Rainy and Cold Saturday Afternoon Downtown

Posted by slackmeyer
on May 3, 2009M at 2:25 pm
Yes it’s cold and raining outside. Yes, I hear we’re all going to die from swine flu. Yes, we’re all broke. Yes, my entire profession is apparently going to be obsolete any minute.
Or maybe not. If you stay away from the television all day, an amazing thing happens: life is alirght. Things are good. I’ve got a great wife, I’ve got great sons, I’ve got a good home, I’ve got a crazy dog I love, I’ve got great job (even if it does get stressful and tiring at times), I work with smart, creative people and no ass-kissing involved, I’ve got a great boss.
 
Sometimes you just have to get away from all the negativity. And yes, you have to mix things up a bit. So I figured Saturday was perfect timing to grab a great bowl of chicken tortilla soup and chill out with some French press coffee at Beatnix, NW 13 and Robinson.
beatnix

Soup and french press coffee at Beatnix

I swear I think this was the best coffee I’ve ever had Dave is a friendly host at Beatnix, and it was great seeing a French club assembling there as the clock moved on from noontime to early afternoon. After lunch with my friend Martin (who has done wonders to www.okchistory.com, the site I operate on my own with Jack Money), I dropped in on the downtown housing tour.
library

Judy Hatfield gives a tour at Carnegie

What’s encouraging is that while the numbers on the tour are down (probably due to the weather), I saw some genuine potential buyers. I really enjoyed stopping in at the old downtown library, which Judy Hatfield is converting into retail and condominiums. Hatfield reports she’s been delayed by having to file a “friendly lawsuit” against the city and county to secure air rights for roof-top patios. That task is now completed, and Hatfield is still hustling to try to get construction underway by winter.

Downtown is still doing well. Sure things are a bit more uncertain these days, but what I saw yesterday indicates we’re far from dead.



Categorized under:
Central Business District, Downtown housing, MidTown

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Comments
Comment by Chad on May 3, 2009 @ 2:54 pm

That’s some great news about the Carnegie. I assumed it was a (hopefully temporary) casualty of the lending crunch, but it sounds like she’s continuing to move forward.

You’re right about Dave at Beatnix. Nice guy.

Comment by kent on May 3, 2009 @ 3:33 pm

Nice feature on BeatNix. Thanks for sharing with us your photos for the upcoming Book while at beatnix.

Comment by David on May 3, 2009 @ 4:55 pm

Hey Steve.
Beatnix is serving coffee from local micro-roasters “Elemental Coffee.”
Co-owner of Elemental, Laurent, offices with us on Film Row.
Their coffee is outstanding and they sell it by the bag as well!

Comment by Steve Lackmeyer on May 3, 2009 @ 5:59 pm

Yes, David, I should have mentioned that. Anyway, it’s darn good coffee.

Comment by Reggie Jet on May 3, 2009 @ 11:37 pm

It’s the first time I’ve had a chance to see the downtown housing (other than Park Harvey and The Legacy), and I have to say I was very impressed: with the design of the new digs, the floor plans, the variety of styles, and (most of all) the quality of all of this new construction. Can’t wait for them to start construction on The Leslie. It’s all coming together folks!

Comment by PLANSIT on May 4, 2009 @ 8:06 am

“and no ass-kissing involved, I’ve got a great boss.”

Sorry Steve, but this was kind of funny.

Comment by Steve Lackmeyer on May 4, 2009 @ 12:12 pm

Hey, you’ve not met Clytie Bunyan if you’re going to disagree.
Now I’ll add that prior to Clytie I’ve also had some horrible bosses.

Comment by PLANSIT on May 4, 2009 @ 3:09 pm

I was referring to the whole statement. No ass-kissing, then you mention how great your boss is on a blog, which could be seen as ass-kissing. I had a chuckle.

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