Oklahoma City

Travel America, May, 2001 by Margaret Dornaus

New developments and Old West flair give this cattle town a strong dose of visitor appeal

A last-minute substitute, Chef Lou Schorr had been flown in fresh from Boston to cook at a food exhibition held at Oklahoma City's Myriad Convention Center. He expected his trip--like so many other business trips he had taken--to be brief and relatively uneventful. But finding a few hours between the end of his work day and dinner, the chef from Boston happened to remember something. Oklahoma City was not just any other city. It was the city where, on April 19, 1995, the most devastating terrorist bombing in America had occurred. The memorial to the 168 men, women, and children who lost their lives that day was, in fact, just a few blocks from the new downtown Marriott Renaissance where Schorr was staying. On an impulse, he decided to visit the site before dark.

Prior to dusk Oklahoma City Na and-glass (each representing one the victims killed iii the Murrah Federal Building bombing) seems to float above the adjacent reflecting pool. But come sundown, the chairs' lighted glass bases take on a soft, eerie glow that illuminates the names of the victims recognized and remembered there. The effect is one of overwhelming poignancy. Schorr, seated in the hotel's restaurant an hour or two alter nightfall, echoes this sentiment. "Such beauty from such sadness," he says, struggling to put words to the experience of his visit.

Operated by the National Park Service, the memorial is, in large part, a testament to the resiliency of Oklahoma City's people. Words inscribed on the memorial's entry wall encapsulate that spirit. While recognizing the impact of the bombing on "those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever ..., "the memorial asks visitors to leave with a greater understanding of the "impact of violence" and offers them "comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."

Schorr is anxious to share his perceptions of the memorial with his mother--a Holocaust survivor. In a few weeks' time, he will sit down at her dinner table and tell her about his unanticipated pilgrimage. And about his new resolve to be more aware of--and kinder to--strangers. That Oklahoma City can teach its visitors such lessons should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with its past as well as recent history. Oklahoma's capital city has a tradition of welcoming strangers that dates back to its pre-statehood 1889 Land Run, when settlers staked homestead claims in exchange for developing the territory.

These days that welcoming tradition is more in evidence than ever. You can see it in attractions that typify Oklahoma City's Western heritage--the Harn Homestead (claimed during the state's historic land scramble), which operates as a museum and learning center; the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, with its huge collection of Western art and historical artifacts, as well as its June-September Prix de West Invitational Exhibition and Sale of contemporary Western art; and Stockyards City, where the oldest cattle auction in the world is held on Monday and Tuesday mornings. To visit these sights is to brush up against the American West in a way that sends the dusty pages of history flying through the air like a bucking bronco.

The specialty stores in Stockyards City are, for example, as alive and well today as they were a century ago. Here you can find everything from handmade boots, belts, and saddles to high-topping Stetsons. And, May 18-19, you can range through the streets freely during the annual Stockyards Stampede Festival--a celebration of Western heritage, culture, and music that culminates in live entertainment and a chili cook-off.

What Stockyards City is to cattle, State Fair Park is to horses. The center of Oklahoma City's equestrian universe, the fairgrounds' complex hosts more national and international shows and competitions (with every imaginable breed--from Arabians to quarter horses) than any other facility in the country. In addition, the International Finals Rodeo gathers 15 of the world's top money-winners in each of seven events--from bull-riding to roping--here each year.

Another annual event that captures the imagination is the Red Earth Festival, an art and dance competition featuring more than 100 Native American tribes, held during the second week of June. Opening with a parade of costumed dancers swirling through downtown streets like brightly colored ribbons, the festival culminates with juried art exhibitions and nightly dance performances at the Myriad Convention Center.

Directly across from the center, the Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory blaze with color any time of year. A 17-acre garden spot in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, the Gardens revolve around the impressive cylindrical conservatory---complemented by rotating displays of flowering tropicals and a 35-foot waterfall.

Nearby Bricktown is the downtown area's newest highlight. During spring and summer months, the fiesta-like flavor of this former warehouse district heightens as visitors clamber aboard green-and-yellow pontoons to taxi down a mile-long canal that winds past Bricktown's trendy restaurants and nightclubs. Anchoring this stretch of water are the 12,000-seat Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark--home to Oklahoma City's AAA baseball team, the RedHawks--and the restored Santa Fe Depot, an Art Deco beauty that recently opened daily Amtrak rail service between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.