Yeah, I’d definitely like to see that equipment removed from top of the old Telephone Building. I didn’t realize it was not being used for anything. Whenever I pass by, I think it looks like an abandoned beehive.

I’d like to see more of the shopfronts occupied and increased pedestrian activity.

I agree with Brandon. That is actually a nice looking building, except for the ugly microwave equipment (I think) on the top. Wait…a nice looking old building downtown? Someone demolish it quickly! We need room for another amphitheater!

Does the Devon tower count towards the $2 billion?

I’d like to see a famous Okie musical celeb take up permanent residence downtown… I’d like to see one end of the Bricktown canal cross under the tracks to the CBD, and the other end to the river… I’d like to see more street weirdos, and spontaneous art events…

Yes Jeff, it does. But I didn’t include the new I-40. If I did, the number would go much, much higher.

OKC needs an entertainment district to make recent college graduates want to stay and work here. Oklahoma City is too boring for anyone to want to stay here. All of the graduates I knew from OU moved to Dallas and it wasn’t because of their jobs there, a lot of them could have had better jobs in OKC but wanted to have a fun social life and be able to go to fun restaurants and bars instead of the same place every single weekend.

Jeff, have been to the Plaza District recently? Some folks are comparing it to OU’s campus corner’s glory days…

Being social is very important to my age range and OKC just doesn’t provide what we are looking for.

Does it not have what you want, or have you not found what you want? There’s sometimes a big difference between the two…. What are you looking for Jeff?

I think OKC has what I want just not enough variety. I wish OKC could have 2 more Iguanas, two more Stellas, 2 more Novas with bigger patios, 2 more Speak Easys, a 2011 Diamond Ballroom.

My ideal going out location would be a bigger Deep Deuce Grill (inside and out) and a bigger Blue Note with a patio.

My ideal would be less impractical (people) like Jeff who want but don’t contribute anything. if you want something, make it happen, don’t whine. (STEVE’S COMMENT: Alice, please refrain from name-calling. For what it’s worth, Jeff does represent a part of the community and I think it’s helpful to delve into these perceptions and what’s behind them)

How can I as a 23 year old guy out of college for 2 months contribute? What is impractical about wanting more variety in the types of restauraunts and bars I attend?

Jeff, I think what “Alice” is communicating is a frustration with the idea that there is nothing to do in Oklahoma City when those of us who are Gen X or older see the glass as well past “half full” while Gen Y sees it as being half empty. There are those of us who remember when there REALLY was nothing to do in OKC. I welcome this discussion – it’s a good one to have. So let’s start off with how you spent your Friday night. Did it involve going to the Plaza District? If not, watch this – http://vimeo.com/21017108 – and share your thoughts.

Being really, really old, I see the glass as being too big for its contents.

Hey Steve, just ran across this article. I try to visit your blog regularly for updates on the city and downtown. Since I’m doing a lot of video and have pretty big plans for the Spring/Summer, I found this post to be very interesting. I’m on OKCTalk and do the Devon construction videos. I’m planning on doing some historical oriented documentary type stuff when it warms up (and stays warmed up). I haven’t talked to you at all though, but we have the same interests. Get ahold of me when you get a chance and I can get into details. I’m also following the India Temple demolition with regular video updates over at OKCTalk. I’ve been studying and collecting every old photograph and learning about all the buildings that once stood and are still found downtown. By the way, feel free to use embed anything of mine from OKCTalk. I put those out for everyone and mainly for those out of the state to show what we have to offer. Thanks!

Here’s some photos of the Pioneer Building.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Old%20Oklahoma%20City/Pioneer%20Building/pioneerattbuilding.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/Old%20Oklahoma%20City/Pioneer%20Building/pioneerbuilding.jpg

