Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state
of Oklahoma
. The county seat
of Oklahoma County
, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma City-Shawnee
Combined Statistical Area
had a population of 1,322,249 residents. Oklahoma City's city limits extend into Canadian
, Cleveland
, and Pottawatomie
counties, though much of those areas outside of the core Oklahoma County area are suburban or rural (watershed
). The city ranks as the eighth-largest city in the United States by land area (including consolidated city-counties
; it is the largest city in the United States by land area whose government is not consolidated with that of a county).
Oklahoma City features one of the top livestock markets in the world. Oil
, natural gas
, and petroleum products are major industries of the economy (the city is situated in the middle of an active oil field and oil derricks dot the capitol grounds). The federal government
employs very large workforces at Tinker Air Force Base
and the United States Department of Transportation
's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
. (These two sites house several offices of the Federal Aviation Administration
and the Transportation Department's Enterprise Service Center, respectively.)
The city was founded during the Land Run of 1889
, and grew to a population of over 10,000 within hours of its founding. The city was the scene of the April 19, 1995 bombing attack
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
, in which 168 people lost their lives. It was the worst terror attack in the history of the United States before the attacks of September 11, 2001, and remains the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
Oklahoma City lies along one of the primary travel corridors into Texas and Mexico, and is just hours by car to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Located in the Frontier Country
region of the state, the city's northeast section lies in an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers
. Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by nine strong tornadoes, eight (E)-F4's and one F5. On May 3, 1999 parts of southern Oklahoma City and nearby communities suffered one of the most powerful tornadoes on record, an F-5
on the Fujita Scale
, with wind speeds topping 318 mi/h. This tornado was part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak.
" was opened for European-American settlement in an event known as "The Land Run". Some 10,000 homesteaders settled the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900. Early leaders of the development of the city included Anton Classen, Henry Overholser
and James W. Maney
.
By the time Oklahoma was admitted to the Union in 1907, Oklahoma City had surpassed Guthrie
, the territorial capital, as the population center and commercial hub of the new state. Soon after, the capital was moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City was a major stop on Route 66
during the early part of the 20th century; it was prominently mentioned in Bobby Troup
's 1946 jazz classic, "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66
", later made famous by Nat King Cole
.
Before World War II, Oklahoma City developed major stockyards
, attracting jobs and revenue formerly in Chicago
and Omaha
. With the 1928 discovery of oil within the city limits (including under the State Capitol), it became a center of oil production. Post-war growth accompanied the construction of the Interstate Highway System
, which made Oklahoma City a major interchange as the convergence of I-35, I-40 and I-44. It was also aided by federal development of Tinker Air Force Base
.
As with many other American cities, center city population declined in the 1970s and 80s as families followed newly constructed highways to move to newer housing in nearby suburbs. Urban renewal
projects in the 1970s, including the Pei Plan (Oklahoma City)
, removed many older historic structures but failed to spark much new development, leaving the city dotted with vacant lots used for parking. A notable exception was the city's construction of the Myriad Gardens and Crystal Bridge
, a botanical garden and modernistic conservatory
in the heart of downtown. Architecturally significant historic buildings lost to clearances were the Criterion Theater, the Baum Building, the Hales Building, and the Biltmore Hotel.
In 1993, the city passed a massive redevelopment package known as the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), intended to rebuild the city's core with civic projects to establish more activities and life to downtown. The city added a new baseball park; central library; renovations to the civic center, convention center and fairgrounds; and a water canal in the Bricktown
entertainment district. Water taxis transport passengers within the district, adding color and activity along the canal. MAPS has become one of the most successful public-private partnerships undertaken in the U.S., exceeding $3 billion in investments. As a result of MAPS, the population living in downtown housing has greatly increased, together with demand for residential amenities, such as grocery, services and other retail stores.
Since the MAPS projects' completion, the downtown area has seen continued development. Several downtown buildings are undergoing renovation/restoration. Notable among these was the restoration of the Skirvin Hotel in 2007. The famed First National Center is being renovated.
Residents of Oklahoma City suffered substantial losses on April 19, 1995 when Timothy McVeigh
set off a bomb
in front of the Murrah building
. The building was destroyed, more than 100 nearby buildings suffered severe damage, and 168 people were killed. The site has been commemorated as the Oklahoma City National Memorial
and Museum. Since its opening in 2000, over 3 million people have visited. Every year on April 19, survivors, families and friends return to the memorial to read the names of each person lost.
The "Core-to-Shore" project was created to relocate I-40 one mile (1.6 km) south and replace it with a boulevard
to create a landscaped entrance to the city. This also allows the central portion of the city to expand south and connect with the shore of the Oklahoma River. Several elements of "Core to Shore" were included in the MAPS 3
proposal approved by voters in late 2009.
region in the center of the state, making it an ideal location for state government.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 621.2 square miles (1,608.9 km²), of which, 607 square miles (1,572.1 km²) of it is land and 14.2 square miles (36.8 km²) of it is water. The total area is 2.28 percent water.
Oklahoma City lies in the Sandstone Hills region of Oklahoma, known for hills of 250 to 400 feet (121.9 m) and two species of oak: blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) and post oak (Q. stellata). The northeastern part of the city and its suburbs fall into an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers
.
The city is roughly bisected by the North Canadian River
(recently renamed the Oklahoma River inside city limits). The North Canadian once had sufficient flow to flood every year, wreaking destruction on surrounding areas, including the original Oklahoma City Zoo. In the 1940s a dam was built on the river to manage the flood control and reduced its level. In the 1990s, as part of the citywide revitalization project known as MAPS, the city built a series of low-water dams, returning water to the portion of the river flowing near downtown. The city has three large lakes: Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser, in the northwestern quarter of the city; and the largest, Lake Stanley Draper, in the sparsely populated far southeast of the city.
The population density
normally reported for Oklahoma City using the area of its city limits can be a bit misleading. Its urbanized zone covers roughly 244 sq mi (632 km²), compared with larger rural areas incorporated by the city, which cover the remaining 377 sq mi (976.4 km²) of the city limits.
Oklahoma City is one of the largest cities in the nation in compliance with the Clean Air Act
.
, with frequent variations in weather daily and seasonally, except during the consistently hot and humid summer months. Consistent winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help temper the hotter weather. Consistent northerly winds during the winter can intensify cold periods.
The average temperature is 60.2 °F (15.7 °C), though colder through the winter months, with a 36.7 °F (2.6 °C) average in January, and warmer during the summer months, with an 82 °F (27.8 °C) average in July. Extremes range from -17 F to 113 °F (45 °C) on February 12, 1899 and August 11, 1936, respectively. The city receives about 35.9 inches (912 mm) of precipitation annually and 8.6 inches (21.8 cm) of snow.
Oklahoma City has a severe weather
season from March through August, especially during April and May. Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year. Oklahoma City has become one of the most tornado prone cities in the United States. Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by nine violent tornadoes, eight F4's and one F5. On May 3, 1999 parts of southern Oklahoma City and nearby communities suffered one of the most powerful tornadoes on record, an F-5
on the Fujita Scale
, with wind speeds topping 318 mi/h. This tornado was part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak.
Construction on Devon Energy Corporation's new headquarters will be complete in 2012 and is planned to overtake the Chase Tower as the tallest in Oklahoma City and Tulsa's BOK Tower
as the tallest in Oklahoma. In fact, the finished Devon Tower
would be the tenth tallest building west of the Mississippi River, standing at 850 feet (259.1 m) tall with 52 floors.
Downtown Oklahoma City
is currently undergoing a renaissance, one of the largest in the nation. Middle-class moves during the 1950s and 1960s left much of the inner city abandoned, and retail services declined. During the urban renewal of the early 1980s, almost 50 historic buildings and skyscrapers were demolished as part of the overall plan. Examples include the Biltmore Hotel, which made way for the I. M. Pei
-designed Myriad Botanical Gardens, but this was at least a major urban renewal project completed as planned. Others were not, leaving vacant lots where buildings had stood. Many of the historic buildings remaining in the Central Business District were covered by new façades or adapted as Class-C office space. The removal of historic structures, which followed the decrease in population, left downtown without many retail options.
, the racial composition of Oklahoma City was as follows:
Source:
As of the census of 2000, there were 506,132 people, 204,434 households, and 129,360 families residing in the city. The population density
was 833.8 inhabitants per square mile (321.9/km²) with 2,317.4/mi² for an urban area that occupies a small portion within the city's incorporated limits, which cover hundreds of square miles of rural land. There were 228,149 housing units at an average density of 375.9 per square mile (145.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.4% White
, 15.4% Black or African American
, 3.5% Native American, 3.5% Asian American
, 0.1% Pacific Islander
, 5.3% from other races based on persons indicating only one race category on Census forms. 5.6% of the population were two or more races. 10.1% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos
of any race.
There were 204,434 households, 30.8% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. One person households account for 30.7% of all households and 8.8% of all households had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the 2000 Census Oklahoma City's age composition was 25.5% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
The 1999 median income for a household in the city was $34,947, and the median income for a family was $42,689. Among full time employed persons, males had median 1999 earnings of $31,589 compared to $24,420 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,098. 16.0% of the population and 12.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.0% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
In June, 2007, the U.S. Census announced its estimate population of 547,274 and that Oklahoma City had grown 1.4 percent between July, 2006 and July, 2007. Since the official Census in 2000, Oklahoma City had grown 8.1 percent, according to the Census Bureau's estimates.
, South Side Locos,GBC (grand barrio central) and Juaritos have become active in the city and are the primary retail distributors of crack cocaine. Cocaine abuse is prevalent among adult male arrestees in Oklahoma City. According to data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring system ("ADAM"), almost one-quarter (22.4%) of adult male arrestees in Oklahoma City tested positive for cocaine in 2000.
The DEA Oklahoma City District Office reports a steady increase in the number of major crack distributors who are associated with violent Los Angeles-based street gangs such as the Bloods and Crips. Gangs operating in Oklahoma City are involved in violent acts such as drug-related shootings, drive-by shootings, and robberies. Bloods BK, Crips CK, Grande Barrios culoeros (aka "GBC" or "Centrals"), and South Side Locos present the greatest challenge to Oklahoma City law enforcement. The ongoing war between the GBC and South Side Locos reached national attention in 2007 when a Locos member opened fire on GBCs inside the city's Crossroads Mall, putting many shoppers in harm's way. The scene was witnessed by an Oklahoma County Sheriff's Deputy, who ordered the shooter to drop his gun. He did not, and the Deputy exercised deadly force, killing the 15-year-old gang member with a single shot, an ugly scene caught by the mall's surveillance cameras and broadcast on the History Channel documentary series Gangland
.
The South Side Locos are still considered one of the city's most violent gangs. Oklahoma City Police estimate that on any given night, as many as 6,000 gang members may be out on Oklahoma City streets.
With regards to Mexican drug cartels, Oklahoma City has traditionally been the territory of the notorious Juarez Cartel
, but the Sinaloa Cartel
has been reported as trying to establish a foothold in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City also has its share of very brutal crimes, particularly in the 1970s. The worst of which occurred in 1978, when six employees of a Sirloin Stockade restaurant on the city's south side were murdered execution-style in the restaurant's freezer. An intensive investigation followed, and the three individuals involved, who also killed three others in Purcell, Oklahoma
, were identified. One, Harold Stafford, died in a motorcycle accident in Tulsa not long after the restaurant murders. Another, Verna Stafford, was sentenced to life without parole after being granted a new trial after she had previously been sentenced to death. Roger Dale Stafford
, considered the mastermind of the murder spree, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary
in 1995.
At the same time, the Oklahoma City Police were battling a still-unsolved serial murder case that dates from at least as early as 1976 and as late as 1986. During that time, at least three women were horribly dismembered and parts of their bodies left throughout an area between downtown and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
. Oklahoma City Police believe they were being watched by the killer, as they found body parts in areas they had already searched. The cases remain open and actively investigated by the OCPD.
The economy of Oklahoma City, once a regional power center of government and energy exploration, has diversified to include the sectors of information technology
, services, health services
and administration. The city has two Fortune 500
companies: Devon Energy Corporation
and Chesapeake Energy Corporation
, several others that are in the Fortune 1000 and a number of large privately owned companies. Oklahoma City is home to the corporate headquarters of Sonic Drive-In
, whose office building and corporate restaurant is located in Bricktown
. Devon Energy revealed plans in August 2008 for a new 850 feet (259.1 m) tall, 1900000 square feet (176,515.8 m²) headquarters building in downtown Oklahoma City. The new skyscraper
is currently under construction and is expected to be complete in 2012 and open in 2013.Continental Resources
will move more than 250 employees from Enid to it's new headquarters in downtown Oklahoma City in 2012.
Other large employers in Oklahoma City include Tinker Air Force Base
, the federal government
, the University of Oklahoma
, the University of Central Oklahoma
, American Fidelity, AT&T
, AAA
, Bank of America
, Bank of Oklahoma, The Boeing Company
, Braum's
, Dell
, The Hertz Corporation
, Farmer's Insurance, Integris Health, The Hartford
, JP Morgan Chase, Mercy Heath System, Sprint/Nextel, St. Anthony Health System, Williams-Sonoma
, Xerox
, United Parcel Service
, Cox
, and the state of Oklahoma. Six Flags
at one point was headquartered in Oklahoma City but relocated to New York City on January 27, 2006.
According to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the metropolitan area's economic output grew by 33 percent between 2001 and 2005 due chiefly to economic diversification. Its gross metropolitan product
was $43.1 billion in 2005 and grew to $61.1 billion in 2009.
