San An is going after tourism, OKC is going after both! It just parallels the situation out west where we look to larger cities for ideas then implement them locally.

Just as long as it works, I Like It!

[Patrick]

Hot Rod, you make some excellent points. The new name does distinguish the difference in the two areas, so I think that's good. And you're right....San Antonio is only twice the size of OKC, but their Riverwalk is three times as long as ours. But, it's also been there for 60 some years so they've had lots of time to develop it.

Yeah, I don't guess it's so bad to copy off other cities, as long as we make our own attraction unique. It seems like we're doing that with the Bricktown canal. San Antonio's Riverwalk has more of a Hispanic culture inmeshed with it, while our canal seems to be influenced by our culture....both in the Bricktown entertainment area itself and in the city as a whole.

I love the idea of having to create another entertainment district on the weast side of downtown. I didn't ever realize there was a push to do that. The Arts District, although nice, could use so much more. We need more art galleries, and recording studios, and theaters. I'd like to see a town square in the Arts District that features nothing but art studios, galleries, music stores, venues that offer piano and other instrument lessons, singing lessons, and the like, arts and craft stores, etc.
Restaurants could include artistic designs inside and out (via architecture). The cafe at the OKC Art Museum is a good example of the types of restaurants that could locate in the district.

Personally, I think the Deep Deuce area still needs to be developed further. The BBQ restaurant and cafe that are there are great! Not sure if you've ever eaten at Dee Deuce Rib Palace, but it's probably the best BBQ restaurant in town, and the environment in fantastic....it's quiet and relaxes, and takes on the persona of Deep Deuce.

Deep Deue Town Centre sounds exciting. I can envision more of these types of restaurants there, plus unique stores, and possibly jazz clubs and bars. I definitely think Deep Deuce needs to keep its Jazz heritage.

[floater]

This relates to the MAPS III topics, but I actually don't want to see another entertainment district in the arts district. Let Bricktown have the entertainment concept. What we really want (when we say "entertainment district" )is a lively pedestrian-oriented neighborhood. We can have that with the tenants Patrick listed.

The arts district should develop a master plan that involves attracting university branch development (as discussed in the MAPS III thread) complemented with galleries, studios, the creative business incubator, live/work lofts, performance group offices, and creative firms such as that film studio in the Fred Jones building. Mall/courtyard some of the shorter streets. Put in some pocket parks. If we allow room for one-two more museums and fill in existing buildings with cafes and stores, we can have a more authentic "entertainment" district.

Some ideas for the anchors:

OSU HRAD school
OU/OSU Urban Design Collaborative
Downtown College Consortium (again, change the name)
Westside Studios Creative Incubator
Culinary school
International Photography Hall of Fame (yep, from the Kirkpatrick Center)
Oklahoma Gazette

OSU/OU/OCU MBA Business Center would be more appropriate in the CBD. And I was thinking recording studios and talent agencies, but they're better off in Bricktown, where they can be close to the venues.

[mranderson]

How about this? A rehersal hall center where local performers can lease rehersal halls for anything from a string quartet to a broadway production. Have office space available for related businesses and a gallery of stores featuring local art etc.

Would that be Soho?

[floater]

Yes! Rehearsal space! It doesn't even have to be a new building, but a renovated one. Well, you wonder who would pay for such a project. Again, maybe the universities' musical and dance departments could take the lead, and lease out space to small dance schools and musical groups. MAPS III could enter the picture, but defending the economic benefit of such a project would be difficult.

[Patrick]

All of your ideas sounds great! And yeah floater, you're right....not sure we'd wantit to become an entertainment district. Just a more developed arts district. It surely needs a better name than just "Arts District." You guys have any ideas on names? If so, I'll mention them to Mick Cornett.

[HOT ROD]

Floater, please understand that West Towne would be west of the Arts District.

West Towne was a concept that was created years ago but has not really taken off (primarily due to MAPS and the creation of Bricktown) as the city wants to focus its energy on one Entertainment District. You know that OKC has many other districts other than Brick (like Little Asia, Capital Hill, Stockyard City, Eastside, N Classen, NW 39th Gay Lesbian district, N Western [little Tokyo?], others?) but these districts are not so popular because OKC wants to focus on Brick. There are other districts in downtown but you dont hear OKC promoting them either!


What I was saying, was that as Brick fills-up [which hopefully the synergy will continue and it will fill up in five years] - OKC should focus on the other districts around town and really energize the West Towne Entertainment District concept. I will try to find the info on the web about it, but from what I read - West Towne was an attempt to clean-up the slum areas west of the current Arts District. If you look at the boundaries of the Arts Dist, none of it lies in a slum. Take the western boundary of the Arts District and go to Western and you have West Towne.

I don't see a problem with OKC having two (or more) Entertainment Districts. Bricktown is more family and tourist oriented. I say we could make West Towne more local and adult oriented. Dont get me wrong, I do not mean lots of strip joints (although I think at least one is needed, we are a big city! and what better place to put it and than by the jail/police station), I mean over 21 emphasis! It would not compete with Brick, it would complement it!

People talk about Brick being family oriented and so forth (and I agree) but we have to realize that not everyone is into that all-of-the-time, and some people want more adult like things to do. We want to cator to ALL people and have them downtown (and get their tax dollars) so why not have West Towne cator for them?

Besides, I think Bricktown is being OVERUSED!!! It is the hottest name in the city yet businesses two or more miles away are calling themselves Bricktown. Even web sites are calling downtown OKC, Bricktown. This is NOT TRUE! Brick is part of Downtown!

And OKC is big enough to support another downtown entertainment district. West Towne may not even have to follow a western theme. It could be modern, with a more European feel - that cators to the Yuppie croud. Apartments near West Towne (but technically in the Arts District) are being built to appeal to this croud. Why not create a district as such for them?

This may not be completely true in OKC but I remember as a young adult I wanted to do things without having kids around all of the time. You guys remember! So, why not capture this market in downtown? And it is by the police station anyways and it cleans up probably the most notorious slum in OKC [the west downtown]!

What do you guys think? I will try to find the info on West Towne. I wish I had bookmarked what I read a year ago about it.