I wish I could go back on what I said because I love Oklahoma city, I don’t think it’s boring I just get tired of going to the same places all the time. Last friday night a group of friends and I walked to dinner at Texadelphia and then went to the Pat Green concert at Wormy Dog, it was a great Friday night. Nights like this aren’t the norm though. I am not trying to be negative about Oklahoma city I just know what people my age like to do and OKC has that but it needs more. We can’t afford to go to Red Prime, Cheevers, West, Iron Starr all the time and we have exhausted Iguana, Deep Deuce Grill, Texadelphia, 1492, Irmas, etc. How awesome would a place like the Mont, good food and a place to stay for drinks until close, be across from Iguana? The nice Oklahoma City restauraunts are too expensive for us on a consistent basis so it leaves us going to chains or going to the places we go all the time. I think we have all traveled to numerous college towns and all the local restauraunts in those places and we just don’t get how a town like Lubbock, college station, Lawrence, etc have cooler, more fun restauraunts than OKC does. I want a strip like western with good restaurants, some with outdoor seating, that turn into nightlife spots around 10. Please don’t think I just want bars where everyone is getting as hammered as they can, just nice bars where there is music and tables to sit and socialize.

If you can’t find anything to do in OKC then you don’t know the town. My wife and I are both in our 30s without kids and we find stuff to do every weekend. I look forward to the weekends where I can work on my house. Jeff, move to the inner city and just explore. You will be shocked by what you find.

Well, Jeff, you’ll be happy to know that the patio at the Blue Note will be opening soon … so maybe that’s a small step in the right direction for you!

Jeff, Mcsmellies will be closing down Walker on Thursday. IMO, it is every bit as good as O’Connells in Norman. Last year we started there, went to the rooftop at Cafe du Brazil for a Caprihinia and then got dinner at 1492. The point is Midtown is a sweet district whose potential isn’t even close to being realized. It’s barely a blip on the radar.

I think it is a really good time to be living in OKC. If you are aggressive and a hard worker, you can really make a mark on this town.

Matt, I live in Deep Deuce. I went to the block party last year and will be there this Thursday, it was a blast last year. I think my biggest thing with OKC is that there is not a lot of variety more than I think its just this awful, boring place. No one goes out in Bricktown which basically leaves Western for my age group. We all love Plaza District but are you going to go out at Irmas, 1492, or Stella? Those are great places until 9:00 but where do you go after? I think Plaza District is definitely headed in the right direction and I know I need to be patient but right now its not a place where you go out, its a place you go to dinner. I am very excited about Louies though and see that being a place you spend your night. Western has Speak, COTW, Nova, the Sip, and I count Ednas as Western but that’s it. I know I am speaking for my age group and don’t represent it as a whole, but for the most part people like to go to more than one place a night. We like to go to Nova and then Speak or Speak then Edna’s. When you like to rotate you are constantly rotating to the exact same places of which are always cramped and not big enough for the amount of people they let in. It wouldn’t be a big deal if you could rotate areas instead of bars. I wish downtown would develop a “Western” preferably 7th and 8th Streets in Automobile Alley or the area on Walker between 5th and where Plaza Court starts. How awesome would The Mont be across the street from Iguana? Or a Blue Note type place with a patio/stage? It would be nice to have a weekend where I didn’t have to think about going to Western because there was another area.

Jeff,
I am in the same boat as you. A lot of my friends moved to Dallas after OU, but I moved to midtown OKC. It’s not Dallas, but it’s getting a lot better really quick. You can see the change daily. I have a great time without the pretension of Uptown Dallas.

Steve, the Plaza District is off to a good start, but there’s still almost nothing to do there. Not a hood comparison. Plaza Court, Western and such are better recommendations until Plaza actually gets bars, restaurants, places to go.

Why haven’t they either torn down or refurbished the \old\, \ugly\, \eyesore\ water tower that is behind the jail (west of the jail)?

“…2 more Novas with bigger patios…” If an image scimmage is what you’re after, Dallas is probably more your speed.

What do you mean by image scimmage? I am not literally saying I want two more Novas, I meant two more bars that would become nightlife destinations as Nova is.

Jeff, don’t apologize for your comments. It has prompted a good discussion. Trust me, I know Oklahoma City isn’t perfect. And there is a constant battle going on between those who want to open things up, to foster diversity and creativity, and those who want to keep things very controlled and in order. Please believe, I know this very well….