In 2008, Forbes
magazine named Oklahoma City the most "recession proof city in America". The magazine reported that the city had falling unemployment, one of the strongest housing markets in the country and solid growth in energy, agriculture and manufacturing. However, during the 1980s, Oklahoma City had one of the worst job and housing markets due to the bankruptcy of Penn Square Bank
in 1982 and then the post-1985 crash in oil prices.
Through zoning regulations, historic districts, and other special zoning districts, including overlay districts, are established. Oklahoma City currently has three Business Improvement Districts, including the Downtown Oklahoma City.
See: Neighborhoods of Oklahoma City
for information on other cultural and historic districts and neighborhoods of the Oklahoma City, such as Western Avenue, and Stockyards City.
The Film Exchange District, a component of the Downtown Business Improvement District, encompasses 42 square blocks and lies between Classen Boulevard and Walker Avenue along Sheridan Avenue. It is also bordered by S.W. 2nd Street, S.W. 1st Street and Colcord Drive.
The district's history includes the likes of Warner Bros.
, Paramount Pictures
, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, and Fox Films
starting with silent films. The first film exchange appeared in Oklahoma City as early as 1907, and in 1910, the General Film Exchange was established on West 2nd Street.
Paramount Pictures operated at 123 SW 3rd and by 1929 relocated to 701 W. Grand (Sheridan Ave.), now in the heart of the Film Exchange District and backed the opening of the Plaza Theatre in 1935. By 1930, most studio offices had moved along what is now Sheridan Avenue.
The 1930s came to know the area as Film Row, where theater owners came to screen and lease films for their movie houses. J. Eldon Peek, a graduate student of Oklahoma State University
, and his wife Maxine opened the Oklahoma Theatre Supply Company and Missouri Theatre Supply Company at 708 W. Grand (Sheridan) in 1930. By 1988, she and her granddaughter Sharon Allen were still operating the business, which closed in 2004. The Peeks landed contracts to install sound systems in former silent theatres across Oklahoma and relocated to their newly constructed building at 628 W. Grand (Sheridan) in 1946.
In the 1950s, cable television first came to Oklahoma in Bartlesville
, where the "Telemovies" system was started by Video Independent Theatres. Television and the advent of new technology and introduction of inexpensive air freight, hurt the film exchange business and by the 1970s and early 1980s, film row became a haven for bars, prostitution and drugs.
Several of the historic buildings in the district are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
In August 2011, Oklahoma City: Film Row was published under Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series. The book was written by historian Bradley Wynn.
. The museum features visiting exhibits, original selections from its own collection, a theater showing a variety of foreign, independent, and classic films each week, and a restaurant. OKCMOA is also home to the most comprehensive collection of Chihuly glass in the world including the fifty-five foot Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum's atrium. The newly renovated art deco Civic Center Music Hall
has performances from Oklahoma City Ballet and opera to traveling Broadway shows and concerts. Stage Center for the Performing Arts is home to many of the city's top theater companies. The building that houses Stage Center, originally called the Mummers Theater and designed by John M. Johansen
, is a modernist architectural landmark, with the original model displayed in MOMA
in New York City.
Other theaters include the Lyric Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre, the Kirkpatrick Auditorium, the Poteet Theatre and the 488-seat Petree Recital Hall, at the Oklahoma City University
campus. The university also opened the Wanda L Bass School of Music and auditorium in April 2006.
The Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex) houses exhibits on science, aviation, and an IMAX
theater. The museum houses the International Photography Hall of Fame (IPHF) that exhibits photographs and artifacts from a large collection of cameras and other artifacts preserving the history of photography. IPHF honors those who have made significant contributions to the art and/or science of photography.
The Museum of Osteology
houses more than three hundred real animal skeletons. The Museum is a unique educational experience. Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7000 sq ft (650.3 m²). museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the world. Exhibits include adaptation, locomotion, classification and diversity of the vertebrate kingdom. The Museum of Osteology is the only one of its kind in America!
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
has galleries of western art and is home to the Hall of Great Western Performers
. In contrast, the city will also be home to The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum that began construction in 2009, on the South side of Interstate 40, Southeast from Bricktown.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial
in the northern part of Oklahoma City's downtown was created and the inscription on its eastern gate says, "to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995". The outdoor Symbolic Memorial can be visited 24 hours a day for free, and the adjacent Memorial Museum, located in the former Journal Record building damaged by the bombing, can be entered for a small fee. The site is also home to the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a non partisan, non profit thinktank devoted to the prevention of terrorism.
The Oklahoma History Center
is the history museum of the State of Oklahoma
. Located across the street from the Governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City, the museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society
. It preserves the history of Oklahoma
from the prehistoric to the present day.
One of the more prominent landmarks downtown is the Crystal Bridge at the Myriad Botanical Gardens
, a large downtown urban park. Designed by I. M. Pei
, the Crystal Bridge is a tropical conservatory in the area. The park has an amphitheater, known as the Water Stage. In 2007, following a renovation of the stage, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park relocated to the Myriad Gardens. The Myriad Gardens will undergo a massive renovation in conjunction with construction of the Devon Tower directly north of it.
The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
is home to numerous natural habitats, WPA
era architecture and landscaping, and hosts major touring concerts during the summer at its amphitheater. Oklahoma City also has two amusement parks, Frontier City theme park and White Water Bay water park. Frontier City is an 'Old West' themed amusement park. The park also features a recreation of a western gunfight at the 'OK Corral' and many shops that line the "Western" town's main street. Frontier City also hosts a national concert circuit at its amphitheater during the summer.
Walking trails line Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser in the northwest part of the city and downtown at the canal and the Oklahoma River
. The majority of the east shore area is taken up by parks and trails, including a new leashless dog park and the postwar-era Stars and Stripes Park. Lake Stanley Draper is the city's largest and most remote lake.
Oklahoma City has a major park in each quadrant of the city, going back to the first parks masterplan. Will Rogers Park
, Lincoln Park, Trosper Park, and Woodson Park were once connected by the Grand Boulevard loop, some sections of which no longer exist. Martin Park Nature Center is a natural habitat in far northwest Oklahoma City. Will Rogers Park is home to the Lycan Conservatory, the Rose Garden, and Butterfly Garden, all built in the WPA era.
The City of Oklahoma City has operated under a council-manager form of city government since 1927. Mick Cornett
serves as Mayor, having first been elected in 2004, re-elected in 2006 and then again in 2010. Eight councilpersons represent each of the eight wards of Oklahoma City. City Manager Jim Couch was appointed in late 2000. Couch previously served as assistant city manager, Metropolitan Area Projects director and utilities director prior to his service as city manager.
The city has called on residents to vote for sales tax-based projects to revitalize parts of the city. The Bricktown
district is the best example of such a project. In the recent MAPS 3
vote, the city's fraternal order of police criticized the project proposals for not doing enough to expand the police presence to keep up with increased commercial activity.
Most neighborhoods in Oklahoma City lean Republican, but there are a few exceptions. The northeast portion of Oklahoma City and certain neighborhoods in the northwest are generally represented by Democratic state legislators. The Oklahoma City Council is non-partisan.
Oklahoma City University
, formerly known as Epworth University, was founded by the United Methodist Church
on September 1, 1904 and is renowned for its performing arts, medical services, mass communications, business, law
, and athletic programs.
The University of Oklahoma
has institutions of higher learning in the city and metropolitan area, with OU Medicine
and The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
campuses east of downtown in the Oklahoma Health Center and the main University of Oklahoma
campus located in the suburb of Norman
. The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
is one of the nation's largest independent medical centers, employing more than 12,000 people. OU is one of only four major universities in the nation to have all six medical schools. The third-largest university in the state, the University of Central Oklahoma
, is located just north of the city in the suburb of Edmond
, as is Oklahoma Christian University
, one of the state's private liberal arts institutions.
Oklahoma City Community College
in south Oklahoma City is the second-largest community college in the state.Rose State College
is located east of Oklahoma City in suburban Midwest City. Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City is located in the "Furniture District" on the Westside. Northeast of the city is Langston University
, the state's historically black college (HBCU). Langston also has an urban campus in the eastside
section of the city. Southern Nazarene University
, which was founded by the Church of the Nazarene
, is a university located in suburban Bethany
, which is surrounded by Oklahoma City.
Although technically not a university, The FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
has many aspects of an institution of higher learning. Its FAA Academy is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
. Its Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) has a medical education division responsible for aeromedical education in general as well as the education of aviation medical examiners in the US and 93 other countries. In addition, The National Academy of Science offers Research Associateship Programs for fellowship and other grants for CAMI research.
. The district's Classen School of Advanced Studies
And Harding Chater Preperatory schools ranks high among public schools nationally according to a formula that looks at the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by the school's students divided by the number of graduating seniors. In addition, Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School in OKCPS was named the top middle school in the state according to the Academic Performance Index, and recently received the Blue Ribbon School Award, in 2004 and again in 2011.
The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
, a school for some of the state's most gifted math and science pupils, is also located in Oklahoma City.
Numerous suburban school districts surround the urban Oklahoma City Public Schools
district, including Putnam City Public Schools in the northwest, Moore Public Schools in the south, and Mid-Del Schools in the southeast. The city boasts a number of private and parochial schools. Casady School
and Heritage Hall School
are both examples of a private college preparatory school with vigorous academics that range among the top in Oklahoma. Providence Hall
is a Protestant school. Two prominent schools of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
are Bishop McGuinness High School
and Mount Saint Mary High School
.
and Francis Tuttle Technology Center.
Private career and technology education schools in Oklahoma City include Oklahoma Technology Institute
, Platt College, Vatterott College, and Heritage College.
A nonprofit vocational training center for individuals with disabilities in Oklahoma City is Dale Rogers Training Center
.
is Oklahoma City's major metro newspaper and is the most widely circulated in the state. The Oklahoma Gazette is Oklahoma City's independent newsweekly, featuring such staples as local commentary, feature stories, classifieds, restaurant reviews and movie listings. The Journal Record is Oklahoma City's daily business newspaper and Oklahoma City Business is a bi-monthly business publication.
There are various community and international papers in the city that cater to the ethnic mosaic of the city; such as The Black Chronicle
, headquartered in the Eastside
, the OK VIETIMES and Oklahoma Chinese Times, located in Asia District
, and various Hispanic publications. The Campus is the student newspaper at Oklahoma City University. Gay publications include Gossip Boy, which despite its name has become known for adventurous undercover work and investigative journalism that has attracted a national audience, and The Gayly Oklahoman.
An upscale lifestyle publication called Slice Magazine is produced by local publisher Southwestern Publishing and circulated throughout the metro. In addition is a magazine published by Back40 Design Group called The Edmond Outlook. It contains local commentary and human interest pieces direct-mailed to over 50,000 Edmond residents.
Oklahoma City was home to several pioneers in radio and television broadcasting. Oklahoma City's WKY
Radio was the first radio station transmitting west of the Mississippi River
and the third radio station in the United States. WKY received its federal license in 1921 and has continually broadcast under the same call letters since 1922. In 1928, WKY was purchased by E.K. Gaylord's
Oklahoma Publishing Company and affiliated with NBC
; in 1949, WKY-TV went on the air and became the first independently-owned television station in the U.S. to broadcast in color. In mid-2002, WKY was purchased outright from the Gaylord family by Citadel Communications who owns and operates it to this day.
On July 3, 2008 the city of Seattle settled with the owners of the NBA
Seattle SuperSonics
franchise, allowing them to move the team to Oklahoma City for the 2008-2009 season. The relocated team was named the Oklahoma City Thunder
on September 3, 2008. The move gave the city its second 'permanent' major professional sports team after the AFL Oklahoma Wranglers
. The Oklahoma City Thunder is the third major team overall, considering the temporary hosting of the NBA New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets from 2005-2007.
Oklahoma City is home to several other professional sports clubs including the Oklahoma City RedHawks, a Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros
. Other teams include the Bricktown Brawlers
of the Indoor Football League
, and the Oklahoma City Lightning
of the Women's Football Alliance
. Starting in 2010-11, Oklahoma City will be home to the Oklahoma City Barons
in the American Hockey League
, which will play at Cox Convention Center
.
Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown
is the large multipurpose arena which hosts concerts, NHL exhibition games, and many of the city's pro sports teams. In the 2008 the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder
became the major tenants. Located nearby in Bricktown, RedHawks Ballpark is the home to the city's baseballs team. The Brick, as it is locally known, is considered one of the finest minor league parks in the nation.
There are several other stadiums and arenas in the city, including the arena inside the Cox Convention Center
, the State Fair Arena, Taft Stadium
, the Don E. Porter Hall of Fame
Stadium, and Abe Lemons Arena
which is located at Oklahoma City University
.
Oklahoma City is host to numerous major college and amateur sporting events. The major universities in the area - (University of Oklahoma
, Oklahoma City University
, and Oklahoma State University) - often schedule major basketball games and other sporting events at Chesapeake Energy Arena, although most games are played in their campus arenas.
The Oklahoma City University Stars has a slate of sporting clubs which play on campus including a top-rated rowing program which has events on the Oklahoma River. Of special note, the university had announced its desire to possibly enter the NCAA
during the 2007 athletic season.
Oklahoma City is the annual host of the Big 12 Baseball Tournament
, the World Cup of Softball
, and the annual NCAA Women's College World Series. The city has held the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball
First and Second Round and hosted the Big 12
Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments in 2007; the city will be the site again in 2009. Since 2006, Oklahoma City has been home to the annual Bricktown Showdown Triple-A Baseball Championship game.
