Century Chest to be opened April 22, 2013

[Praedura]

RetroMetroOKC Meeting - Century Chest (October 7 2013) - a set on Flickr

Excellent!

This pic ought to warm the hearts of all the cycle enthusiasts on this board:

[Praedura]

Love this one too:



Trying to make out the signs. Hadley Inn (Madley Inn?). Okla Art Store.

I like the benches out in front. Apparently Better Block was active, even way back then!

Any history buffs care to clue me in about what these buildings are? For example, the large building in the forefront with the canopies?
What is the ornate building towering in the distance over Maxfield Dry Goods?

[Martin]

the tower looks like the original county courthouse. -M

[Praedura]

Another good one (left side of a large panoramic photo):




This pic pulled me into a bit of sleuthing. Because... I recently had come across a photo of a postcard being sold on ebay:




That postcard dates from 1910 -- pretty much the same time period. And the tall brick building in the center seems to be same as the one in the OHS panorama shot. It's a somewhat distinctive building: 5 story, brick, and with a truncated top floor. I'll call it the "Central Building" as it's in the middle of the postcard. I don't know what it actually was.

So, working on that theory, I stared and stared (and stared) at the panorama shot, trying to figure out where the viewpoint of the postcard would be. I assume that the postcard was originally a photograph that was then hand painted to add color for production.

I finally decided upon the ideal location where the photographer could be, and even made a close-up image with circle and arrow (pardon me, Arlo) to demonstrate. How anal is that? Some folks just have too much free time, I guess.




And, looking at it the other way around, I can surmise that the tall white building in the center-right of the postcard (whatever that building is) was probably the location where the OHS panorama shot was taken.

Anyway, that's my theory.

[UnFrSaKn]

Sorry I haven't checked this thread since I posted the photos. See the lower left corner? That's the dome of the Baptist White Temple, which was directly across from the Pioneer Building. It was built in 1907 and the tallest building at the time. Yes, before the Colcord. We were "geeking out" as Steve put it on figuring out what building it was, and what other buildings we could spot. Here's the memorial plaque that's still there in the little park East of the Pioneer Building.

[UnFrSaKn]

The one tall brick building looking towards the railroad tracks and Bricktown is the old Ice Factory. You can also see the dome in this photo too.


Pioneer Building is also on the left.





Here's another shot that shows the Baptist White Temple dome.



Yes the one building is the Old County Courthouse

[UnFrSaKn]

Here's another shot from this same angle looking West. Compare the church steeple on the far right.





The building on the bottom is the Carnegie Library. So it appears there was once a church where the Braniff Building stands today. That empty field to the West of the library is where the first Post Office would be built.