How did you come to love OKC or cities in general?

[Pete]

I posted the on the Century Center thread, in response to a really sentimental article by Berry Tramel, and it made me think about how I got so hooked on all the building and OKC stuff.

In addition to what I write below, I used to go to the architecture library at OU and read the books and magazine. This was back when it was in the north end of the stadium. I loved all the pictures and plans... I remember looking through the original Pei Plan they had on file.

And while I was in business school I just knew I wanted to be in commercial real estate. I went around and talked to developers, property managers and brokers. I ended up taking a job right of school with what is now CB Richard Ellis as a commercial broker, and real estate has stated in my blood.

Anyway, here's what I wrote. Do remember how you go into all this stuff??

**********************

I think for many of us, going downtown as young kids creates a feeling of awe that can stick with you for life. I know I've always had it since we used to go pick my grandmother up at the train station back in the lat 60's and early 70's. And then when I went to my first events at the Myriad starting in the early 70's.

And I later loved working there for the some reasons mentioned by Berry. It was like a small town. When I graduated OU in '82 and started working down there I saw tons of people I had gone to college with and got to know a bunch more in social circles. Then, I'd run into them down there or we'd have a mutual friend... It's always nice to see familiar faces.

I've been hooked on downtowns and cities since those first visits. When my family would travel, I'd always ask my dad to take small side trips to city centers and he always obliged: Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis and even Chicago. And as a young college student, I went to go see the model on display in is what is now Corporate Tower; it showed not only what would be Oklahoma Tower but a 50-story building where the library now stands and the infamous Galleria Mall. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen, and the leasing agents there were really nice to me as they could see my passion.

And the Century Center has special meaning to me too because my first job out of college was in the top floor of the little Oil & Gas Building on the NE corner of Main and Sheridan, directly across from that complex. Ate many lunches in there and later loved looking through Taylor's Newstand. But of course, mostly it was a dark, depressing place.

My company moved into Leadership Square and were one of it's first occupants. That was exciting stuff but because the economy was poor, it mainly just sucked existing tenants out of other buildings and in some ways contributed to the demise of some older structures.

[zookeeper]

I posted the on the Century Center thread, in response to a really sentimental article by Berry Tramel, and it made me think about how I got so hooked on all the building and OKC stuff.

In addition to what I write below, I used to go to the architecture library at OU and read the books and magazine. This was back when it was in the north end of the stadium. I loved all the pictures and plans... I remember looking through the original Pei Plan they had on file.

And while I was in business school I just knew I wanted to be in commercial real estate. I went around and talked to developers, property managers and brokers. I ended up taking a job right of school with what is now CB Richard Ellis as a commercial broker, and real estate has stated in my blood.

Anyway, here's what I wrote. Do remember how you go into all this stuff??

**********************

I think for many of us, going downtown as young kids creates a feeling of awe that can stick with you for life. I know I've always had it since we used to go pick my grandmother up at the train station back in the lat 60's and early 70's. And then when I went to my first events at the Myriad starting in the early 70's.

And I later loved working there for the some reasons mentioned by Berry. It was like a small town. When I graduated OU in '82 and started working down there I saw tons of people I had gone to college with and got to know a bunch more in social circles. Then, I'd run into them down there or we'd have a mutual friend... It's always nice to see familiar faces.

I've been hooked on downtowns and cities since those first visits. When my family would travel, I'd always ask my dad to take small side trips to city centers and he always obliged: Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis and even Chicago. And as a young college student, I went to go see the model on display in is what is now Corporate Tower; it showed not only what would be Oklahoma Tower but a 50-story building where the library now stands and the infamous Galleria Mall. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen, and the leasing agents there were really nice to me as they could see my passion.

And the Century Center has special meaning to me too because my first job out of college was in the top floor of the little Oil & Gas Building on the NE corner of Main and Sheridan, directly across from that complex. Ate many lunches in there and later loved looking through Taylor's Newstand. But of course, mostly it was a dark, depressing place.

My company moved into Leadership Square and were one of it's first occupants. That was exciting stuff but because the economy was poor, it mainly just sucked existing tenants out of other buildings and in some ways contributed to the demise of some older structures.

Great stuff Pete. Thanks, too, for pointing me to the Berry Tramel column. I had trouble getting the NewsOK site to fully load, so I went to the Google cache and read it that way. Great article! Tramel's a guy I haven't always agreed with when it comes to sports analysis, but he's a great writer and I really enjoyed this non-sports piece. Nice reflections of your own above.

[turnpup]

My fascination with big cities started when I was very young. We lived in a small town of about 5,000. My aunt, uncle and cousin lived in Irving, TX, and we'd go to see them several times per year. While never enamored with Irving, I always LOVED Dallas proper. The hustle and bustle. The skyline. The skyline at night! There was something special about that place. I wanted to live there.