Other major sporting events include Thoroughbred and Quarter horse racing circuits at Remington Park
and numerous horse show
s and equine events that take place at the state fairgrounds each year. There are numerous golf courses and country clubs spread around the city in addition to tennis clubs and high school level sporting activities including the well known "Polo Bowl" between Casady School (Cyclones) and Heritage Hall School (Chargers).
in New Orleans, Louisiana
, and surrounding area, the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association
temporarily relocated to the Ford Center, playing the majority of its home games there during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. The team became the first NBA
franchise to play regular-season games in the state of Oklahoma.
The team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and had adopted a split personality of sorts, wearing 'OKC neutral' home jerseys (with an OKC patch of sorts over an H-alternate jersey) and 'New Orleans' jerseys during away games.
Although some city officials wanted the Hornets to stay in Oklahoma City permanently, the team ultimately returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007-2008 season. The Hornets played their final home game in Oklahoma City during the exhibition season on October 9, 2007 against the Houston Rockets
, as a way to say thanks for the temporary hosting. The 'hometown Hornets' won the game 94-92.
announced they would relocate to Oklahoma City on July 3, and begin play at Oklahoma City's Ford Center in the 2008-2009 NBA season. The team left the franchise history and team name and colors in Seattle. The team became the fourth NBA franchise to relocate since 1985; the Kansas City Kings moved to Sacramento
, the Vancouver Grizzlies
to Memphis
and the Charlotte Hornets to New Orleans. The new name and color scheme for the Oklahoma City Thunder was announced on September 3; other finalists included Energy, Wind, Marshalls, Barons and Bison.
On April 18, 2008, the NBA gave conditional approval for the Seattle Supersonics
franchise to move to Oklahoma City for the 2008-2009 season provided the ownership could free themselves from the legal challenges that existed with the City of Seattle with a 28-2 vote by its board of owners.
On July 2, 2008 the City of Seattle reached an agreement to terminate the Sonics' lease and allow the team to relocate to Oklahoma City. Clay Bennett determined that as of July 3, 2008 the relocation of the now defunct Seattle SuperSonics would commence.
In April 2010 the Thunder secured a position in the NBA's Western Conference Playoffs, having their best season since the mid 90's and winning two games in a series against the defending champion Lakers. According to Forbes, the first year the team was in Oklahoma City, the Thunder earned $111,000,000 in revenue. This is considered to be an overwhelming success and ranks them in the 20th position in the NBA. The team's operating income of $12.7 million was on par with such old standards of the NBA such as the Boston Celtics who earned $12.9 million and far exceeding the net operating losses of the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers of -$17.4 and -$20.3 respectively.
Oklahoma City was home to the following defunct sports teams:
The city was also the temporary home of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets (known then as the "New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets") in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
.
, with three major interstate highways - Interstate 35, Interstate 40, and Interstate 44 - bisecting the city. Interstate 240
connects Interstate 40 and Interstate 44 in South Oklahoma City while Interstate 235
spurs from Interstate 44 in Northcentral Oklahoma City into downtown Oklahoma City. Major state highways through the city include the Lake Hefner Parkway (SH-74), the Kilpatrick Turnpike
, Airport Road (SH-152), and Broadway Extension (US-77). Lake Hefner Parkway runs through Northwest Oklahoma City while Airport Road runs through Southwest Oklahoma City and leads to Will Rogers World Airport
. The Kilpatrick Turnpike loops around North and West Oklahoma City and Broadway Extension connects Central Oklahoma City to Edmond.
and the much smaller Wiley Post Airport
(incidentally, the two honorees died in the same plane crash in Alaska
) Will Rogers World Airport is the state's busiest passenger airport, with over 3 million passengers annually. Tinker Air Force Base
, in East Oklahoma City, is the largest military air depot in the nation, a major maintenance and deployment facility for the Navy
and the Air Force
, and the second largest military institution in the state (after Fort Sill
in Lawton
).
has a train station
downtown, with daily service to Fort Worth and the nation's rail network via the Heartland Flyer
. Oklahoma City once was the crossroads of several interstate passenger railroads, but service at that level has long since been discontinued. Greyhound
and several other intercity bus companies serve Oklahoma City at Union Bus Station
, Downtown. METRO Transit is the public transit company, but is limited in its coverage of the city's main street grid. Due to the small number of bus routes offered, it operates a hub-and-spoke system that makes many journeys impractical. The bus terminal is located downtown at NW 5th Street and Hudson Avenue. A plan to improve the system is known as the Fixed Guideway Study.
Though Oklahoma City currently has no light rail or commuter rail service, there is growing interest in incorporating light rail and commuter rail into the city's future transportation planning. In December 2009, voters in Oklahoma City passed the $777 million MAPS 3
initiative, which will include funding for an estimated 5 miles (8 km) to 6 miles (9.7 km) modern streetcar in downtown Oklahoma City and commuter rail (the commuter rail component would be pending subject to federal and state funding). There is also a significant push for a commuter rail line connecting downtown with the eastern suburbs of Del City
, Midwest City
, and Tinker Air Force Base
. A short heritage rail line that will run from Bricktown to the Adventure District
in Northeast Oklahoma City is under reconstruction.
, an academic medical institution located on the campus of The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
, is home to OU Medical Center, The Trauma One Center, the state's only level 1 trauma center, The Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center, OU Physicians and OU Children's Physicians, the OU College of Medicine, and the Oklahoma Cancer Center. OU Medical Center Edmond, located in the northern suburb of Edmond is also part of the OU Medicine
family. Integris Health owns several hospitals, including Integris Baptist Medical Center, the Integris Cancer Institute, and the Integris Southwest Medical Center. The Midwest Regional Medical Center located in the city's Midwest City suburb, the downtown St. Anthony's Medical Center, Oklahoma Heart Hospital and the Mercy Health Center are other hospitals. There are 347 physicians for every 100,000 people in the city.
In the American College of Sports Medicine
's annual ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas on the basis of community health, Oklahoma City took last place in 2010, falling 5 places from its 2009 rank of 45. The ACSM's report, published as part of its American Fitness Index program
, cited, among other things, the poor diet of residents, low levels of physical fitness, higher incidences of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than the national average, low access to recreational facilities like swimming pools and baseball diamonds, the paucity of parks and low investment by the city in their development, the high percentage of households below the poverty level, and the lack of state-mandated physical education curriculum as contributing factors.
: Haikou
, China Puebla
, Mexico Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil Tainan, Taiwan Taipei
, Taiwan Ulyanovsk
, Russia Yehud
, Israel
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Oklahoma County
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Oklahoma County is a county located in the central partof the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 718,633 at the 2010 census. The county seat and principal city is Oklahoma City...
, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma City-Shawnee
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
Combined Statistical Area
Combined Statistical Area
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
had a population of 1,322,249 residents. Oklahoma City's city limits extend into Canadian
Canadian County, Oklahoma
Canadian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 115,541. Its county seat is El Reno. Canadian County is also part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area. Canadian County is named for the Canadian River.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, Cleveland
Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Cleveland County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 255,755 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Norman. Cleveland County is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and Pottawatomie
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
Pottawatomie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 65,521 as of the 2000 census. Its county seat is Shawnee...
counties, though much of those areas outside of the core Oklahoma County area are suburban or rural (watershed
Watershed
-Hydrology and geomorphology:* Watershed: drainage divide - * Watershed: drainage basin - -Medical:* Watershed area , an area with overlapping blood supply...
). The city ranks as the eighth-largest city in the United States by land area (including consolidated city-counties
Consolidated city-county
In United States local government, a consolidated city–county is a city and county that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation, and a county, which is an administrative division of a state...
; it is the largest city in the United States by land area whose government is not consolidated with that of a county).
Oklahoma City features one of the top livestock markets in the world. Oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, and petroleum products are major industries of the economy (the city is situated in the middle of an active oil field and oil derricks dot the capitol grounds). The federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
employs very large workforces at Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...
and the United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center is administered as one of the FAA Regional Offices.Located in Oklahoma City on the grounds of Will Rogers Airport, with around 5,600 direct federal employees the Aeronautical Center is one of the Department of Transportation's largest facilities outside the...
. (These two sites house several offices of the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
and the Transportation Department's Enterprise Service Center, respectively.)
The city was founded during the Land Run of 1889
Land Run of 1889
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands and included all or part of the 2005 modern day Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the U.S. state of Oklahoma...
, and grew to a population of over 10,000 within hours of its founding. The city was the scene of the April 19, 1995 bombing attack
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Federal Government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, which killed 168 people, including 19 children...
, in which 168 people lost their lives. It was the worst terror attack in the history of the United States before the attacks of September 11, 2001, and remains the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
Oklahoma City lies along one of the primary travel corridors into Texas and Mexico, and is just hours by car to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Located in the Frontier Country
Central Oklahoma
Central Oklahoma is the geographical name for the central region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is also known by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism designation, Frontier Country....
region of the state, the city's northeast section lies in an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers
Cross Timbers
The term Cross Timbers is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas...
. Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by nine strong tornadoes, eight (E)-F4's and one F5. On May 3, 1999 parts of southern Oklahoma City and nearby communities suffered one of the most powerful tornadoes on record, an F-5
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
on the Fujita Scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
, with wind speeds topping 318 mi/h. This tornado was part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak.
History
Oklahoma City was settled on April 22, 1889, when the area known as the "unassigned landsUnassigned Lands
Unassigned Lands, or Oklahoma, were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled...
" was opened for European-American settlement in an event known as "The Land Run". Some 10,000 homesteaders settled the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900. Early leaders of the development of the city included Anton Classen, Henry Overholser
Henry Overholser
Henry Overholser was an Oklahoma businessman, county commissioner, and important contributor to the development of Oklahoma City. He was the first to erect two-story buildings in the city, both of which were torn down in 1907...
and James W. Maney
James W. Maney
James W. Maney was an American engineer and railroad contractor during the late 19th and early 20th century. He was an early resident of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, helped to shape its development, and lived there most of his life...
.
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
, the territorial capital, as the population center and commercial hub of the new state. Soon after, the capital was moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City was a major stop on Route 66
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...
during the early part of the 20th century; it was prominently mentioned in Bobby Troup
Bobby Troup
Robert William "Bobby" Troup Jr. was an American actor, jazz pianist and songwriter. He is best known for writing the popular standard " Route 66", and for his role as Dr...
's 1946 jazz classic, "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66
Route 66 (song)
" Route 66", often rendered simply as "Route 66", is a popular song and rhythm and blues standard, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. It was first recorded in the same year by Nat King Cole, and was subsequently covered by many artists including Chuck Berry in 1961, The Rolling...
", later made famous by Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
.
Before World War II, Oklahoma City developed major stockyards
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
, attracting jobs and revenue formerly in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
. With the 1928 discovery of oil within the city limits (including under the State Capitol), it became a center of oil production. Post-war growth accompanied the construction of the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
, which made Oklahoma City a major interchange as the convergence of I-35, I-40 and I-44. It was also aided by federal development of Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...
.
As with many other American cities, center city population declined in the 1970s and 80s as families followed newly constructed highways to move to newer housing in nearby suburbs. Urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
projects in the 1970s, including the Pei Plan (Oklahoma City)
Pei Plan (Oklahoma City)
The Pei Plan was an urban redevelopment initiative designed for downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the informal name for two related commissions of noted architect and urban planner I.M.Pei – namely the Central Business District General...
, removed many older historic structures but failed to spark much new development, leaving the city dotted with vacant lots used for parking. A notable exception was the city's construction of the Myriad Gardens and Crystal Bridge
Myriad Botanical Gardens
The Myriad Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on the southwest corner of Reno and Robinson. The Gardens is home to multiple tiers of densely landscaped areas that surround a sunken lake...
, a botanical garden and modernistic conservatory
Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
in the heart of downtown. Architecturally significant historic buildings lost to clearances were the Criterion Theater, the Baum Building, the Hales Building, and the Biltmore Hotel.
In 1993, the city passed a massive redevelopment package known as the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), intended to rebuild the city's core with civic projects to establish more activities and life to downtown. The city added a new baseball park; central library; renovations to the civic center, convention center and fairgrounds; and a water canal in the Bricktown
Bricktown (Oklahoma City)
Bricktown is an entertainment district just east of downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma . It was formerly a major warehouse district. The major attractions of the district are the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, the navigable Bricktown Canal, and the 16-screen Harkins movie theatre...
entertainment district. Water taxis transport passengers within the district, adding color and activity along the canal. MAPS has become one of the most successful public-private partnerships undertaken in the U.S., exceeding $3 billion in investments. As a result of MAPS, the population living in downtown housing has greatly increased, together with demand for residential amenities, such as grocery, services and other retail stores.
Since the MAPS projects' completion, the downtown area has seen continued development. Several downtown buildings are undergoing renovation/restoration. Notable among these was the restoration of the Skirvin Hotel in 2007. The famed First National Center is being renovated.
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
set off a bomb
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
in front of the Murrah building
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Federal Government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, which killed 168 people, including 19 children...
. The building was destroyed, more than 100 nearby buildings suffered severe damage, and 168 people were killed. The site has been commemorated as the Oklahoma City National Memorial
Oklahoma City National Memorial
The Oklahoma City National Memorial is a memorial in the United States that honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were affected by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The memorial is located in downtown Oklahoma City on the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal...
and Museum. Since its opening in 2000, over 3 million people have visited. Every year on April 19, survivors, families and friends return to the memorial to read the names of each person lost.
