In this thread we say nice things about Bricktown

[Patrick]

Comment with your positive comments about Bricktown.

[metro]

It keeps downtown hopping during otherwise slow times.

[writerranger]

It has completely transformed Oklahoma City.

[floater]

Bricktown has such different personalities in different parts -- a club district on Sheridan, fun family-friendly stuff in Lower Bricktown, live outdoor music on the northern canal, fine dining on the corner of Mickey Mantle and Sheridan, baseballland with the park and Mickey Mantle's.

From 9 to 11PM, it's a place to be seen. You know you'll get an audience when you ride the limo, tricked-out car, or bike.

[Patrick]

Can't beat that beautiful baseball park right in the middle of it all.

Can't beat the lovely canal.

How about the UHaul building? I've always thought the spinning UHaul truck on top was unique.

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

It's nice...

[Karried]

Love it at night, when it's warm and balmy.. I could sit out on the canal listening to the bands all night. (I love the jazz band in front of the cigar bar).

I loved it when the Christmas tree was lit and I loved it on New Year's Eve when the ball fell. I love all of the holiday lights.

People are always well behaved. You would think it would be scary but it's not at all. Everyone is well mannered and I've never felt afraid once.

Mostly, I love walking out with 19K other Hornet's fans after a game that we won.

[brianinok]

I like that it gives downtown a place that it always busy-- very few downtowns are like that, especially for cities our size.

I like that it has contributed greatly to downtown's renaissance, and the entire city's renaissance. People all across the country are beginning to find out about OKC, and Bricktown is one of the reasons why.

I like that you can drive down I-40 (the busiest east-west interstate in the country) and see that downtown OKC is a busy place.

I like that you can do various things for various prices. You can get a burger at Sonic and go to a movie, you can go to a baseball (or even basketball now) game, or you can drop a few hundred bucks at Mickey Mantles or Nona's.

[Moondog]

I particularly enjoy the view facing north from the theatre, with the deep deuce apartments in the background.

[floater]

I particularly enjoy the view facing north from the theatre, with the deep deuce apartments in the background.

Me too, with the fountain in the foreground.

[Patrick]

And you can't forget the lovely Miller Jackson Building over off to the left. Can't beat that!

[Dungeon Master]

Oh, we can't forget about the Dungeon.
Even though the gates are closed for just a bit longer (ride modification), a new suprise will be along the canal this summer/winter. A bit of free entertainment is in store.
The ride will open later part of MAY. Visit www.bricktownamusement.com for more info.

Dungeon Master

[The Old Downtown Guy]

My morning jog always includes some part of Bricktown and today I detoured through the open construction fence and over the Walnut Avenue Bridge as the last of the forms were being removed from the handsomely detailed concrete balustrade. A little more cleanup and installation of the replicated historic pole lights will have this reasonably accurate recreation of the former bridge ready for auto and pedestrian traffic. Its reconstruction restores a wonderfully unique connector between Deep Deuce and Bricktown, and the early morning view of the skyline from the crest of the bridge is one of the best around.

This once busy viaduct that witnessed the transformation of Oklahoma City from a thriving crossroads in the early 1900s into a run down backwater in the later part of the century and back again will soon begin its second life just as the whole of downtown is being reincarnated.

My gratitude and congratulations go to the handful of preservationists and railroad enthusiasts that went toe-to-toe with Public Works Director Paul Brum, Bricktown developer Jim Brewer and Councilwoman Willa Johnson, for preventing the misguided removal of the historic bridge and replacing it with a four lane street interrupted by an at-grade railroad crossing. Sometimes the good guys prevail.

[Patrick]

and Councilwoman Willa Johnson,

That's something that really surprised me. Seems like if ole Willa were doing what she was getting paid to do (represent her Ward) she would've been in favor of preserving the bridge.

That's a whole other discussion though.

[jbrown84]

Yeah I like the view looking up the bridge with the Deep Deuce Apartments in the distance.

[The Old Downtown Guy]

An addition to the list would be this year's crop of ducklings swimming in the canal. This morning I enjoyed seeing one of the little guys paddling and flapping his/her wings like mad, trying to take flight; then not being able to, slowing to a stop, resting a few seconds and trying it again. What a show.

Also, the construction of a grand entrance off the east parking lot adjacent to the monumental Land Run bronzes is well underway. It's pretty impressive. I look forward to the rest of the bronze pieces being installed. My favorite character in the cast is the rabbit on the west side of the canal, standing on its hind legs.

[The Old Downtown Guy]

Yeah I like the view looking up the bridge with the Deep Deuce Apartments in the distance.

Unfortunately, the Deep Deuce Apartments aren't much to look at.

Fortunately, within a year to eighteen months, lots of new residential construction will be filling in that view with a little more eye appeal.