So I got my parents to let me go down there for college and I high-tailed it out of Oklahoma, with the intent never to return. This was right at the end of the 80s, when OKC was probably at or near its rock-bottom. I spent five years living in the heart of Dallas, loving every minute of it--hanging out at all the cool and trendy places, getting to be a part of all the revelry when the Dallas Cowboys won the national championship twice, just fully embracing being a Texan. It was fantastic.

Circumstance brought me grudgingly back to Oklahoma for law school, but I swore I'd once again be back in Dallas in three short years.

But something happened during those three years. First, the bombing. Then, the resurgence. It was like I woke up one morning and realized, "Hey, I LIKE it here!" People are nice. We are getting really good restaurants and stores. I can actually afford a house--now.

Over time, OKC became my true home. I no longer fantasize about moving back to Dallas. It's really not the same city I left. It's gotten too big for my comfort level. The last few times we've been there, it's been a sea of traffic and congestion. I'm happy right here. We have a great little life.

[TexanOkie]

My parents are from the South Side of Chicago, so we'd go visit often growing up. I loved being able to walk everywhere and being in the concrete canyons in the Loop. Unfortunately, we lived in DFW suburbia. On the bright side, though, for a while my dad worked in downtown Fort Worth, right when Sundance Square and surrounding areas were going through their renaissance. To this day, I still love Fort Worth, and hope Oklahoma City emulates it in many ways.

Something that also greatly contributed: my love of old 1920's-1950's culture. The movies, music, etc. from that era often took place in pre-suburbia (as we know it) cities that still had active, mixed-income neighborhoods.

[Teo9969]

I'm (almost) 27, born and raised in NW OKC (PC North graduate via James L. Dennis Elementary) went to school at OCU, and the only times I've ever really been out for an extended period were spending 10 weeks helping run a summer camp in CO at 20 y/o, 10 weeks traveling in Europe at 25 y/o, and 14 weeks living in Buenos Aires at 26 y/o.

When I was in High School the "I'm getting the hell out of Oklahoma, Oklahoma sucks" attitude was very prevalent, but I've always valued human relationships more than anything else so I always held the position of "What does OKC *REALLY* lack that you can't find in a lot of bigger cities". Sure there are no mountains/beaches, but we have always had acceptable amenities I used to think. Over the last 5 years I've realized how much we didn't have and still don't have, but I don't think it's ever been so bad to warrant so much consternation…especially from 16 - 18 y/o who couldn't do much anyway with the lack of money and having to answer to parents. So all that to say: I've always stuck up for OKC and wanted to see it do well because It's home, and it's where my most meaningful and important relationships have been built.

My fascination with cities probably began when I went to Dallas sometime in high school…We were driving in downtown and I was in the back seat…when all of the sudden I see this building with green lighting around the edges. I slowly traced the green upward and realized my neck was starting hurt and I still hadn't reached the top. In fact, I hit a barrier when I realized the top of the building was hidden in a blind spot above the car. I was absolutely enamored by the height of the building (Bank of America Tower in Dallas is still one of my favorite buildings in the world). Some 5ish years later in the middle of undergrad, Devon tower was announced and I was ECSTATIC. OKC was going to have a huge building and our skyline was going to expand.

I followed the tower's development occasionally from afar, came across OKCTalk, but didn't think much of anything until 3 years later. 3 years later (2011) I started reading different topics on OKC Talk, and became intrigued that the city was more than just Devon Tower. Started posting later that year and over the last 3 years have come to realize how fascinating development is…how much it ties to the human experience, economics, politics, art, etc. I think it has been the passion of this particular community (OKCTalk specifically) that has made me come to "LOVE" OKC and cities in general. I was able to better appreciate and understand my travels in Europe because of the time I had spent on this board, and it gave me a vocabulary to parse what I was experiencing that I wouldn't have had had I gone 3 years earlier.

So thank you OKCTalk….you all have enriched my life in ways you didn't even know.

[RadicalModerate]

I grew up, in what was then a small college town, about thirty minutes from Denver. Occasionally, as a child, the family would drive to downtown Denver to see a first run movie at one of the classic, massive theaters. We'd also go to Denver around Christmas when they would light up the Civic Center. It was always a thrill to be surrounded by all the tall buildings and bustling hoards of people at all time of day. Later, as a teenager, maybe once a month, my friends and I would drive to Denver just to hang out and walk around. Just after that, we'd go down on Colfax and hit all the burlesque bars (drinking on a fake ID).