The "Core-to-Shore" project was created to relocate I-40 one mile (1.6 km) south and replace it with a boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
to create a landscaped entrance to the city. This also allows the central portion of the city to expand south and connect with the shore of the Oklahoma River. Several elements of "Core to Shore" were included in the MAPS 3
Metropolitan Area Projects Plan 3
The Metropolitan Area Projects Plan 3, or MAPS3, is a $777 million public works and redevelopment project in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma funded by a temporary voter-approved sales tax increase.-History:...
proposal approved by voters in late 2009.
Geography
Oklahoma City lies along one of the primary corridors into Texas and Mexico, and is a three-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The city is located in the Frontier CountryCentral Oklahoma
Central Oklahoma is the geographical name for the central region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is also known by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism designation, Frontier Country....
region in the center of the state, making it an ideal location for state government.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 621.2 square miles (1,608.9 km²), of which, 607 square miles (1,572.1 km²) of it is land and 14.2 square miles (36.8 km²) of it is water. The total area is 2.28 percent water.
Cross Timbers
The term Cross Timbers is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas...
.
The city is roughly bisected by the North Canadian River
North Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a tributary of the Canadian River, approximately long, that flows through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma in the United States....
(recently renamed the Oklahoma River inside city limits). The North Canadian once had sufficient flow to flood every year, wreaking destruction on surrounding areas, including the original Oklahoma City Zoo. In the 1940s a dam was built on the river to manage the flood control and reduced its level. In the 1990s, as part of the citywide revitalization project known as MAPS, the city built a series of low-water dams, returning water to the portion of the river flowing near downtown. The city has three large lakes: Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser, in the northwestern quarter of the city; and the largest, Lake Stanley Draper, in the sparsely populated far southeast of the city.
The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
normally reported for Oklahoma City using the area of its city limits can be a bit misleading. Its urbanized zone covers roughly 244 sq mi (632 km²), compared with larger rural areas incorporated by the city, which cover the remaining 377 sq mi (976.4 km²) of the city limits.
Oklahoma City is one of the largest cities in the nation in compliance with the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act (United States)
The Clean Air Act is a United States federal law enacted by Congress, and signed by President Richard Nixon on December 31, 1970 to control air pollution on a national level. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from...
.
Climate
Oklahoma City lies in a temperate Humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
, with frequent variations in weather daily and seasonally, except during the consistently hot and humid summer months. Consistent winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help temper the hotter weather. Consistent northerly winds during the winter can intensify cold periods.
The average temperature is 60.2 °F (15.7 °C), though colder through the winter months, with a 36.7 °F (2.6 °C) average in January, and warmer during the summer months, with an 82 °F (27.8 °C) average in July. Extremes range from -17 F to 113 °F (45 °C) on February 12, 1899 and August 11, 1936, respectively. The city receives about 35.9 inches (912 mm) of precipitation annually and 8.6 inches (21.8 cm) of snow.
Oklahoma City has a severe weather
Severe weather
Severe weather phenomena are weather conditions that are hazardous to human life and property.- Examples Include :Severe weather can occur under a variety of situations, but three characteristics are generally needed: a temperature or moisture boundary, moisture, and , instability in the...
season from March through August, especially during April and May. Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year. Oklahoma City has become one of the most tornado prone cities in the United States. Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by nine violent tornadoes, eight F4's and one F5. On May 3, 1999 parts of southern Oklahoma City and nearby communities suffered one of the most powerful tornadoes on record, an F-5
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
on the Fujita Scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
, with wind speeds topping 318 mi/h. This tornado was part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak.
Tallest buildings
| Rank | Building | Height | Floors | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase Tower | 500 feet (152 m) | 36 | 1971 | |
| 2 | First National Center First National Center (Oklahoma City) The First National Center, formerly known as First National Bank Building, is a prominent skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City. The art deco tower is 446 feet tall at the roof, and is 493 feet at its spire and contains 33 floors... |
446 feet (136 m) | 33 | 1931 | |
| 3 | City Place Tower City Place Tower (Oklahoma City) City Place is a skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is 440 ft and has 33 floors. The building was finished in 1931. For a short time in 1931 it was Oklahoma City's tallest building before it lost the title to First National Center.... |
440 feet (134 m) | 33 | 1931 | |
| 4 | Oklahoma Tower Oklahoma Tower Oklahoma Tower is a prominent skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City's central business district. It is 434 ft tall and has 31 floors. It was built in 1982.The tower is the fourth tallest building in Oklahoma City and 8th tallest in Oklahoma.... |
434 feet (132 m) | 31 | 1982 | |
| 5 | SandRidge Center SandRidge Center SandRidge Center is a prominent skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City's central business district. The tower has 30 floors and is tall, making it the fifth tallest building in Oklahoma City and the eleventh tallest in the state. It is the headquarters of gas production and exploration company... |
393 feet (120 m) | 30 | 1973 | |
| 6 | Valliance Bank Tower Valliance Bank Tower Valliance Bank Tower is a skyscraper in the near-northwest Uptown section of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The tower is 98m and has 22 floors. The signature tower is anchor of the Northwest Business District and is the tallest and most prominent building in Oklahoma City outside of downtown.-History:The... |
321 feet (98 m) | 22 | 1984 | |
| 7 | Bank of Oklahoma Plaza Bank of Oklahoma Plaza Bank of Oklahoma Plaza, aka BOK Plaza, is a skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is 314 ft and has 16 floors. The building is the headquarters of Bank of Oklahoma N.A..... |
310 feet (94 m) | 16 | 1972 | |
| 8 | Leadership Square North Leadership Square North Leadership Square North Tower is a skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The tower is the tallest of the Leadership Square complex. The north tower was completed in 1984 and is and 22 storeys tall.... |
308 feet (94 m) | 22 | 1984 | |
| 9 | Dowell Center Dowell Center Former names include Midland Center, Kermac Building, Petroleum Building, and Journal Record Publishing Building.-See also:*List of tallest buildings in Oklahoma City... |
300 feet (91 m) | 20 | 1927 | |
| 10 | Regency Tower Regency Tower Regency Tower is a skyscraper in the northwest section of downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The tower is 288 feet tall and has 24 floors.Regency Tower houses 243 rental apartments and is currently the tallest residential building in Oklahoma City.... |
288 feet (88 m) | 24 | 1966 |
Construction on Devon Energy Corporation's new headquarters will be complete in 2012 and is planned to overtake the Chase Tower as the tallest in Oklahoma City and Tulsa's BOK Tower
BOK Tower
BOK Tower, formerly One Williams Center, is a skyscraper in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. At 203 m in height, the 52-story tower was the tallest building in any of the five "Plains States": Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, as well as the surrounding states of Missouri,...
as the tallest in Oklahoma. In fact, the finished Devon Tower
Devon Tower
Devon World Headquarters Tower is a 50-story corporate skyscraper under construction in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Construction began October 6, 2009, and is expected to be completed in 2012...
would be the tenth tallest building west of the Mississippi River, standing at 850 feet (259.1 m) tall with 52 floors.
Neighborhoods
Oklahoma City neighborhoods are as varied as the Oklahoma climate. Historic, renovated neighborhoods are next to others that suffered from a mix of economic and social factors, such as the loss of jobs and move of the middle and upper classes to the suburbs. Some are still struggling. Inner-city neighborhoods radiate from those located in downtown and include mostly single-family detached houses with small yards and the occasional apartment complex. In the downtown and northwest business area, there are numerous condo and loft developments and several mid-rise and high-rise options.Downtown Oklahoma City
Downtown Oklahoma City
Downtown Oklahoma City is located at the geographic center of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and is the principal business district of the city. With 115 city blocks and around of office space, downtown Oklahoma City also is the economic, financial, and entertainment center of the city...
is currently undergoing a renaissance, one of the largest in the nation. Middle-class moves during the 1950s and 1960s left much of the inner city abandoned, and retail services declined. During the urban renewal of the early 1980s, almost 50 historic buildings and skyscrapers were demolished as part of the overall plan. Examples include the Biltmore Hotel, which made way for the I. M. Pei
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
-designed Myriad Botanical Gardens, but this was at least a major urban renewal project completed as planned. Others were not, leaving vacant lots where buildings had stood. Many of the historic buildings remaining in the Central Business District were covered by new façades or adapted as Class-C office space. The removal of historic structures, which followed the decrease in population, left downtown without many retail options.
Demographics
According to the 2006-2008 American Community SurveyAmerican Community Survey
The American Community Survey is an ongoing statistical survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, sent to approximately 250,000 addresses monthly . It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census...
, the racial composition of Oklahoma City was as follows:
- White or European AmericanWhite AmericanWhite Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
: 60.3% - Black or African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
: 13.9% - Native American: 2.6%
- AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n: 3.9% - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific IslanderPacific Islander AmericanPacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
: 0.1% - Some other race: 0.2%
- Two or more racesMultiracial AmericanMultiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
: 4.5%
- Hispanic or LatinoHispanic and Latino AmericansHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
(of any race): 14.6%
Source:
As of the census of 2000, there were 506,132 people, 204,434 households, and 129,360 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 833.8 inhabitants per square mile (321.9/km²) with 2,317.4/mi² for an urban area that occupies a small portion within the city's incorporated limits, which cover hundreds of square miles of rural land. There were 228,149 housing units at an average density of 375.9 per square mile (145.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.4% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, 15.4% Black or African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 3.5% Native American, 3.5% Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.1% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
, 5.3% from other races based on persons indicating only one race category on Census forms. 5.6% of the population were two or more races. 10.1% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
of any race.
There were 204,434 households, 30.8% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. One person households account for 30.7% of all households and 8.8% of all households had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the 2000 Census Oklahoma City's age composition was 25.5% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
The 1999 median income for a household in the city was $34,947, and the median income for a family was $42,689. Among full time employed persons, males had median 1999 earnings of $31,589 compared to $24,420 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $19,098. 16.0% of the population and 12.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.0% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
In June, 2007, the U.S. Census announced its estimate population of 547,274 and that Oklahoma City had grown 1.4 percent between July, 2006 and July, 2007. Since the official Census in 2000, Oklahoma City had grown 8.1 percent, according to the Census Bureau's estimates.
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Oklahoma City is the principal city of the eight-county Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area in Central Oklahoma and is the state's largest urbanized area. Based on population rank, the metropolitan area was the 44th largest in the nation as of the year 2010.Crime
Powdered cocaine and crack cocaine are widely available in Oklahoma City. Street gangs such as the Bloods, CripsCrips
The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
, South Side Locos,GBC (grand barrio central) and Juaritos have become active in the city and are the primary retail distributors of crack cocaine. Cocaine abuse is prevalent among adult male arrestees in Oklahoma City. According to data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring system ("ADAM"), almost one-quarter (22.4%) of adult male arrestees in Oklahoma City tested positive for cocaine in 2000.
The DEA Oklahoma City District Office reports a steady increase in the number of major crack distributors who are associated with violent Los Angeles-based street gangs such as the Bloods and Crips. Gangs operating in Oklahoma City are involved in violent acts such as drug-related shootings, drive-by shootings, and robberies. Bloods BK, Crips CK, Grande Barrios culoeros (aka "GBC" or "Centrals"), and South Side Locos present the greatest challenge to Oklahoma City law enforcement. The ongoing war between the GBC and South Side Locos reached national attention in 2007 when a Locos member opened fire on GBCs inside the city's Crossroads Mall, putting many shoppers in harm's way. The scene was witnessed by an Oklahoma County Sheriff's Deputy, who ordered the shooter to drop his gun. He did not, and the Deputy exercised deadly force, killing the 15-year-old gang member with a single shot, an ugly scene caught by the mall's surveillance cameras and broadcast on the History Channel documentary series Gangland
Gangland (TV series)
Gangland is a documentary television series that airs on The History Channel. It usually airs on Thursday evenings although it has been known to arbitrarily change days every so often. Gangland explores the history of some of America's more notorious gangs. It premiered on November 1, 2007 with a...
.
The South Side Locos are still considered one of the city's most violent gangs. Oklahoma City Police estimate that on any given night, as many as 6,000 gang members may be out on Oklahoma City streets.
With regards to Mexican drug cartels, Oklahoma City has traditionally been the territory of the notorious Juarez Cartel
Juárez Cartel
The Juárez Cartel , also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas...
, but the Sinaloa Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
has been reported as trying to establish a foothold in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City also has its share of very brutal crimes, particularly in the 1970s. The worst of which occurred in 1978, when six employees of a Sirloin Stockade restaurant on the city's south side were murdered execution-style in the restaurant's freezer. An intensive investigation followed, and the three individuals involved, who also killed three others in Purcell, Oklahoma
Purcell, Oklahoma
Purcell is located in the outer south suburban area of Oklahoma City. It is often called "Quarterhorse Capital of the World" and it is the county seat of McClain County , Oklahoma, United States; it also extends a short distance into Cleveland County. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census...
, were identified. One, Harold Stafford, died in a motorcycle accident in Tulsa not long after the restaurant murders. Another, Verna Stafford, was sentenced to life without parole after being granted a new trial after she had previously been sentenced to death. Roger Dale Stafford
Roger Dale Stafford
Roger Dale Stafford was a convicted spree killer sentenced to death and executed for the 1978 Lorenz-Sirloin Stockade murders.-Crimes:...
, considered the mastermind of the murder spree, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary
Oklahoma State Penitentiary
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary is located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on . It is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 1,200 male offenders, the vast majority of which are maximum-security inmates...
in 1995.
At the same time, the Oklahoma City Police were battling a still-unsolved serial murder case that dates from at least as early as 1976 and as late as 1986. During that time, at least three women were horribly dismembered and parts of their bodies left throughout an area between downtown and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is the health sciences branch of the University of Oklahoma. Located in Oklahoma City, it serves as the primary place of instruction for many of Oklahoma's health professions...
