On Wednesday, May 13th, while Robin and Jeremy were at work, and Autumn and Isaiah were at school, Frank and I decided to spend some time in the revitalized former warehouse district of section of Oklahoma City called Bricktown. A favorite feature of this entertainment area is a canal boat ride called the Bricktown Water Taxi. We took an Uber from the hotel to browse the Bricktown area about 10 miles north and were dropped off at the entrance to the canal boat tour.
The next piece of art we viewed along the canal was a mural by Bob Palmer created from images of vintage postcards and aptly titled Postcard Mural. The challenges presented while painting this mural — such as resolution, night time painting, narrow ledge restrictions — are discussed in this three minute Postcard Mural YouTube video. Bob Palmer has painted numerous other murals in Oklahoma (as well as throughout the country) and perhaps Frank and I can see many more of them on our next visit to Robin and Jeremy.
For me, the highlight of the canal tour is the Centennial Land Rush Monument commemorating the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. Per Wikipedia and a Sage Journal publication
The sculpture was erected in 2019 and features 45 bronze statues, each one being "one-and-a-half times life-size". It took Sculptor Paul Moore over twenty years to complete this powerful work, which is one of the largest monuments in the world. The work depicts horsemen and wagons racing over the Oklahoma landscape, with a total area slightly larger than a football field. The sculpture contains masterful images of straining horses and frantic individuals caught in a vital effort to succeed in this race to claim valuable homesteads and pastureland.
Here are some images starting with the cannon shot that signaled the start of the rush to grab landsites. There are horses with riders and horses pulling wagons and various other poses from flat out runs to leaps over obstacles.
Per the research of the Oklahoma dramaturgical team from the Ball State University College of Fine Arts, there were approximately 10 land rushes between 1889 and 1906. This multi-statued monument commemorates the first land rush in 1889 that started it all. These land rushed occurred after President Andrew Jackson's two terms from 1829 to 1837 and his "as long as the grass grows and the rivers run" promise. All that was left of Indian Territory after 1906 is represented in grey on the map to the right. This map raises the definition of the "unclaimed" territory. The grandeur of The Centennial Land Rush Monument and its representation of an historic moment in time cannot be denied, regardless of the opinion of the legitimacy of the act it commemorates. The art impact of the sculptures themselves is magnificent.
Was it a momentous day for American Manifest Destiny, a victory of rugged individualism and the indomitable pioneer spirit over the untamed wilderness, an enormous transfer of wealth and an opportunity for everyone, including women and African Americans, to become landowners? Or just another treaty-breaking, land-grabbing swindle by a colonizing federal government that had already nearly eradicated many Native American tribes and forced survivors onto inhospitable parcels of “Indian Territory?”The recurring question is the conflict between preserving history with its flaws and mistakes versus eradicating it. I am pleased to see how Oklahoma acknowledges and emphasizes its Native American heritage without sweeping it under a rug. Similar when I went to Georgia in 2019, it was encouraging to see how that state acknowledged its treatment of slaves rather than burying it. The previous quoted essay about victors and victims cites approaches in other states; it is well worth reading.
As our canal boat tours draws to a close at our origin dock Frank and I contemplate a stroll around the more compact commercial/entertainment area of Bricktown, taking in local flavor. For the second photo of Frank, my iPhone was mistakenly set on portrait mode. I got a repeat image of Frank when my goal was a focus on the bison in the background behind him as a symbolic idiosyncrasy of the area.
Brickopolis Miniature Golf on the Bricktown Canal offers the ultimate miniature golf experience in Downtown Oklahoma City! Putt your way through 18 holes of obstacles, bridges, and cascading waterfalls.
What particularly caught my eye were more bison plus a wolf and deer. For other pictures of the course, check out A Couple of Putts. The weather was warm, and had the course been a bit more shaded, we might have given it a try. But we strolled on, keeping in the shade of the buildings.
The ballpark is named in honor of the Chickasaw Nation. The Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma is the 13th-largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. Most of their descendants remain as residents of what is now Oklahoma.They traditionally followed a kinship system of matrilineal descent, in which inheritance and descent are traced through the maternal line. Children are considered born into the mother's family and clan, and gain their social status from her. Women controlled most property and hereditary leadership in the tribe passed through the maternal line. I did find it ironic that even with a maternal line of history, the great seal is still that of a man.
