Bricktown is an entertainment district just east of downtown

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, United States. It was formerly a major

warehouse district This is a list of notable warehouse districts. A warehouse district or warehouse row is an area found in many urban setting known for being the current or former location of numerous warehouses. Logistically, warehouses are often located in indust ...

.Bricktown Entertainment DistrictTravelok.com
(accessed June 10, 2010). The major attractions of the district are the

Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark opened in 1998 in downtown Oklahoma City's Bricktown Entertainment District, replacing All Sports Stadium. It is the home of the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Ba ...

, the navigable

Bricktown Canal The Bricktown Canal is a canal in Bricktown, Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The waterway opened in 1999 and has become a popular tourist destination featuring many attractions. Downtown OKC Partnership and the Bricktown Association ...

, and the 16-screen Harkins movie theatre.

Boundaries and management

Bricktown Entertainment District includes some 50 square city blocks bounded between the

Oklahoma River The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering North ...

on the south, I-235 on the east, Deep Deuce District to the North, and the Oklahoma City Central Business District to the West. The general boundary of the Bricktown Core Development District (also known as Upper Bricktown) is as follows: An area bordered generally by the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

; Reno Avenue; Centennial Expressway; and the railroad right-of-way between Main and NE 1st. The district is administered by the Bricktown Urban Design Committee which was established by the City of Oklahoma City to oversee modifications to the buildings and new construction within the district. Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. (an arm of the

Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

) is charged with maintenance and operations of the district and oversees promotion alongside the Oklahoma City Tourism and Visitors Bureau. All entities are united with the ultimate goal of preserving Bricktown's historic 'warehouse district' flavor while allowing modern entertainment, commercial, retail, and residential development to flourish.

History

Four railroad companies had freight operations east of the Santa Fe tracks in what is now Bricktown in the late 19th and early 20th century.Blackburn, Bob,
History of Bricktown
,
Bricktownokc.com
(accessed June 10, 2010). The first brick structures, which were typically only one or two stories, appeared between 1898 and 1903. Larger brick buildings were constructed between 1903 and 1911, and the tallest brick buildings were built between 1911 and 1930. Working-class houses were built nearby. Oklahoma City's first black newspaper, the ''Black Dispatch'', was located in Bricktown at 228 E. First; it reported on the struggle to end racially segregated housing in the city. Also in that area was the first local chapter of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

(NAACP), founded in the early 20th century to work for the civil rights of African Americans. The decline of the area began with the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, which diminished businesses in the area. The growth of eastern suburbs and subsidized highways during and after World War II attracted many residents to newer housing. Railroads restructured and freight traffic moved to trucks and highways. By 1980, Bricktown had become a cluster of abandoned buildings. In the 1990s, mayor

Ron Norick Ronald J. Norick (born August 5, 1941) is an American politician. A Republican, he served as mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from 1988 to 1998. He is the son of James H. Norick, who served as Mayor of Oklahoma City from 1959 to 1963 and 1967 to ...

persuaded Oklahoma City residents to approve a series of tax incentives to lure new businesses, but these were not sufficient. A visit to

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, which had recently beat the city in a competition for a new airline maintenance plant, led him to believe that Oklahoma City needed a vibrant downtown. It lacked the range of activities and amenities to attract more residents and visitors. Along with Greater Oklahoma City Chamber President Ray Ackerman, Norick and their staffs developed the Metropolitan Area Projects or

MAPS A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

, which approval led to the construction of the Bricktown ballpark and a tree-lined, mile-long canal through the district, as well as other projects in downtown. The ballpark opened in 1998 and the canal opened in July 1999.

Water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

s carry visitors to different stops along the canal, including many restaurants, shops and nightclubs.

Arts and culture

The district contains a number of public sculptures and murals, including a monument to the Oklahoma

Land Run A land run or land rush was an event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened to homestead on a first-arrival basis. Lands were opened and sold first-come or by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run. The s ...

. The

Centennial Land Run Monument The Centennial Land Run Monument is an art installation by Paul Moore, located in the Oklahoma City Bricktown District, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It commemorates the Land Run of 1889 in the Unassigned Lands The Unassigned Lands in Oklaho ...

, a large bronze sculpture by artist Paul Moore, is at the south end of Bricktown Canal. It commemorates the

Land Run of 1889 The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands of former Indian Territory, which had earlier been assigned to the Creek and Seminole peoples. The area that was opened to settlement included all or part of Canad ...

, which marked the opening of the

Unassigned Lands The Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek (Muskogee) and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled. By 1883 it was bounded by the Chero ...

area to settlement. This area is now a city park, open 24 hours a day, year round, and there is no admission fee. An annual Bricktown Art Festival is held in mid-July.TravelOK - Bricktown Art Festival
(accessed June 10, 2010).

Transportation

Amtrak's ''Heartland Flyer'' service to

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

departs every morning from the old Santa Fe Depot, located by the west entrance to Bricktown, and returns in the evenings.

References

External links

*
Case, J. I., Plow Works BuildingAvery Building
First person interview conducted with Ray Ackerman on September 30, 2009. Original audio and transcript archived wit
Bricktown Urban Design Committee
{{Oklahoma City Busking venues Districts of Downtown Oklahoma City Economy of Oklahoma City Entertainment districts in the United States Historic districts in Oklahoma Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States Tourist attractions in Oklahoma City Warehouse districts of the United States