. Oklahoma City Police believe they were being watched by the killer, as they found body parts in areas they had already searched. The cases remain open and actively investigated by the OCPD.
Economy
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, services, health services
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
and administration. The city has two Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies: Devon Energy Corporation
Devon Energy
Devon Energy Corporation , is among the largest U.S.-based independent natural gas and oil producers. Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the company's operations are focused on North American onshore exploration and production...
and Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Chesapeake Energy
Chesapeake Energy is the second largest producer of natural gas in the United States, a top 15 producer of U.S. liquids and the most active driller of new wells, according to an November 2011 investor presentation. It recorded 3Q 2011 natural gas production of an average of approximately of...
, several others that are in the Fortune 1000 and a number of large privately owned companies. Oklahoma City is home to the corporate headquarters of Sonic Drive-In
Sonic Drive-In
Sonic Drive-In is an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, complete with carhops who sometimes wear rollerskates. As of August 31, 2010, there were 3,500 restaurants in 43 U.S. states. Sonic serves approximately 3 million customers daily.-1950s:Following...
, whose office building and corporate restaurant is located in Bricktown
Bricktown (Oklahoma City)
Bricktown is an entertainment district just east of downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma . It was formerly a major warehouse district. The major attractions of the district are the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, the navigable Bricktown Canal, and the 16-screen Harkins movie theatre...
. Devon Energy revealed plans in August 2008 for a new 850 feet (259.1 m) tall, 1900000 square feet (176,515.8 m²) headquarters building in downtown Oklahoma City. The new skyscraper
Devon Tower
Devon World Headquarters Tower is a 50-story corporate skyscraper under construction in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Construction began October 6, 2009, and is expected to be completed in 2012...
is currently under construction and is expected to be complete in 2012 and open in 2013.Continental Resources
Continental Resources
Continental Resources is an oil and natural gas exploration company headquartered in Enid, Oklahoma, which will relocate to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 2012....
will move more than 250 employees from Enid to it's new headquarters in downtown Oklahoma City in 2012.
Other large employers in Oklahoma City include Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...
, the federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, the University of Central Oklahoma
University of Central Oklahoma
The University of Central Oklahoma, often referred to as UCO, is a coeducational public university located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The university is the third largest in Oklahoma, with almost 18,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty...
, American Fidelity, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, AAA
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
, Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Bank of Oklahoma, The Boeing Company
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Braum's
Braum's
Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores is a family-owned and operated chain of fast-food restaurants and grocery stores based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with a large concentration on dairy products....
, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, The Hertz Corporation
The Hertz Corporation
Hertz Global Holdings Inc is an American car rental company with international locations in 145 countries worldwide.-Early years:The company was founded by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918, who started a car rental operation in Chicago with a dozen Model T Ford cars. In 1923, Jacobs sold it to John D...
, Farmer's Insurance, Integris Health, The Hartford
The Hartford
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. , usually known as The Hartford, is a Fortune 500 company and one of America’s largest investment and insurance companies...
, JP Morgan Chase, Mercy Heath System, Sprint/Nextel, St. Anthony Health System, Williams-Sonoma
Williams-Sonoma
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a high-end American consumer retail company that sells kitchenwares, furniture and linens, as well as other housewares and home furnishings, along with a variety of specialty foods, soaps and lotions...
, Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
, United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
, Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
, and the state of Oklahoma. Six Flags
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 14 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, thrill parks, water parks and family...
at one point was headquartered in Oklahoma City but relocated to New York City on January 27, 2006.
According to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the metropolitan area's economic output grew by 33 percent between 2001 and 2005 due chiefly to economic diversification. Its gross metropolitan product
Gross metropolitan product
Gross Metropolitan Product or Gross Regional Product is one of several measures of the size of the economy of a metropolitan area...
was $43.1 billion in 2005 and grew to $61.1 billion in 2009.
In 2008, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine named Oklahoma City the most "recession proof city in America". The magazine reported that the city had falling unemployment, one of the strongest housing markets in the country and solid growth in energy, agriculture and manufacturing. However, during the 1980s, Oklahoma City had one of the worst job and housing markets due to the bankruptcy of Penn Square Bank
Penn Square Bank
Penn Square Bank was a small commercial bank located in the rear of the Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City. The bank made its name in high-risk energy loans during the late 1970s and early 1980s Oklahoma and Texas oil boom. Between 1974 and 1982, the bank's assets increased more than 15 times to...
in 1982 and then the post-1985 crash in oil prices.
Business Districts
Business Districts, and to a lesser extent, neighborhoods tend to maintain their boundaries and character through the application of zoning regulations and Business Improvement Districts (districts where property owners agree to a property tax surcharge to support additional services for the community.)Through zoning regulations, historic districts, and other special zoning districts, including overlay districts, are established. Oklahoma City currently has three Business Improvement Districts, including the Downtown Oklahoma City.
See: Neighborhoods of Oklahoma City
Neighborhoods of Oklahoma City
The City of Oklahoma City uses as a tool to maintain the character of many neighborhood communities.-Downtown:See main article Downtown Oklahoma City...
for information on other cultural and historic districts and neighborhoods of the Oklahoma City, such as Western Avenue, and Stockyards City.
Film Exchange District
In 2003, a part of downtown Oklahoma City was developed into the new Film Exchange District, to honor its roots as a film exchange.The Film Exchange District, a component of the Downtown Business Improvement District, encompasses 42 square blocks and lies between Classen Boulevard and Walker Avenue along Sheridan Avenue. It is also bordered by S.W. 2nd Street, S.W. 1st Street and Colcord Drive.
The district's history includes the likes of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, and Fox Films
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
starting with silent films. The first film exchange appeared in Oklahoma City as early as 1907, and in 1910, the General Film Exchange was established on West 2nd Street.
Paramount Pictures operated at 123 SW 3rd and by 1929 relocated to 701 W. Grand (Sheridan Ave.), now in the heart of the Film Exchange District and backed the opening of the Plaza Theatre in 1935. By 1930, most studio offices had moved along what is now Sheridan Avenue.
The 1930s came to know the area as Film Row, where theater owners came to screen and lease films for their movie houses. J. Eldon Peek, a graduate student of Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act...
, and his wife Maxine opened the Oklahoma Theatre Supply Company and Missouri Theatre Supply Company at 708 W. Grand (Sheridan) in 1930. By 1988, she and her granddaughter Sharon Allen were still operating the business, which closed in 2004. The Peeks landed contracts to install sound systems in former silent theatres across Oklahoma and relocated to their newly constructed building at 628 W. Grand (Sheridan) in 1946.
In the 1950s, cable television first came to Oklahoma in Bartlesville
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bartlesville is a city in Osage and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 43,070 at the 2010 census. Bartlesville is located forty-seven miles north of Tulsa and very close to Oklahoma's northern border with Kansas. It is the county seat of Washington County, in...
, where the "Telemovies" system was started by Video Independent Theatres. Television and the advent of new technology and introduction of inexpensive air freight, hurt the film exchange business and by the 1970s and early 1980s, film row became a haven for bars, prostitution and drugs.
Several of the historic buildings in the district are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
In August 2011, Oklahoma City: Film Row was published under Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series. The book was written by historian Bradley Wynn.
Plaza District
The Plaza District is a neighborhood commercial district boasting Oklahoma CIty's local arts flavor. Located on NW 16th between Classen and Penn Ave, the Plaza District is home to art galleries, studios, retail shops, restaurants, and creative services. Visit these local businesses owned by young, creative entrepreneurs and attend performances at the historic Plaza Theatre for Lyric at the Plaza. Be sure to check out the artist-made retail businesses, a quality custom tattoo shop, a local salon favorite, and many shops for vintage and retro finds. This district, once blighted by urban decay now boasts a renewed energy embraced by Oklahoma City's youth and diverse culture. Each Second Friday of the month from 7-11pm, enjoy LIVE on the Plaza, a monthly artwalk featuring live music, featured artists, special events and local shopping.Museums and theater
The Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is the new downtown home for the Oklahoma City Museum of ArtOklahoma City Museum of Art
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is a museum located in the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. The museum features visiting exhibits; original selections from its own collection; a theater showing a variety of foreign, independent, and classic films each week;...
. The museum features visiting exhibits, original selections from its own collection, a theater showing a variety of foreign, independent, and classic films each week, and a restaurant. OKCMOA is also home to the most comprehensive collection of Chihuly glass in the world including the fifty-five foot Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum's atrium. The newly renovated art deco Civic Center Music Hall
Civic Center Music Hall
The Civic Center Music Hall is a performing arts center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1937 and includes the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre, the Freede Little Theatre, CitySpace, the Meinders Hall of Mirrors and the Joel Levine Rehearsal Hall.The Civic Center Music...
has performances from Oklahoma City Ballet and opera to traveling Broadway shows and concerts. Stage Center for the Performing Arts is home to many of the city's top theater companies. The building that houses Stage Center, originally called the Mummers Theater and designed by John M. Johansen
John M. Johansen
John MacLane Johansen is an architect and member of the Harvard Five. Johansen took an active role in the modern movement.- Early life :Johansen was born to two accomplished painters in New York in 1916...
, is a modernist architectural landmark, with the original model displayed in MOMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
in New York City.
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
campus. The university also opened the Wanda L Bass School of Music and auditorium in April 2006.
The Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex) houses exhibits on science, aviation, and an IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theater. The museum houses the International Photography Hall of Fame (IPHF) that exhibits photographs and artifacts from a large collection of cameras and other artifacts preserving the history of photography. IPHF honors those who have made significant contributions to the art and/or science of photography.
The Museum of Osteology
The Museum of Osteology
The Museum of Osteology is a public museum devoted to the study of bones and skeletons . This museum is located in Oklahoma City and features displays with the skeletons of over 1,000 species from animals all over the world.-Description:...
houses more than three hundred real animal skeletons. The Museum is a unique educational experience. Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7000 sq ft (650.3 m²). museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the world. Exhibits include adaptation, locomotion, classification and diversity of the vertebrate kingdom. The Museum of Osteology is the only one of its kind in America!
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
has galleries of western art and is home to the Hall of Great Western Performers
Hall of Great Western Performers
The Hall of Great Western Performers is a Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A. It is sometimes referred to as the "Western Performers Hall of Fame"...
. In contrast, the city will also be home to The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum that began construction in 2009, on the South side of Interstate 40, Southeast from Bricktown.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial
Oklahoma City National Memorial
The Oklahoma City National Memorial is a memorial in the United States that honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were affected by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The memorial is located in downtown Oklahoma City on the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal...
in the northern part of Oklahoma City's downtown was created and the inscription on its eastern gate says, "to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995". The outdoor Symbolic Memorial can be visited 24 hours a day for free, and the adjacent Memorial Museum, located in the former Journal Record building damaged by the bombing, can be entered for a small fee. The site is also home to the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a non partisan, non profit thinktank devoted to the prevention of terrorism.
The Oklahoma History Center
Oklahoma History Center
The Oklahoma History Center is the history museum of the State of Oklahoma. Located across the street from the Governor's mansion at 2401 N. Laird Avenue in Oklahoma City, the museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society...
is the history museum of the State of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. Located across the street from the Governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City, the museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society
Oklahoma Historical Society
The Oklahoma Historical Society is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma....
. It preserves the history of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
from the prehistoric to the present day.
Parks and recreation
Myriad Botanical Gardens
The Myriad Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on the southwest corner of Reno and Robinson. The Gardens is home to multiple tiers of densely landscaped areas that surround a sunken lake...
, a large downtown urban park. Designed by I. M. Pei
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
, the Crystal Bridge is a tropical conservatory in the area. The park has an amphitheater, known as the Water Stage. In 2007, following a renovation of the stage, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park relocated to the Myriad Gardens. The Myriad Gardens will undergo a massive renovation in conjunction with construction of the Devon Tower directly north of it.
The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
The widely acclaimed Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is a zoo and botanical garden located in the Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma....
is home to numerous natural habitats, WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
era architecture and landscaping, and hosts major touring concerts during the summer at its amphitheater. Oklahoma City also has two amusement parks, Frontier City theme park and White Water Bay water park. Frontier City is an 'Old West' themed amusement park. The park also features a recreation of a western gunfight at the 'OK Corral' and many shops that line the "Western" town's main street. Frontier City also hosts a national concert circuit at its amphitheater during the summer.
Walking trails line Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser in the northwest part of the city and downtown at the canal and the Oklahoma River
North Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a tributary of the Canadian River, approximately long, that flows through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma in the United States....
. The majority of the east shore area is taken up by parks and trails, including a new leashless dog park and the postwar-era Stars and Stripes Park. Lake Stanley Draper is the city's largest and most remote lake.
Oklahoma City has a major park in each quadrant of the city, going back to the first parks masterplan. Will Rogers Park
Will Rogers Gardens
Will Rogers Gardens is a park in Oklahoma City located at the corner of 36th Street and Portland Avenue. It is one of the city’s historic parks and is open year-round. Will Rogers Gardens features the Charles E. Sparks Rose Garden, a arboretum and a conservatory with one of the world’s largest...
, Lincoln Park, Trosper Park, and Woodson Park were once connected by the Grand Boulevard loop, some sections of which no longer exist. Martin Park Nature Center is a natural habitat in far northwest Oklahoma City. Will Rogers Park is home to the Lycan Conservatory, the Rose Garden, and Butterfly Garden, all built in the WPA era.