When I moved to OKC, around 1973, it was like culture shock. As compared to Denver, downtown was like a deserted slum at night--no life or action at all. Although I only get downtown a couple of times a month, I am so thankful that so many people have comitted themselves to the rebirth of this fine city.

I have to add that the only other big cities with which I've had even passing experience are Minneapolis and St. Paul. I like both of those cities for different reasons, but I like St. Paul better because it is more "historical" and "rustic." One thing about a visit up there is that it makes one realize that Oklahoma City, per se, is a fairly small town. There are various sections of both of those cities--for example "Nordeast" Minneapolis--that are as big as the entire downtown part of OKC. And there are lots and lots of those sections. The fact that OKC is relatively small is one of the things I like about it.

[bchris02]

I became fascinated with cities when I was very young. I spent a lot of time in Phoenix early in my childhood and I remember really loving it. Through most of my childhood though I lived in various small towns until I was 12 and moved to OKC. My parents prefer rural areas though so we moved back to rural America about five years later. When I was in college I took a trip to Houston and really fell in love with major cities. I loved the energy there and wanted badly to live in a major city after college. A friend of mine was about to move to Austin and we planned to room together there but he got a girlfriend and decided not to go. Since I didn't have a job lined up, I couldn't go either. Some unique circumstances landed me in Charlotte and I loved every minute of it. It was there that I really began keeping up with development and real estate as a hobby. Charlotte was/is a boomtown so its a very exciting place to be in that regard. My job situation there turned sour during the recession though so I was forced to come back to Oklahoma. That decision turned from temporary to semi-permanent to very permanent.

OKC is a lot smaller and slower pace than my ideal city so I wasn't particularly thrilled about that. However its cool to watch the city slowly transform before my eyes. It really will not be long before OKC reaches the same quality of life and level of amenities other mid-sized cities offer. This city also has a lot of hidden gems that some people who have lived here their entire lives don't know about. I hate when I hear people say "there is nothing to do in OKC." There is plenty to do here, it just takes some effort to find it. Many times people who say that don't have an answer when you ask them what it is they want to do.

I really like turnpup's story and how he begrudgingly moved back to OKC but eventually came to really like it and it became his/her home. I still on many days fantasize about moving back to Charlotte or to Dallas or Austin, but not quite as often as I did my first two years back here. I am not sure if I will be here for life but I will for the foreseeable future. I hope to eventually reach that point where I no longer fantasize about living somewhere else.

[turnpup]

BChris, when you put down roots and perhaps become a parent sometime down the road, you'll likely get to that point. Having a people-centered connection to this place does wonders toward eliminating wanderlust.

[ShadowStrings]

I am an infrequent poster and am relatively new to the site, but I think this thread is the essence of why I read OKCTalk on a daily basis.

I think my fascination with cities started when I was young, but I'm not sure why. I grew up in rural Oklahoma, but I always thought big buildings were cool. I always had fun drawing pictures of skyscrapers and skylines with buildings of different shapes and sizes. This fascination didn't manifest itself in a meaningful way until I visited NYC in May of 2012 as part of a week-long school trip (as a junior in college). I had been to New York and various cities before doing touristy things, but I had an incredibly surreal experience exploring New York and observing the urban lifestyle as an adult. I honestly can't explain the feeling. I always had an idea of how things were from pictures, movies, TV shows, and my own experiences, but experiencing the epitome of urban living was fascinating...truly surreal (you know--the warm bubbly feelings). It was exactly how I had imagined it and then some. My expectations were exceeded. Awesome; literally evoking awe. I was honestly blown away, even though I don't know why. I wasn't oblivious to what cities were like, but I think cities always seemed like something in my imagination because I so rarely got to experience them, and becoming an adult and experiencing New York properly for the first time (other than as a kid or just driving through) showed me what was attainable in my life as I finished up school.

Fast forward a few months to October(ish) 2012, when I was applying for internships here in OKC. During one of my on-site interviews, one of the people I had lunch with mentioned she had heard that there was going to be another new tower getting built downtown, but she didn't know any details (Devon tower was just getting its final touches, if I remember right). After searching the internet for concrete details, I stumbled upon the Mystery Tower thread, which I began to read religiously. What a great thread to start with to begin my OKCTalk experience.

After information started to slow down, I began reading some of the other threads. Needless to say, I started to obsess over downtown development. I got an internship here during the summer of 2013, so it was fun to experience some of the things that I had been reading about. I finally graduated with my master's degree in December 2014 and have been living in OKC since the beginning of the year (temporarily with a family member; hopefully moving downtown soon).