The next notable area on the trolley route was Scissortail Park which contains the Skydance Bridge, a pedestrian bridge to cross Interstate 40, also known as Scissortail Bridge.
Architects Hans and Torrey Butzer conceived of the bridge as being inspired by the mating dance of the scissor-tailed flycatcher, Oklahoma's state bird. The double-winged structure would be a sculptural landmark and provide support to a pedestrian deck that connects two portions of Oklahoma City's Scissortail Park. ... The location of the bridge was chosen as part of the "Core to Shore" initiative, which was intended to connect the core of downtown Oklahoma City to the shore of the Oklahoma River.
The next stop on the trolley route was Myriad Gardens. Here is an overview of the 15-acre landscaped area in the heart of OKC metropolitan area. Featured in the center is the crystal bridge. Robin told us it is beautiful and we should walk across it. We looked deep into the park as the trolley rolled by and it did look tempting. Next time. This is yet another attraction to add to our list of things to do on our next visit.
Just north of Myriad Gardens, we passed next to Devon Tower, which we had viewed from our canal boat ride. Exiting our counterclockwise course of the lower trolley loop, we entered the northern loop in a clockwise direction. The northern loop passed through the metropolitan area of OKC, taking us past the library and law school, without much worthy of note other that the overall ambiance of a city's downtown. On the way back south though, we could gaze into the lawn area of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum with its 168 chairs for the victims of the 1995 bombing of the federal building. This was one of the first places Frank and I visited on our first trip to OKC. It is still a sobering moment to see, even without venturing inside the museum building. The chairs are arranged in nine distinct rows to symbolize the nine floors of the building with nineteen of the chairs being smaller to represent the children who lost their brief lives. This Wikipedia article gives more information.
In exploring the internet for this blog post, I saw many articles about the survivors and the victims since it is now 30 years later. This one about PJ Allen, the youngest survivor of the blast, 18 months old at the time, I found particularly worthy of note.
When the trolley re-entered the Bricktown District, Frank and I got off, just before the Mickey Mantle stop. We browsed briefly in The Painted Door, a gift boutique with many eclectic wares to amuse and corresponding prices that did not amuse. This store was still a fun place to look even if it was not a fun place to buy.
Next door was the The Old Spaghetti Factory; they restaurant and the store even shared elegant bathroom facilities. We decoded to have lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory. The ambience was kinda neat but we only ate a portion of our meal and took the remainder of it with us to go.
Apparently the roof top is reputed to have a good view, but we decided to forgo it during the heat of the day. Maybe one evening on our next trip out to OKC ...? The proximity of the Painted Door to the restaurant is visible in the following photo.
On Thursday, May 14th we flew back home to California. We had two flights, connecting in Denver. In flight, we learned to our surprise that even though we had two flight numbers with two board passes for each of us, it was the same plane. We did not have to get off and make a mad dash (in wheelchairs) to another gate. We did have to change seats, however, but that was no big deal. Once in San Jose we observed the following rotating sculpture. Curious, I looked up its story.
It is titled Space Observer, created in 2010 by artist Björn Schülke. Other views and background of this mesmerizing, motorized sculpture can be found in this digiart link. Per the San Jose facility directory of public art collections and this San Jose Government public document
Space Observer is a landmark artwork located on the airport's highly trafficked meeting, greeting, and circulation mezzanine. In an airport, one of the most highly secured and surveilled public facilities of our modern time, the sculpture's whimsical, yet high tech aesthetic and use of surveillance technology, reinforce the San Jose Airport's Art + Technology Program theme. Reminiscent of a space craft, this glossy white 26' tall sculpture, perched on a tripod of 8' tall legs, explores the interactivity between humans and modern technology. When a passer-by engages with this elaborate yet delicate object it quietly rotates following him or her with the aid of two propeller-tipped arms. Its eye reveals images picked up from embedded cameras. As stated by the artist, "it can recognize you and detect your movement setting off a trigger of kinetic responses like a conversation or a dance". The placement of the sculpture was designed to reinforce passenger way finding towards either security (north) or baggage claim (south)
This was the final item we observed during what was, in retrospect, an art-centric visit. Between the visual art of a stage production with Autumn, the historical art within the Cowboy Museum, the mosaic and painted murals along the Bricktown canal boat ride, and the bronze statues both at the Cowboy Museum and in Bricktown, we have been culturally enhanced. Plus all of this enrichment is plunked right in the middle of the laughter, hugs, and interactions with family! What a great trip!
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