Bricktown |
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Bricktown began as a wholesale commercial district in the early days before statehood. It is in an area of town that was
the heart of four railroad companies' operations. The railroads carried the wealth of the new territory to world
markets. Cotton was the most important crop but other commodities carried to market were cattle, horses, grain, fruit and
produce. To accommodate this commerce a community of unique brick buildings was built east of the Santa Fe tracks. These buildings were abandoned after WWII when suburban sprawl and new industrial parks drew the commerce away and closer to cheap land and the growing trucking industry. Eventually efforts to revive the area were successful with new ideas for the old commercial district. Creative ventures brought the old brick buildings alive as offices, restaurants, gift shops, etc. A canal was constructed through the middle of the district and a tourist destination sprang up around it complete with a gigantic new movie theater, the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, and the Bass Pro Shop which is a tourist destination in itself. It is an area oozing with historic charm, with the old brick buildings, brick-laid streets, restaurants with every conceivable kind of food and the canal complete with boat rides and a river walk. The old abandoned wholesale commercial district is reborn as a popular tourist attraction. |
 Photo courtesy of Joseph Watson copyright 1999 |
Phone: (405) 713-1502 | Fax: (405) 713-2240