I flipping love OKCTalk, and I am so thankful for Pete and all of the other posters on this website. I have an appreciation for OKC that I never would have had if I had not found this site, and I love the perspectives that I have gotten from reading everyone's posts. I really enjoy traveling. I spent a semester living in Germany in 2011, and since finding this site, I have spent time in LA, NYC (again), London, Austria, and pretty much every big city in Germany (I was there again for over a month this last summer). OKC isn't and never will be at the same level of any of these cities, but having seen so many places and relating what I have learned from this site to the places I have been, I am really happy to call OKC my home. I grew up only visiting OKC occasionally, and I know a little bit about how far it has come in the 23 years I've been alive. It seems as though the momentum is really picking up in some really incredible ways. I look forward to growing up with this city.

I have a big family. I get a lot of questions about why I want to live downtown, why I would spend so much money on rent, etc. When I have the chance to talk about all of the cool things going on in OKC and in the near future, people have no idea. Even the relative I live with right now, who has lived in OKC for quite a while, was very ignorant about all of the changes downtown has experienced and will be seeing soon. I think it's crazy to think about how ignorant I would be as well if I had never found the Mystery Tower thread. Thank you, everyone, for your contributions to this website. I'm sure you know, but I will reiterate, that there are so many people who read this site regularly who never post. Keep up the good work, and continue to educate and inspire people like me.

[PennyQuilts]

My family bounced around quite a bit when I was young - Houston, Beaumont, Madisonville, Beaumont (again), Beaumont (different location), Beaumont (another different location), Mobile Alabama, Beaumont (again), Sour Lake. At age eleven, we moved to OKC. It was actually the first "City" I'd ever lived in when I was old enough to be aware of things like downtown (such as it was). I unexpectedly loved Oklahoma but especially loved not moving around anymore. Seemed like everyone I met had deeper roots than I did.

Married in my teens and promptly moved to San Antonio. Loved it - loved the River Walk and being so close to the Hill Country but when I got pregnant with my second child a year later, I got homesick so we came back and moved to Bethany.

Bethany has no personality.

All the same, I stayed there and raised all three of my kids in the same little house because I just wasn't interested in yanking them out of school and dragging them to someplace new. I wanted them to have deep roots and not always be the new kid. At the same time, I wanted to travel and see new places. I went to law school and truly pined for the missed opportunity of going to DC for the "big leagues" in terms of policy and public interest law. My kids were in high school and like I said, I wasn't going to move them.

At age 42, I remarried and like a dream come true, my new husband was transferred to DC. One of my daughters was accepted to Georgetown Law and the other two kids had gone to school and moved to the east coast so it was amazing how that all worked out.

First seeing the pristine parts of DC was mind blowing. It made OKC look so shabby and awful that I couldn't believe the difference. I made a point of going to as many of the fabulous museums and events as possible - it was such a fantastic experience to see the historical sites, the fire works shows, the White House, the Shenandoah Valley not far away, using public transportation was so cool, watching the protestors with their placards and enthusiasm - it was just so exciting and fun.

I got a "dream" job at a major government agency and was honestly stunned at how poorly run it was and how inefficient. The money that was wasted was simply unbelievable. The politics of middle and upper management (all gazillion layers) was a real eye opener. But beyond just having the common experience of having a "dream job" turn out to be a big disappointment, 911 hit and the agencies were completely unprepared. That day I never even saw a manager because they fled.

That changed so many things. It changed everything. Working in DC during the aftermath is hard to describe in terms of the angst and fear - everyone was convinced the next strike would hit at any time and an army of federal employees just fed off each other's fear. The Beltway sniper freaked everyone out and every time we turned around they were evacuating the buildings to check out anthrax threats. Not kidding. Armed camp. "Today, the terrorist alert level is Code thus and such..."

I ended up being transferred out of downtown (by choice) but that involved a several hour a day commute that required me to wake up at 5:00 and battle federal worker crowds on the way in, and hordes of loud, clueless tourists (and interns) who didn't understand escalator etiquette on the way home. I left the house at 6:00 AM and got home at 6:00 PM. That was insane so I changed jobs, again, and had to battle horrific car traffic day in, day out. I liked the new job but eventually opened my own firm and really enjoyed it for a long time. I found myself getting homesick, however.

Where I was living, housing was insanely expensive, people worked constantly, the long commute times cut into the time parents had to spend with their families, the weather was crap, traffic was horrible, blah, blah, blah. Remembering OKC's slow pace, bright blue skies, how February feels, affordable, well built homes, the excitement of local sports teams, our turbulent spring and fabulous June, actual "down" time, familiar streets, family, etc., started calling me home. And when I would come back for visits, the amazing changes being made in the heart of the City made me so proud it was as If I'd personally had something to do about it. For me, it was about finding those roots I missed as a kid. And coming back home was truly coming back home. I never want to leave.