Government
Mick Cornett
Mick Cornett is the current Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. He also serves on notable positions including the national President of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials , and also serves on the Board of Trustees for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He was also Chairman of the...
serves as Mayor, having first been elected in 2004, re-elected in 2006 and then again in 2010. Eight councilpersons represent each of the eight wards of Oklahoma City. City Manager Jim Couch was appointed in late 2000. Couch previously served as assistant city manager, Metropolitan Area Projects director and utilities director prior to his service as city manager.
The city has called on residents to vote for sales tax-based projects to revitalize parts of the city. The Bricktown
Bricktown (Oklahoma City)
Bricktown is an entertainment district just east of downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma . It was formerly a major warehouse district. The major attractions of the district are the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, the navigable Bricktown Canal, and the 16-screen Harkins movie theatre...
district is the best example of such a project. In the recent MAPS 3
Metropolitan Area Projects Plan 3
The Metropolitan Area Projects Plan 3, or MAPS3, is a $777 million public works and redevelopment project in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma funded by a temporary voter-approved sales tax increase.-History:...
vote, the city's fraternal order of police criticized the project proposals for not doing enough to expand the police presence to keep up with increased commercial activity.
Most neighborhoods in Oklahoma City lean Republican, but there are a few exceptions. The northeast portion of Oklahoma City and certain neighborhoods in the northwest are generally represented by Democratic state legislators. The Oklahoma City Council is non-partisan.
Higher education
The city is home to several colleges and universities.Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
, formerly known as Epworth University, was founded by the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
on September 1, 1904 and is renowned for its performing arts, medical services, mass communications, business, law
Oklahoma City University School of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is one of the professional graduate schools of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and was founded in 1907...
, and athletic programs.
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
has institutions of higher learning in the city and metropolitan area, with OU Medicine
OU Medicine
OU Medicine is the combination of OU Medical Center – Oklahoma City & Edmond, The Children’s Hospital, OU Physicians, OU Children’s Physicians, The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Oklahoma Cancer Center...
and The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is the health sciences branch of the University of Oklahoma. Located in Oklahoma City, it serves as the primary place of instruction for many of Oklahoma's health professions...
campuses east of downtown in the Oklahoma Health Center and the main University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
campus located in the suburb of Norman
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
. The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is the health sciences branch of the University of Oklahoma. Located in Oklahoma City, it serves as the primary place of instruction for many of Oklahoma's health professions...
is one of the nation's largest independent medical centers, employing more than 12,000 people. OU is one of only four major universities in the nation to have all six medical schools. The third-largest university in the state, the University of Central Oklahoma
University of Central Oklahoma
The University of Central Oklahoma, often referred to as UCO, is a coeducational public university located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The university is the third largest in Oklahoma, with almost 18,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty...
, is located just north of the city in the suburb of Edmond
Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
, as is Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian University is a private comprehensive coeducational Christian liberal arts university founded in 1950 by members of the churches of Christ. OC is located on a campus in Oklahoma City. Enrollment for the fall 2011 semester numbered 2,194, which included 1,854 undergraduate and...
, one of the state's private liberal arts institutions.
Oklahoma City Community College
Oklahoma City Community College
The Oklahoma City Community College, also referred to as OCCC or O-Triple-C, is a coeducational community college located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The community college was founded in 1972. It currently enrolls 19,700 students. The faculty consists of 134 full-time professors, and 400 adjunct...
in south Oklahoma City is the second-largest community college in the state.Rose State College
Rose State College
-History:Rose State College was originally named Oscar Rose Junior College in memory of Oscar V. Rose, a former Mid-Del School District school superintendent....
is located east of Oklahoma City in suburban Midwest City. Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City is located in the "Furniture District" on the Westside. Northeast of the city is Langston University
Langston University
Langston University is an institution of higher learning located in Langston, Oklahoma, USA. It is the only historically black college in the state, and the westernmost historically black college in the United States...
, the state's historically black college (HBCU). Langston also has an urban campus in the eastside
Eastside, Oklahoma City
The Eastside is home to the U.S. state of Oklahoma's largest African American community. It is located roughly East of Walker Avenue and North of 4th Street in the near North East quadrant of Oklahoma City....
section of the city. Southern Nazarene University
Southern Nazarene University
Southern Nazarene University is a Christian liberal arts college located in Bethany, Oklahoma, United States.-History:The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as 1899, that founding date refers to an...
, which was founded by the Church of the Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
, is a university located in suburban Bethany
Bethany, Oklahoma
Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 20,307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bethany is located at ....
, which is surrounded by Oklahoma City.
Although technically not a university, The FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center is administered as one of the FAA Regional Offices.Located in Oklahoma City on the grounds of Will Rogers Airport, with around 5,600 direct federal employees the Aeronautical Center is one of the Department of Transportation's largest facilities outside the...
has many aspects of an institution of higher learning. Its FAA Academy is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
. Its Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) has a medical education division responsible for aeromedical education in general as well as the education of aviation medical examiners in the US and 93 other countries. In addition, The National Academy of Science offers Research Associateship Programs for fellowship and other grants for CAMI research.
Primary and secondary
Oklahoma City is home to the state's largest school district, Oklahoma City Public SchoolsOklahoma City Public Schools
The Oklahoma City Public Schools is an urban inner-city public school district located in Oklahoma City. It is the largest primary and secondary education district in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area, as well as the largest in the state of Oklahoma with over 42,750 enrolled students in 2009...
. The district's Classen School of Advanced Studies
Classen School of Advanced Studies
Classen School of Advanced Studies is a public magnet school serving students in grades 6-12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
And Harding Chater Preperatory schools ranks high among public schools nationally according to a formula that looks at the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by the school's students divided by the number of graduating seniors. In addition, Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School in OKCPS was named the top middle school in the state according to the Academic Performance Index, and recently received the Blue Ribbon School Award, in 2004 and again in 2011.
The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics is a prestigious two-year residential public high school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Established by the Oklahoma legislature in 1983, the school was designed to educate academically gifted high school students in advanced mathematics and...
, a school for some of the state's most gifted math and science pupils, is also located in Oklahoma City.
Numerous suburban school districts surround the urban Oklahoma City Public Schools
Oklahoma City Public Schools
The Oklahoma City Public Schools is an urban inner-city public school district located in Oklahoma City. It is the largest primary and secondary education district in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area, as well as the largest in the state of Oklahoma with over 42,750 enrolled students in 2009...
district, including Putnam City Public Schools in the northwest, Moore Public Schools in the south, and Mid-Del Schools in the southeast. The city boasts a number of private and parochial schools. Casady School
Casady School
Casady School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma founded in 1947 by Bishop Thomas Casady and the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma. Casady serves children in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th. Casady believes in educating mind, body, and...
and Heritage Hall School
Heritage Hall School
Heritage Hall School is a coeducational, college-prep school located in North Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. An independent private school not affiliated with any religious organization, the school is open to students of any race, religion, nationality, or ethnic origin.Heritage Hall was founded in...
are both examples of a private college preparatory school with vigorous academics that range among the top in Oklahoma. Providence Hall
Providence Hall Classical Christian School
Providence Hall is a classical Christian school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Grades PK - 8 are offered. Providence Hall is the only classical Christian day school in the Oklahoma City metro area.The school's mission statement:...
is a Protestant school. Two prominent schools of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the midwestern region of the United States. Its ecclesiastical territory includes 46 counties in western Oklahoma. The Most Reverend Paul Stagg Coakley is the current archbishop...
are Bishop McGuinness High School
Bishop McGuinness High School (Oklahoma)
Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School is a college-preparatory secondary school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It has an enrollment of 720 students in grades 9 through 12, is co-educational, and serves as part of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in the Roman Catholic Church.-History:The...
and Mount Saint Mary High School
Mount St. Mary High School (Oklahoma)
Mount Saint Mary High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.-Early History:...
.
CareerTech
Oklahoma City has several public career and technology education schools associated with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the largest of which are Metro Technology CenterMetro Technology Center
Metro Technology Center is a public career and technology education center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education system.-Springlake Amusement Park:...
and Francis Tuttle Technology Center.
Private career and technology education schools in Oklahoma City include Oklahoma Technology Institute
Oklahoma Technology Institute
Oklahoma Technology Institute, also known as OTI, is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. OTI was established in 1996 by Jeanne Fanning.The school is nationally accredited by the Council on Occupational Education and licensed by the Oklahoma Board of Private and Vocational Schools...
, Platt College, Vatterott College, and Heritage College.
A nonprofit vocational training center for individuals with disabilities in Oklahoma City is Dale Rogers Training Center
Dale Rogers Training Center
Dale Rogers Training Center , a non-profit organization, is the oldest and largest community vocational training and employment center for individuals with disabilities in Oklahoma. With five locations in Oklahoma, Dale Rogers Training Center trains or employs 1100 people a year: more than 900 with...
.
Media
The OklahomanThe Oklahoman
The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma and is the only daily newspaper that covers the entire Oklahoma City area.-Ownership:...
is Oklahoma City's major metro newspaper and is the most widely circulated in the state. The Oklahoma Gazette is Oklahoma City's independent newsweekly, featuring such staples as local commentary, feature stories, classifieds, restaurant reviews and movie listings. The Journal Record is Oklahoma City's daily business newspaper and Oklahoma City Business is a bi-monthly business publication.
There are various community and international papers in the city that cater to the ethnic mosaic of the city; such as The Black Chronicle
Black Chronicle
The Black Chronicle is an African American weekly newspaper in the state of Oklahoma. Founded in April 1979 and based in Oklahoma City's Eastside, it is owned by Perry Publishing and Broadcasting and caters to Oklahoma City's black community....
, headquartered in the Eastside
Eastside, Oklahoma City
The Eastside is home to the U.S. state of Oklahoma's largest African American community. It is located roughly East of Walker Avenue and North of 4th Street in the near North East quadrant of Oklahoma City....
, the OK VIETIMES and Oklahoma Chinese Times, located in Asia District
Asia District
Oklahoma City's Asia District, also known as the Asian District, is the center of Asian culture and International cuisine and commerce in the state of Oklahoma...
, and various Hispanic publications. The Campus is the student newspaper at Oklahoma City University. Gay publications include Gossip Boy, which despite its name has become known for adventurous undercover work and investigative journalism that has attracted a national audience, and The Gayly Oklahoman.
An upscale lifestyle publication called Slice Magazine is produced by local publisher Southwestern Publishing and circulated throughout the metro. In addition is a magazine published by Back40 Design Group called The Edmond Outlook. It contains local commentary and human interest pieces direct-mailed to over 50,000 Edmond residents.
Oklahoma City was home to several pioneers in radio and television broadcasting. Oklahoma City's WKY
WKY
WKY is a radio station located in Oklahoma City and is under ownership of Cumulus Media.WKY is the oldest radio station in Oklahoma, the 28th-oldest in the nation and the third-oldest west of the Mississippi River...
Radio was the first radio station transmitting west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and the third radio station in the United States. WKY received its federal license in 1921 and has continually broadcast under the same call letters since 1922. In 1928, WKY was purchased by E.K. Gaylord's
Edward K. Gaylord
Edward King Gaylord , often referred to as E.K. Gaylord, was the owner and publisher of the Daily Oklahoman newspaper , as well as a radio and television entrepreneur. Born in Kansas and educated in Colorado, he worked on several publications before moving to Oklahoma and buying an interest in the...
Oklahoma Publishing Company and affiliated with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
; in 1949, WKY-TV went on the air and became the first independently-owned television station in the U.S. to broadcast in color. In mid-2002, WKY was purchased outright from the Gaylord family by Citadel Communications who owns and operates it to this day.
Sports
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
franchise, allowing them to move the team to Oklahoma City for the 2008-2009 season. The relocated team was named the Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
on September 3, 2008. The move gave the city its second 'permanent' major professional sports team after the AFL Oklahoma Wranglers
Oklahoma Wranglers
The Oklahoma Wranglers was the final name of a team in the Arena Football League that had previously played as the Memphis Pharaohs and Portland Forest Dragons...
. The Oklahoma City Thunder is the third major team overall, considering the temporary hosting of the NBA New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets from 2005-2007.
Oklahoma City is home to several other professional sports clubs including the Oklahoma City RedHawks, a Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
. Other teams include the Bricktown Brawlers
Bricktown Brawlers
The Bricktown Brawlers were an Indoor Football League team that played in the 2011 season. Based in Oklahoma City, the Brawlers played its home games at Cox Convention Center...
of the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
, and the Oklahoma City Lightning
Oklahoma City Lightning
The Oklahoma City Lightning is Oklahoma City full-contact women's American football team in the Women's Football Alliance. Home games are played at Taft Stadium....
of the Women's Football Alliance
Women's Football Alliance
The Women's Football Alliance is a full-contact Women's American football league which began play in the spring of 2009. They have now completed three full seasons and grew to over 60 teams slated for the 2011 season. The women play 11 person tackle football games with rules that basically mirror...
. Starting in 2010-11, Oklahoma City will be home to the Oklahoma City Barons
Oklahoma City Barons
The Oklahoma City Barons are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and serve as the top affiliate for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. The team's first season was 2010–11. They play their home games at the newly renovated Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma...
in the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, which will play at Cox Convention Center
Cox Convention Center
The Cox Business Services Convention Center is a multi-purpose complex, located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma....
.
Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown
Downtown Oklahoma City
Downtown Oklahoma City is located at the geographic center of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and is the principal business district of the city. With 115 city blocks and around of office space, downtown Oklahoma City also is the economic, financial, and entertainment center of the city...
is the large multipurpose arena which hosts concerts, NHL exhibition games, and many of the city's pro sports teams. In the 2008 the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
became the major tenants. Located nearby in Bricktown, RedHawks Ballpark is the home to the city's baseballs team. The Brick, as it is locally known, is considered one of the finest minor league parks in the nation.
