The Bricktown Historical Exhibit officially opened this week in the Bricktown Red Dirt Marketplace.  With photos, artifacts and even a diorama of the old MKT Railroad Depot, it’s sure to be a hit with Oklahoma City visitors and residents alike.

Here’s an interview with Retro Metro OKC President Steve Lackmeyer, who spearheaded the project.

1. Tell us about the Bricktown Historical Exhibit. The idea of a Bricktown historical exhibit dates back to conversations held two years ago (pre-dating Retro Metro OKC) with then Bricktown Association Director Jim Cowan and Chad Huntington, operator of the Bricktown water taxis and co-owner of Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Emporium and the Bricktown Red Dirt Marketplace (both located in the Miller Jackson Building along the canal). These conversations continued after the release of my book, “Bricktown,” but we could never pin down a location. With Retro Metro OKC having started a year ago and the marketplace opening up last spring, we regrouped our efforts. Huntington and his partner Bob Bekoff offered us a home for the exhibit in the marketplace.

The display consists of some pretty dramatic photos of Bricktown dating back to statehood, including a great panoramic from 1910, an aerial photo from the early 1970s, and a shortlived newspaper (The Bricktown Crier) that is a wonderful snapshot of the area in 1990 just as it was about to blossom as the state’s premier urban entertainment district. The display also includes artifacts from some of Bricktown’s oldest businesses and is home to a diorama of the old MKT Railroad Depot that stood approximately where the fountain is now in Lower Bricktown.

2. What do you find most interesting about Bricktown’s history? It was far more diverse than most folks realize. It was home to Douglass High School, there were residences scattered amidst all the industry, and that the Oklahoma River (then known as the North Canadian River) flowed across Sheridan Avenue approximately just north of where the IHOP is located today. This was a community where teams of players from the various warehouses and factories played in a baseball league and where kids lined up for free ice cream at the Steffen’s Dairy.

3. Can you tell us a couple of little-known facts about Bricktown’s history? It was home to one of the city’s most notorious brothels run by “Big Anne” Wynn. Her power and influence didn’t wane until her bordello was the scene of a murder and then was destroyed in a mysterious fire.

4. Who are some of your favorite Bricktown historical figures? Zelia Breaux was a legendary teacher at Douglass High School, and was a huge influence on the jazz scene, having taught Jimmy Rushing and Charlie Christian – two of the greatest jazz performers in U.S. history. But my favorite figure is Neal Horton, who is the true “father” of Bricktown. This son of a prominent banking family gambled everything to buy up endangered old properties in what was a forgotten wholesale district. He was ridiculed by city leaders and fellow developers. Back in the late 1970s the idea of buying up old warehouses, renovating them and turning the area into an entertainment destination was still pretty radical. His vision was correct – his timing was not. He was saddled with high interest loans that were prevalent in the early 1980s and he invested his money based on economic realities of the oil boom. He lost everything, and even ended up briefly homeless, when Oklahoma crashed and suffered what one must say was its own Great Depression in the mid-1980s. Without Neal Horton, I truly believe many of the buildings that make it special would have been lost.

Bricktown History Exhibit Photo Display

Century-old brick removed from California Ave. to make way for the Bricktown Canal

Antique signage from the Miller Jackson Building