Update on Brewers/Bricktown

[metro]

NewsOK

Glad to see Sammy's Pizza and Peachwave Frozen Yogurt being added to the canalfront.

[betts]

Looks like this is it. I'm excited about the option of frozen yogurt in Bricktown.

Peachwave Self Serve Frozen Yogurt - About Us

[Steve]

I'm seeing a definite transformation taking place with the Brewers. This ought to be interesting...

[sroberts24]

Anything is an improvement!

[Watson410]

My company recieved a call from Brent about a month ago to put in a bid on adding two restrooms at Sammy's Pizza and we won the bid... I believe we should be starting on it soon.. I'm not sure if we've looked at the frozen yogurt place yet, but if it's anything like Pink Swirl, that should be a GREAT addition to Bricktown!

[Spartan]

Watson, be sure and use eco-friendly toilet fixtures, etc.

That would REALLY be the day, with the Brewers. Can I go ahead and get my hopes up?

[Watson410]

Watson, be sure and use eco-friendly toilet fixtures, etc.

That would REALLY be the day, with the Brewers. Can I go ahead and get my hopes up?

Haha, they'll be "water saver" toilets... That's about as eco-friendly as it'll be unless we're told otherwise between now and then... it'll be 1.6 gpf (gallons per flush) instead of the usual 3.5 gpf.

[Steve]

Spartan, come on now...

[CuatrodeMayo]

I will not patronize unless there are WATERLESS URINALS!!!

[Steve]

Cuatrode, I suspect we'll end up frequenting different eateries from here on out...

[Watson410]

I will not patronize unless there are WATERLESS URINALS!!!

Those are DISGUSTING!!! Besides the fact the person using it doesn't have to touch it... Not many places have waterless urinals.

[Spartan]

How about this: A porta-potty behind the counter. It's cheap, it's easy, it's green..

Spartan, come on now...

Well I just figured in addition to making up for Jim Brewer's legacy as a land squater, the two should also feel obliged to make up for their dad's legacy as an oil man.

Not really..

[jbrown84]

Looks like this is it. I'm excited about the option of frozen yogurt in Bricktown.

Peachwave Self Serve Frozen Yogurt - About Us

Wish it was a Pink Swirls, or better yet, a REAL Pinkberry!

Watson, be sure and use eco-friendly toilet fixtures, etc.

That would REALLY be the day, with the Brewers.

I will not patronize unless there are WATERLESS URINALS!!!

Did I miss something..?

[Dustin]

Those are DISGUSTING!!! Besides the fact the person using it doesn't have to touch it... Not many places have waterless urinals.

UCO.. They are everywhere.

[okcboy]

Give me some details explaining Jim as being a land squater and whats wrong with being a oil man?

[Urbanized]

I've gotta say, saying that Jim's legacy was "land squatter" us an unfair and incomplete portrayal. It's fair to say that during his last few years his "developer" tag was out of date. It's also fair to say that he should have been doing more with his relatively derelict buildings on the canal, as Brent himself says in Steve's story.

But anyone who watched Bricktown develop in the late '80s and into the '90s, love Jim or hate him, will admit that he was probably the most significant driving force behind the district's momentum. And personally, I think a case can be made that the development of Bricktown is perhaps the most important piece of the cultural change in OKC that led to MAPS and our city's downtown renaissance. If you're connecting the dots, I think you can draw a line between Spaghetti Warehouse and O'Brians, straight through to the Skirvin, Kevin Durant and Devon Tower. You might laugh at me, but at least I'm in good company. Steve and Jack Money did exactly the same thing in OKC: Second Time Around.

When you consider all factors, "promoter" is probably a more apt description than "developer," but to call him a "land squatter" only pays attention to the final years of his life. His legacy involves a lot more than those years.

[jbrown84]

Good words, Urbanized. Brewer did some great things and some bad things. But Bricktown owes a lot to him for being what it is.

[okcboy]

Well said. He would of agreed with "promoter".

[Spartan]

Expectations in Bricktown are a very funny thing.

[Urbanized]

Well, I'm not really talking about expectations. I'm not even trying to make out Jim to be some sort of hero. Actually, if anything, he might be more accurately thought of as an antihero, in the literary sense. I'm just saying his story is more complicated than the way you've portrayed it.

But if you want to talk expectations, I would only say that while he may have failed to meet the expectations we have today for downtown development, our expectations would not be this high if he and a precious few others had not gotten the ball rolling more than 20 years ago. THAT, I think, is his legacy.

[Steve]

I'm in somewhat of unique position here. I knew Jim Brewer and reported on him from 1996 until his death in 2008. To be frank, there were times when Jim Brewer took to yelling and cursing me. I think though, at the end of the day, he always knew I was dedicated to playing fair with him, even at times when I was doing some scathing stories on some of his dealings.
That said, Brewer had another side as well. He could also be one of the friendliest, warmest likable guys around. Yes, there were, at times, two Jim Brewers. But in the era before Urban Design, it was Brewer who turned down offers by advertisers to pay big bucks to paint advertisements on brick walls. It was Brewer who fronted the money to start up the big festivals that helped turn Bricktown into a brand. And it was Brewer who, yes, would do everything he could to plead, urge, persuade and con others into investing and taking a chance on Bricktown. It was Brewer, skeptical of MAPS, who still agreed to donate $50,000 to a campaign that was far from certain success. I have no doubt he loved Bricktown, even if he conducted himself in ways I wouldn't always agree with.
Neal Horton clearly had higher standards when it came to renovating and restoring the old buildings. And his vision was inspiring. But at the end of the day he wasn't able to sell his dream. I know for a fact Brewer paid close attention to Horton's plans, studied them, and adapted them to his way of doing things.
Have no doubt: Horton was founding father of Bricktown. But it BREWER who created Bricktown, the entertainment district.
I was humbled that as he was dying, after all of our ups and downs, Brewer allowed me to tell his life story. And when you hear that story - one that I can't imagine having survived - you begin to understand why the Jim Brewer story is a bit more complicated than one might suspect.
For what it's worth, despite the yelling, the cursing and the calls to my editor demanding my head on a platter, I miss Jim.
His legacy is far more than that of a squatter.

[okcboy]

Very well said Steve. I think there ended up being a mutual respect of you two at the end. In the early days I remember Urban Renewal/Second Century (ladies naned Jackie and Tiana maybe) wanting to get involved with Bricktown and Jim stepped in and didn't let this happen. That could of played out interesting. He also was the first leasee of the Will Rogers airport oil fields. Rumors say the city have recouped royalties in the 30-40 milllion plus off these deals. Those are two good acheivements in any one lifetime plus his various others. I think this is a better place because of people like him.

[OKC Heel]

So is the Sammy's Pizza the same Sammy's Pizza they have at the otherwise forgettable OK state fair?

[Steve]

Yep

[Spartan]

Jim Brewer was sort of reminiscent of the absolute good ol' boy. A lot of people don't like good ol' boys, it's easy to get on their bad side, and they typically don't see things the way that normal people see things. But it goes without saying that they're usually not nearly as bad as people who don't know them make them out to be.. I don't know Jim Brewer, never met him once in my life, I've just met dozens of people who have told me stories of how Brewer mildly screwed them over.. people from former tenants, advertising people at the Gazette, people who dealt with him in the oil business, and so on..