There are several other stadiums and arenas in the city, including the arena inside the Cox Convention Center
Cox Convention Center
The Cox Business Services Convention Center is a multi-purpose complex, located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma....
, the State Fair Arena, Taft Stadium
Taft Stadium
Taft Stadium is a WPA-built stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is the current home of the Oklahoma City Lightning, a NWFA team, along with Northwest Classen HS and John Marshall HS. Built in 1934, the stadium now lies in disrepair. A dirt track was installed in 1946.-External links:* page...
, the Don E. Porter Hall of Fame
National Softball Hall of Fame
National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum is a softball museum located in Oklahoma City's Adventure District. It includes the "Don E. Porter" Hall of Fame Stadium, home to the World Cup of Softball and the annual Women's College World Series...
Stadium, and Abe Lemons Arena
Abe Lemons Arena
Abe Lemons Arena is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University in Midtown Oklahoma City.It is the home arena of the OCU Stars athletic teams, and in 2007 was to be home to the Oklahoma City Cavalry of the Continental Basketball Association. The arena seats 3,500.- External...
which is located at Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
.
Oklahoma City is host to numerous major college and amateur sporting events. The major universities in the area - (University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
, and Oklahoma State University) - often schedule major basketball games and other sporting events at Chesapeake Energy Arena, although most games are played in their campus arenas.
The Oklahoma City University Stars has a slate of sporting clubs which play on campus including a top-rated rowing program which has events on the Oklahoma River. Of special note, the university had announced its desire to possibly enter the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
during the 2007 athletic season.
Oklahoma City is the annual host of the Big 12 Baseball Tournament
Big 12 Baseball Tournament
The Big 12 Baseball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Big 12 Conference . It is a two-group round robin tournament with the winners of each group facing each other in a one-game match for the championship...
, the World Cup of Softball
World Cup of Softball
The World Cup of Softball is a softball tournament run by the Amateur Softball Association.It is a round robin format, with 6 teams. Each team plays each other once, then the two teams with the best records play in a one-game, winner-take-all championship...
, and the annual NCAA Women's College World Series. The city has held the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
First and Second Round and hosted the Big 12
2007 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2007 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship was the 2007 edition of the Big 12 Conference's championship tournament held at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City from March 8 until March 11, 2007...
Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments in 2007; the city will be the site again in 2009. Since 2006, Oklahoma City has been home to the annual Bricktown Showdown Triple-A Baseball Championship game.
Other major sporting events include Thoroughbred and Quarter horse racing circuits at Remington Park
Remington Park
Remington Park is a horse racing track and casino located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Built in 1988, it was the first world-class pari-mutuel track in Oklahoma. Remington Park was built by the late Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., the shopping mall developer who also owned Thistledown in Cleveland, Ohio...
and numerous horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
s and equine events that take place at the state fairgrounds each year. There are numerous golf courses and country clubs spread around the city in addition to tennis clubs and high school level sporting activities including the well known "Polo Bowl" between Casady School (Cyclones) and Heritage Hall School (Chargers).
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
In the aftermath of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, and surrounding area, the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
temporarily relocated to the Ford Center, playing the majority of its home games there during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. The team became the first NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
franchise to play regular-season games in the state of Oklahoma.
The team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and had adopted a split personality of sorts, wearing 'OKC neutral' home jerseys (with an OKC patch of sorts over an H-alternate jersey) and 'New Orleans' jerseys during away games.
Although some city officials wanted the Hornets to stay in Oklahoma City permanently, the team ultimately returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007-2008 season. The Hornets played their final home game in Oklahoma City during the exhibition season on October 9, 2007 against the Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
, as a way to say thanks for the temporary hosting. The 'hometown Hornets' won the game 94-92.
Oklahoma City Thunder
On July 2, 2008, upon settlement of a lawsuit with the city of Seattle, the Seattle SuperSonicsSeattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
announced they would relocate to Oklahoma City on July 3, and begin play at Oklahoma City's Ford Center in the 2008-2009 NBA season. The team left the franchise history and team name and colors in Seattle. The team became the fourth NBA franchise to relocate since 1985; the Kansas City Kings moved to Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, the Vancouver Grizzlies
Vancouver Grizzlies
The Vancouver Grizzlies were a professional basketball team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Toronto Raptors, as part of the NBA's...
to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and the Charlotte Hornets to New Orleans. The new name and color scheme for the Oklahoma City Thunder was announced on September 3; other finalists included Energy, Wind, Marshalls, Barons and Bison.
On April 18, 2008, the NBA gave conditional approval for the Seattle Supersonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
franchise to move to Oklahoma City for the 2008-2009 season provided the ownership could free themselves from the legal challenges that existed with the City of Seattle with a 28-2 vote by its board of owners.
On July 2, 2008 the City of Seattle reached an agreement to terminate the Sonics' lease and allow the team to relocate to Oklahoma City. Clay Bennett determined that as of July 3, 2008 the relocation of the now defunct Seattle SuperSonics would commence.
In April 2010 the Thunder secured a position in the NBA's Western Conference Playoffs, having their best season since the mid 90's and winning two games in a series against the defending champion Lakers. According to Forbes, the first year the team was in Oklahoma City, the Thunder earned $111,000,000 in revenue. This is considered to be an overwhelming success and ranks them in the 20th position in the NBA. The team's operating income of $12.7 million was on par with such old standards of the NBA such as the Boston Celtics who earned $12.9 million and far exceeding the net operating losses of the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers of -$17.4 and -$20.3 respectively.
Professional teams
| Club | Sport | League | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Thunder Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena.... |
Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules... |
National Basketball Association National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada... |
Chesapeake Energy Arena |
| Oklahoma City RedHawks | Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... |
Pacific Coast League Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The... |
RedHawks Field |
| Oklahoma City Barons Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and serve as the top affiliate for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. The team's first season was 2010–11. They play their home games at the newly renovated Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma... |
Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take... |
American Hockey League American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
Cox Convention Center Cox Convention Center The Cox Business Services Convention Center is a multi-purpose complex, located in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.... |
| Oklahoma Energy Oklahoma Energy Oklahoma Energy The Oklahoma Energy is an indoor football team that will compete in the Independent Indoor Football Alliance for the 2013 season . Based in Edmond, Oklahoma, the Energy will play its home games at Arctic Edge Ice Center. The team is owned by Chris Hammond, a businessman from... |
Indoor Football | Independent Indoor Football Alliance Independent Indoor Football Alliance The Independent Indoor Football Alliance is a class A professional developmental indoor football league based in the state of Texas. The league played an abbreviated 2009 season punctuated by a number of forfeits. The league grew and had tighter restrictions for 2010 in hopes of better football... |
Arctic Edge Ice Arena |
| Oklahoma Stallions Oklahoma Stallions The Oklahoma Stallions is a team in the American Basketball Association based in Oklahoma City. Home games are played on the campus of Douglass High School.-External links:*... |
Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules... |
American Basketball Association American Basketball Association (2000–present) The American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976... |
Douglass High School |
Oklahoma City was home to the following defunct sports teams:
- Bricktown BrawlersBricktown BrawlersThe Bricktown Brawlers were an Indoor Football League team that played in the 2011 season. Based in Oklahoma City, the Brawlers played its home games at Cox Convention Center...
: Indoor Football LeagueIndoor Football LeagueThe Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an... - Oklahoma City Yard DawgzOklahoma City Yard DawgzThe Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz was a member of the new Arena Football League. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the original Arena Football League's now-defunct minor league af2...
: Arena Football League - Oklahoma WranglersOklahoma WranglersThe Oklahoma Wranglers was the final name of a team in the Arena Football League that had previously played as the Memphis Pharaohs and Portland Forest Dragons...
: Arena Football League - Oklahoma City LightningOklahoma City LightningThe Oklahoma City Lightning is Oklahoma City full-contact women's American football team in the Women's Football Alliance. Home games are played at Taft Stadium....
: Women's Football AllianceWomen's Football AllianceThe Women's Football Alliance is a full-contact Women's American football league which began play in the spring of 2009. They have now completed three full seasons and grew to over 60 teams slated for the 2011 season. The women play 11 person tackle football games with rules that basically mirror... - Oklahoma City 89ers : American Association (20th century)American Association (20th century)The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
minor league baseballMinor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
(name changed to RedHawks upon their absorption into the Pacific Coast LeaguePacific Coast LeagueThe Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
) - Oklahoma City CavalryOklahoma City CavalryThe Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry is a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also are the two time champions of the CBA...
: CBA Basketball TeamContinental Basketball AssociationThe Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :... - Oklahoma City Stars : CHL Hockey Team
- Oklahoma City Coyotes : RHI Roller Hockey Team
- Oklahoma City Dolls : All-woman American Football League franchise
- Oklahoma City Indians : Minor league baseball in the Texas League
- Oklahoma City BlazersOklahoma City BlazersThe Oklahoma City Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the Northwest Division of the Central Hockey League. The Blazers played at the Ford Center, located in downtown Oklahoma City. Their colors were burgundy, gold and white...
(original); CHL Hockey Team (1965–72; 1973–77; 1992–2009) - Oklahoma City Warriors; AHA Hockey Team (1933–36)
The city was also the temporary home of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets (known then as the "New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets") in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Highway
Oklahoma City is an integral point on the United States Interstate NetworkInterstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
, with three major interstate highways - Interstate 35, Interstate 40, and Interstate 44 - bisecting the city. Interstate 240
Interstate 240 (Oklahoma)
Interstate 240 is an Interstate Highway in Oklahoma, USA, that runs 16.22 miles west from Interstate 40 to Interstate 44 in southern Oklahoma City. After its terminus in southwest Oklahoma City, the main I-240 roadbed becomes Interstate 44 and Airport Road toward Will Rogers World Airport...
connects Interstate 40 and Interstate 44 in South Oklahoma City while Interstate 235
Interstate 235 (Oklahoma)
Interstate 235 in Oklahoma is also known as the Centennial Expressway. The spur route of Interstate 35 is a 5.4-mile-long north–south spur route in central and north-central Oklahoma City. It connects northbound to U.S. Highway 77 on to suburban Edmond and southbound at Interstate 44 on to...
spurs from Interstate 44 in Northcentral Oklahoma City into downtown Oklahoma City. Major state highways through the city include the Lake Hefner Parkway (SH-74), the Kilpatrick Turnpike
John Kilpatrick Turnpike
The John Kilpatrick Turnpike is a toll road in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that runs from Interstate 40 on its west side to I-35, where it then merges into the Turner Turnpike...
, Airport Road (SH-152), and Broadway Extension (US-77). Lake Hefner Parkway runs through Northwest Oklahoma City while Airport Road runs through Southwest Oklahoma City and leads to Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport , also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is located in southwestern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 6 miles from downtown and is the principal commercial airport of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area...
. The Kilpatrick Turnpike loops around North and West Oklahoma City and Broadway Extension connects Central Oklahoma City to Edmond.
Air
Oklahoma City is served by two primary airports, Will Rogers World AirportWill Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport , also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is located in southwestern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 6 miles from downtown and is the principal commercial airport of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area...
and the much smaller Wiley Post Airport
Wiley Post Airport
Wiley Post Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Oklahoma City, in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States....
(incidentally, the two honorees died in the same plane crash in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
) Will Rogers World Airport is the state's busiest passenger airport, with over 3 million passengers annually. Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...
, in East Oklahoma City, is the largest military air depot in the nation, a major maintenance and deployment facility for the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, and the second largest military institution in the state (after Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
in Lawton
Lawton, Oklahoma
The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
).
Rail
AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
has a train station
Oklahoma City (Amtrak station)
Oklahoma City's Amtrak station is known as the Santa Fe Depot, and has a station ID OKC, similar to the city's airport IATA code. The train station is an Art Deco structure located in downtown Oklahoma City at 100 South E.K. Gaylord Boulevard...
downtown, with daily service to Fort Worth and the nation's rail network via the Heartland Flyer
Heartland Flyer
The Heartland Flyer is a daily passenger train that follows a 206-mile route between Fort Worth, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Amtrak serves as contractor, initially only for the State of Oklahoma, but now also to the State of Texas....
. Oklahoma City once was the crossroads of several interstate passenger railroads, but service at that level has long since been discontinued. Greyhound
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
and several other intercity bus companies serve Oklahoma City at Union Bus Station
Union Station (Oklahoma City)
Oklahoma City Union Depot is a building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that served as a "union station" from 1931 until 1967. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979...
, Downtown. METRO Transit is the public transit company, but is limited in its coverage of the city's main street grid. Due to the small number of bus routes offered, it operates a hub-and-spoke system that makes many journeys impractical. The bus terminal is located downtown at NW 5th Street and Hudson Avenue. A plan to improve the system is known as the Fixed Guideway Study.
Though Oklahoma City currently has no light rail or commuter rail service, there is growing interest in incorporating light rail and commuter rail into the city's future transportation planning. In December 2009, voters in Oklahoma City passed the $777 million MAPS 3
Metropolitan Area Projects Plan 3
The Metropolitan Area Projects Plan 3, or MAPS3, is a $777 million public works and redevelopment project in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma funded by a temporary voter-approved sales tax increase.-History:...
initiative, which will include funding for an estimated 5 miles (8 km) to 6 miles (9.7 km) modern streetcar in downtown Oklahoma City and commuter rail (the commuter rail component would be pending subject to federal and state funding). There is also a significant push for a commuter rail line connecting downtown with the eastern suburbs of Del City
Del City, Oklahoma
Del City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 21,332 at the 2010 census....
, Midwest City
Midwest City, Oklahoma
Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state....
, and Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...