I was on a walk with my girlfriend who lives in Legacy and I had her walk with me by all the Preftakes property. Talk about an area that has some potential. I was thinking how cool it would be if they turned the Hightower building into residential or even office space and then the buildings along Main Street into a mixture of retail and restaurants. You could have entrances to the stores/restaurants in the alley and on the front side along Main Street. You could have a couple of little boutiques, maybe 2 restaurants, and say a Hobbies Hoagies type place. I think the alley would be kind of cool and different.

I think I was mistaken when I said the Hightower building. The building I am talking about is right across the street from the Devon workout facility that is on Hudson but closer to Main instead of Sheridan. Hopefully people know what I am talking about. Sorry for the confusion. I think the building I am talking about is the old hotel that is used for parking now.

You should do a Prohibition Room/ Cookies night. That will be an eye opener for you. If you want good blues you should try the Blues Saloon on 10th, West of 10 Penn. RePUBlic in Classen Curve.

I don’t really care for battling Bricktown on the weekends, but JJ’s Alley Pub is really cool.

IMO, Dallas is a big OKC. Both are automobile based. It is worse to get around in Dallas, costs more and worst of all, you are in Texas. If you are going to go Texas, do Austin. That’s a town with character. Otherwise, aim high and go to San Fran or New York. New Orleans would be better.

As an Oklahoma expatriate living on the east coast, I feel like Oklahoma is missing a large amount of young professionals. There are bright spots in OKC such as areas of Midtown and Deep Deuce, but it is very disconnected. There are few areas that you can go to a nice dinner and then walk to the bar or club afterward. I think OKC lacks a lot of the chic environments that you find in areas that have a large number of young professionals.

While it is not an easy or instant fix, the one thing I would change would be for the city to have more educated industry that brings a significant number of young professionals to the city. I feel like that help with many other areas.

I’m in my mid 30′s and I agree with Jeff. I can’t afford the affluent restaurants and want more to do and see in our nightlife scene. That, and I get bored hitting up the same places and trust me I diversify myself and try out new places quite often. We either have the douchebag central areas (NOVA), the more affluent places (RedPrime, Deep Fork) or the tourist areas (bricktown). We need more diversity is what I think Jeff is meaning to say. Why don’t we have cool, hip spots to hang in that are smoke free? Why don’t we have bigger patio’s at more affordable spots which help draw a community together—think Sauced patio without the horribly slow service– Steve you suggest more than once that the Plaza District is the place to go and I can’t think of any reason to go there if it’s not their monthly late night weekend event. It needs a few restaurants, a few bars, and the like to draw comparison to Dallas.

Once the park downtown is finished I really hope to see people of all ages hanging around there with all the concerts (free ones too!!) that will be there, along with new eateries that will pop up around the area, etc. We have a ways to go but Jeff give it time. I’ve been here entirely too long and it took me a few good years to fall in love with this town. Put forth into what you want to get back out of it.

I would also like to see that equipment on top of the Telephone Building to be removed! (:
Also, I would like to see more highrises go up in downtown; make the skyline more expansive and prominent.

Jeff,

Plaza District, is a different place then Plaza Court in Midtown–(its confusing, we know). We are on NW 16th between Classen and Penn. We will be adding “16th Street” to our name. Anyhow, come this end of this spring, the 16th Street Plaza District will be home to Saints, a restaurant and pub…as well as another concept which we will be announcing soon (with a fabulous patio!). We also have a possible third concept coming later this year as well.

http://plazadistrict.wordpress.com/

Hope you all will come visit!

That is very exciting for the Plaza! I’ve always thought restaurant was the only part of that mix that was missing. That could be huge on those summer nights when 16th is lined with people everywhere, and music everywhere. Restaurants could be good venues for more great music on 16th..

Jeff,

Be patient. Just look at all the places you hang out at. None of them were around 5 years ago. There are new places popping up every few months.

I have started driving around on Saturdays and hitting all of the crazy ethnic places for lunch. You can go from great Guatamalen food, to spicy Thai, Indian, or great Lebanese food. Most of these great ethnic places weren’t around 5 years ago.

As far as night life goes. I see all the new apartments in Deep Deuce creating a need for fun bars and restaurants. They will fill in quickly and I think that Auto Alley will be the place to be in 3 years.

So, just be patient Jeff. I get the urge to move away often, but then I take a drive around and see what all has changed.