[GrandMaMa]

I worked from 91 to 2001 in The West End Historic District in Dallas and see a lot of the similarities in Bricktown. As most of you probably know, The West End in Dallas is all but dead and buried. The Market Place (where folks, especially teenagers) could go and spend the day looking, fooling around and staying out of trouble..as good or better than any mall. You could watch everything from jewelry to fudge being made and then purchase same. Have your photo made with your family dressed in the old timey garb that made it so fun, and withing a few blocks, pick your dinner from a resonably priced menu that you could actually afford to treat your whole family. I saw, down through the years what politics can and does do. Lease prices all escalated out of reach, police looked the other way when infractions of the law occurred, so not to "offend" and run off the customers. Priviledges were meted out on whatever measuring stick was being used for that day. Violence was almost considered ambiance and part of the excitement of the West End. Parking costs became just abot as expensive as what was spent the rest of the evening. It seems as though every opportunity to squeeze another dollar out of a block of the area was taken advantage of, at the expense of the vendors. City permits [vending] were being sold (at a very handsome price, I might add)and then if the West End Assoc decided that they wanted to block off a part of the route that the vendors had paid a pretty penny on which to operate to throw a week long "Taste of Dallas" or BasketBall something or other, or put in a seasonal ice rink (which simply ruined the carrige business and their routes. My point is: One cannot sell the same piece of property, rights or right a ways to that property, operating rights through that property multiple times and expect vendors to stick around and have it stuck to them. It's no small feat or expense to acquire a vendors liscense in the West End and they are limited. Through all of this, I am trying to say that when priorities change from birthing and building & nesting and nurturing business, rather than completely milking the cow dry without feeding or watering her, the results are inevitable. I personally feel that all parking should be well placed and free of charge. The parking lots should be protected and appear so, 24/7. I am not nearly as familiar with BrickTown as I am/was with the West End, so if some of this information doesn't apply, so be it, I'm not saying that it all does. What I am saying is: We cannot forgot the old adage: You can sheer a sheep once a year, keep it comfortable and keep it coming back, you can skin it once, period!

[Karried]

Good post.. I do agree with the parking problem .. I've watched it go from I believe $3-$5 dollars a few years ago, to now $8-$10 bucks!

But, I guess we should focus on the good things about Bricktown in this thread and maybe start another thread about maintaining and nurturing ..

Another slightly off topic but that's a good idea about old fashioned photographs... I'll bet tourists would like to have commemorative photos in Cowboy garb & native American - maybe closer to the Cowboy or Native American museums though.. it might seem a little cheesy but people like to go on vacations and take pictures.

What about those photographers who snap a shot of the family, give you a number and then develop the photo and you can come back and buy it - right before a carriage or canal ride? It would also be cool to have a Hornet's backdrop on the way into the Ford center, take a photo and pick it up after the game.. I'll bet a lot of people would want a memory photo of their first game.. we just ned a cutout of Chris Paul! - Any photographers on board?

Okay, sorry - I'll get back to topic! Another thing I love about Bricktown is the Reggae Festivals!

[GrandMaMa]

Good post.. I do agree with the parking problem .. I've watched it go from I believe $3-$5 dollars a few years ago, to now $8-$10 bucks!

But, I guess we should focus on the good things about Bricktown in this thread and maybe start another thread about maintaining and nurturing ..

Another slightly off topic but that's a good idea about old fashioned photographs... I'll bet tourists would like to have commemorative photos in Cowboy garb & native American - maybe closer to the Cowboy or Native American museums though.. it might seem a little cheesy but people like to go on vacations and take pictures.

What about those photographers who snap a shot of the family, give you a number and then develop the photo and you can come back and buy it - right before a carriage or canal ride? It would also be cool to have a Hornet's backdrop on the way into the Ford center, take a photo and pick it up after the game.. I'll bet a lot of people would want a memory photo of their first game.. we just ned a cutout of Chris Paul! - Any photographers on board?

Okay, sorry - I'll get back to topic! Another thing I love about Bricktown is the Reggae Festivals!

Thank you for your response and yes, I was a bit off topic. I meant to imply that for the most part, Bricktown seems to be on the positive side of most of what I mentioned and that I would like to see it continue. I suppose this is something that I could "get off my personal duff" and attempt to actively preserve what has been started and not attempt to look ahead at the possible negative outcome of what I have seen in other areas when greed overcomes need. I tend to put everything that I have into a project that I might jump into, and at my age, I don't know how much of "everything" I have left to contribute.

[jbrown84]

I have to say that despite the disappointments with the Residence Inn, it looks SO much better to have something on the canal besides a parking lot, and I'm pretty happy with these 6 stories right up against the canal and the road into the Bass Pro lot.

[Flatlander]

Bricktown is a safe place for the family.The canal gives people a place to go explore all of the new things happing in Bricktown.Its very nice