. A short heritage rail line that will run from Bricktown to the Adventure District
Adventure District
Oklahoma City's Adventure District is an area in Oklahoma City, roughly centered around NE 50th Street and Martin Luther King Avenue, that is home to several of the city's most well-known attractions...
in Northeast Oklahoma City is under reconstruction.
Walkability
A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Oklahoma City 48th most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities.Health
Oklahoma City and the surrounding metropolitan area are home to a number of health care facilities and specialty hospitals. OU MedicineOU Medicine
OU Medicine is the combination of OU Medical Center – Oklahoma City & Edmond, The Children’s Hospital, OU Physicians, OU Children’s Physicians, The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Oklahoma Cancer Center...
, an academic medical institution located on the campus of The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is the health sciences branch of the University of Oklahoma. Located in Oklahoma City, it serves as the primary place of instruction for many of Oklahoma's health professions...
, is home to OU Medical Center, The Trauma One Center, the state's only level 1 trauma center, The Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center, OU Physicians and OU Children's Physicians, the OU College of Medicine, and the Oklahoma Cancer Center. OU Medical Center Edmond, located in the northern suburb of Edmond is also part of the OU Medicine
OU Medicine
OU Medicine is the combination of OU Medical Center – Oklahoma City & Edmond, The Children’s Hospital, OU Physicians, OU Children’s Physicians, The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Oklahoma Cancer Center...
family. Integris Health owns several hospitals, including Integris Baptist Medical Center, the Integris Cancer Institute, and the Integris Southwest Medical Center. The Midwest Regional Medical Center located in the city's Midwest City suburb, the downtown St. Anthony's Medical Center, Oklahoma Heart Hospital and the Mercy Health Center are other hospitals. There are 347 physicians for every 100,000 people in the city.
In the American College of Sports Medicine
American College of Sports Medicine
The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 40,000 international, national and regional members and certified professionals are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and...
's annual ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas on the basis of community health, Oklahoma City took last place in 2010, falling 5 places from its 2009 rank of 45. The ACSM's report, published as part of its American Fitness Index program
ACSM American Fitness Index
The ACSM American Fitness Index Program is an initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine that aims to quantitatively measure the overall health and fitness level of American metropolitan areas. The measure is a composite of indicators for personal health, availability of health care...
, cited, among other things, the poor diet of residents, low levels of physical fitness, higher incidences of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than the national average, low access to recreational facilities like swimming pools and baseball diamonds, the paucity of parks and low investment by the city in their development, the high percentage of households below the poverty level, and the lack of state-mandated physical education curriculum as contributing factors.
Notable people born in Oklahoma City
- Lexi AinsworthLexi AinsworthAlexandra Danielle "Lexi" Ainsworth is an American teen actress. She is known for her role as Kristina Davis on General Hospital.-Personal life and career:Ainsworth was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
, actress - Suzy AmisSuzy AmisSusan Elizabeth "Suzy" Amis is an American former film actress and former model.-Career:Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Amis first worked as a Ford model before she began acting in the 1980s. She made her feature film debut in the 1985 comedy film Fandango, opposite Kevin Costner...
, actress and model - Don CherryDon Cherry (jazz)Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
, jazz cornetist - Candice DupreeCandice Dupree-External links:**...
, basketball player - Ronnie Claire EdwardsRonnie Claire Edwards-Biography:Edwards was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She has been acting professionally since 1963 and is best known for the role of the bossy "Corabeth Walton Godsey", wife of storekeeper Ike Godsey played by Joe Conley, in the CBS television series The Waltons, created by Earl Hamner, Jr...
, actress, most notable as Corabeth Godsey in The Waltons - Gennifer FlowersGennifer FlowersGennifer Flowers is a model and actress who allegedly had a sexual relationship with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Prior to Bill Clinton's presidency, she also posed nude for Penthouse magazine and was an actress in two films and one TV show...
, actress - Eugene NidaEugene NidaEugene A. Nida was the developer of the dynamic-equivalence Bible-translation theory.- Life :Nida was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on November 11, 1914...
, linguist and translator - Ted QuillinTed QuillinTed Quillin died April 20, 2011 is an American radio personality who worked at KFWB....
, radio personality - John Michael TalbotJohn Michael TalbotJohn Michael Talbot is an American Roman Catholic singer-songwriter-guitarist who is founder of a monastic community, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity.-Biography:...
, monk and guitarist - Wes WelkerWes Welker-San Diego Chargers :Welker, who was not drafted during the 2004 NFL Draft, signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Diego Chargers. Welker made the Chargers out of training camp, but was released after the first game of the season.-2004 season:...
, NFL player
Notable current residents of Oklahoma City metropolitan area
- Bryan Abrams, member of Color Me BaddColor Me BaddColor Me Badd was an R&B vocal group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. The original members of the group were Bryan Abrams ; Mark Calderon ; Sam Watters and Kevin Thornton...
- Clayton BennettClayton BennettClayton "Clay" Ike' Bennett is an American businessman and chairman of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the ownership group of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise that was formerly the Seattle SuperSonics...
, NBA OwnerOklahoma City ThunderThe Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena.... - David Boren, President of University of Oklahoma, former U.S. Senator and Governor
- Sam BradfordSam BradfordSamuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner - Anita BryantAnita BryantAnita Jane Bryant is an American singer, former Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner, and gay rights opponent. She scored four Top 40 hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Paper Roses", which reached #5...
, singer, conservative activist - Danny Cahill, winner of "The Biggest LoserThe Biggest LoserThe Biggest Loser is an American reality game show that debuted on NBC October 19, 2004. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight....
" - Greyson ChanceGreyson ChanceGreyson Michael Chance is an American pop rock singer and pianist whose April 2010 performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" at a sixth-grade music festival became a hit on YouTube, gaining over 43 million views. Two of his original compositions, "Stars" and "Broken Hearts", gained over 5 and 7...
, pop music artist - Graham ColtonGraham ColtonGraham Colton is an American singer-songwriter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma most widely known for his hit song "Best Days", featured on the television series American Idol and Kyle XY...
, pop music artist - Nadia ComaneciNadia ComaneciNadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...
, Olympic gymnast - Bart ConnerBart ConnerBart Wayne Conner is a former American gymnast who, as a member of the gold medal-winning men's gymnastics team at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games won an individual gold on the parallel bars...
, Olympic gymnast - Mick CornettMick CornettMick Cornett is the current Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. He also serves on notable positions including the national President of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials , and also serves on the Board of Trustees for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He was also Chairman of the...
, Mayor of Oklahoma City since 2006/former television personality - Wayne CoyneWayne CoyneWayne Michael Coyne is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter for the band The Flaming Lips.-Early life:...
, lead singer of the band The Flaming LipsThe Flaming LipsThe Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What... - Steven DrozdSteven DrozdSteven Gregory Drozd is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist and lead guitarist for The Flaming Lips.-Early life:...
, musician in The Flaming LipsThe Flaming LipsThe Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What... - Kevin DurantKevin DurantKevin Wayne Durant is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association . A 6'9" small forward/shooting guard who is also capable of playing power forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the...
, All Star forward for Oklahoma City ThunderOklahoma City ThunderThe Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena.... - Mary FallinMary FallinMary Fallin is the 27th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. She was a U.S. Representative for from 2007 until 2011....
, Governor of Oklahoma since 2010/former state senator - Gray Fredrickson, Oscar-winning film producer
- Blake GriffinBlake GriffinBlake Austin Griffin is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association . Griffin had a renowned high school career at Oklahoma Christian School, winning state titles each of his four years under his father, Tommy Griffin, who was the...
, NBA player - Harold HammHarold HammHarold Hamm is an American oilman who was ranked in the March 2011 issue of Forbes as the 33rd richest person in America, with a net worth of $8.6 billion. Hamm is a key player in Hiland Partners and Hiland Holdings as well as the oil-exploration company Continental Resources, Oklahoma's fourth...
, oil billionaire - Robert Harlan HenryRobert Harlan HenrySee also Robert Henry Robert Harlan Henry is a former U.S. judge and politician from Oklahoma, and President of Oklahoma City University since July, 2010.-Biography:...
, President of Oklahoma City UniversityOklahoma City UniversityOklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
, former federal judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit - HinderHinderHinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma that was formed in 2001 by drummer Cody Hanson, guitarist Joe Garvey, and singer Austin Winkler. The band was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2007.-Formation and early history:...
, rock band - Mat HoffmanMat HoffmanMat Hoffman is an American BMX rider considered one of the best vert-ramp riders in the history of the sport. He is nicknamed "The Condor" and owns the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes, based out of Oklahoma City, OK.-Bio:...
, world record holder BMX Rider - Jerome HolmesJerome HolmesJerome A. Holmes is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is the first African American to serve on the Tenth Circuit.- Background :...
, federal judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit - Wanda JacksonWanda JacksonWanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Jesse JaneJesse JaneJesse Jane is an American pornographic actress and model.-Early life:Jane was a military brat who grew up on various military bases in the Midwestern United States. She did extensive dance training and was a varsity cheerleader at her high school in Rose Hill, Kansas...
, porn star - Jane Anne JayroeJane Anne JayroeJayne Anne Jayroe-Gamble is an American beauty queen from Laverne, Oklahoma, who was Miss America 1967 and Miss Oklahoma in 1966. Jayroe worked in the news industry for many years until Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating appointed her to serve as his Secretary of Tourism and Recreation in his...
, Miss America 1967 - Toby KeithToby KeithToby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...
, country singer - Desmond MasonDesmond MasonDesmond Tremaine Mason is an American former professional basketball player. He was designated as a shooting guard and small forward.-Career:...
, former NBA player - Aubrey McClendonAubrey McClendonAubrey Kerr McClendon is the chief executive officer, chairman, and co-founder of Chesapeake Energy Corporation . He is an outspoken advocate for natural gas as a cleaner and safer alternative to oil and coal fuels...
, CEO of Chesapeake Energy - Gerald McCoyGerald McCoyMcCoy was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 3rd overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. McCoy and the Buccaneers agreed to a five-year, $63 million contract on July 31, 2010.-Tampa Bay Buccaneers:...
, NFL player - Lauren NelsonLauren NelsonLauren Paige Nelson is a beauty queen from Lawton, Oklahoma who holds the Miss America 2007 title. Nelson is the second consecutive Miss America and sixth in the history of Miss America to hail from this state....
, Miss America 2007 - Larry NicholsLarry NicholsJ. Larry Nichols is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation. Nichols co-founded Devon with his father, John Nichols, in 1971 and assumed the company's chairmanship in 2000. He has served as Devon's CEO since 1980 and was President from 1976 until...
, CEO of Devon Energy - Sean O'Grady, boxer
- Thomas Patten StaffordThomas Patten StaffordThomas Patten Stafford is a retired American Air Force lieutenant general and former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard two Gemini space flights; and in 1969 was the commander of Apollo 10, the second manned mission to orbit the Moon and the first to fly a lunar module there.In 1975, Stafford was...
, astronaut - Bob StoopsBob StoopsRobert Anthony "Bob" Stoops is the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship....
, University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
football coach - Barry SwitzerBarry SwitzerBarry Switzer is a former football coach, active in the college and professional ranks between 1962 and 1997. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history, and is one of only two head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a...
, national championship and Super Bowl-winning football coach - Antwone TaultonAntwone Taulton-Early life and, Education:Born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Waco, Texas, Taulton graduated from the A.J. Moore Academy in 2004. Taulton attended the McLennan Community College and the University of Central Oklahoma, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity from George W...
, Homeless Advocate and Creator of "A Day in Our Shoes" Documentary - Russell WestbrookRussell WestbrookRussell Westbrook is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. He was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, which relocated from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
, All Star guard for Oklahoma City ThunderOklahoma City ThunderThe Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
Sister cities
Oklahoma City has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
: Haikou
Haikou
Hǎikǒu , is the capital and most populous city of Hainan Province, in the People's Republic of China. It is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River...
, China Puebla
Puebla, Puebla
The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...
, Mexico Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil Tainan, Taiwan Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan Ulyanovsk
Ulyanovsk
Ulyanovsk The city is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin , for whom it is named.-History:Simbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. The fort of "Simbirsk" was strategically placed on a hill on the Western bank of the Volga River...
, Russia Yehud
Yehud
Yehud is a city in the Center District in Israel that is part of the joint municipality of Yehud-Monosson. In 2007, Yehud's population was approximately 25,600 .- History :...
, Israel
See also
- Coyle v. SmithCoyle v. SmithCoyle v. Smith, , was a Supreme Court of the United States case that held that the newly created state of Oklahoma was permitted to move its capital city from Guthrie to Oklahoma City, notwithstanding a state constitutional provision that prohibited it from being moved out of Guthrie.-Background:In...
- History of OklahomaHistory of OklahomaThe history of Oklahoma refers to the history of the state of Oklahoma and the land that the state now occupies. Areas of Oklahoma east of its panhandle were acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, while the Panhandle was not acquired until the U.S...
- List of mayors of Oklahoma City
External links
- Oklahoma City section of Oklahoma's official travel and tourism site with photos, videos, articles and listings about Oklahoma City.
- WikitravelWikitravel-External links:* *...
has a travel guide about Oklahoma City - New York Times travel story on Oklahoma City
- Convention & Visitors' Bureau
- Official City Website
- American Factfinder/Census page
- City-Data page
- Oklahoma City Film Exchange District Website
- Voices of Oklahoma interview with Ron Norick. First person interview conducted on July 28, 2009 with Ron Norick, mayor of Oklahoma City during the Oklahoma City bombing and first MAPS Projects. Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.