Legacy: John Belt and The Paseo
Today friends and admirers will gather to say one last goodbye to John Belt, the man who more than anybody else made Paseo what it is today. As I noted in Tuesday’s OKC Central column, I first came to admire the man through a 1991 story written by the late great Mary Jo Nelson. You can read that story through this previous Sunday flashback.
And now, a look back at The Paseo before it was transformed by the master artist, John Belt:
Paseo as it looked in the early 1970s when John Belt began buying and renovating properties. The Spaghetti Factory, shown to the right, is the one building that hasn’t changed at all in the past 30 years.
Non-sensical intersections, awkward two-way traffic splits and angled parking with just two tight lanes make Paseo Drive an unlikely design for today’s engineers.
And now, back to the youthful early days of Paseo, then known as Spanish Village:
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Comments
I really appreciate your article about John Belt. I know Joy well. They were a great couple. We will miss John.
I enjoyed swimming at the Paseo Plunge when I was in Junior High in 1946-48…had a big crush on the lifeguard! I am so happy that people have worked hard to keep the Paseo area alive for all of these years. Thank you, Oklahoma City.
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