Historic Capitol Hill

[ddavidson8]

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Hey doug:....Whoever ddavidson8 is hasn't read through our threads. I can't remember which one but, I'm sure PapaOU will. There is about three pages FULL of information on theaters in OKC and Surrounding areas. Not only are the stories there but the names of ALL movie and theater houses are listed....If papa can't find it we'll start retracing our footsteps. Papa:.......it was in the old Southside memories thread when Redskins/General was there. He (red/Gen) has a tremendous knowledge of all of the theaters.....A lot of your work on that project is finished Doug, we've just got to find it and get some input from other posters......

Hi Generals, I'm ddavidson8. You can call me Dan if you want.

[ddavidson8]

Sorry, double post.

[papaOU]

An article I just read says that the securing of the first packing plant, Morris was one of the major events for Capitol Hill. I guess much of the peoples, trades and businesses grew to the south and the Capitol Hill area.

It also states that the Morris co. was to receive a "bonus" of $300,000 before they would move here. City leaders "found" the money............

[Prunepicker]

An article I just read says that the securing of the first packing plant, Morris,
was one of the major events for Capitol Hill. I guess much of the peoples,
trades and businesses grew to the south and the Capitol Hill area.

It also states that the Morris co. was to receive a "bonus" of $300,000 before
they would move here. City leaders "found" the money...

That's very interesting. Is there a link we can read or do we have to go to a
library and read a book?

[Doug Loudenback]

I think it's been established that packing town was not part of Capitol Hill (it wasn't even part of any city until the modern era) so rather than developing that topic here please start another thread for that. That said, see Doug Dawgz Blog: Stockyards City.

[papaOU]

That's very interesting. Is there a link we can read or do we have to go to a
library and read a book?

Since it has some good photographs and tidbit of Capitol Hill I'll tell you.

Images of America; Oklahoma City Rediscovered, author is William D. Welge.

I don't have the book just happened upon it surfin da net......

[Doug Loudenback]

I've got the Welge book; it's not bad at all and has some nice images and a fairly good section on Capitol Hill. This book was mentioned in the "What IS Capitol Hill" thread. Some of his photos really push the envelope is as to Capitol Hill ... like Oklahoma City Community College. South Town, sure; Capitol Hill, no way.

[papaOU]

I have noticed in some of the older pictures and such Commerce Street is sometimes listed as West Commerce. I think the Beacon has West Commerce listed as its address on the building. I have never heard it called anything but Commerce. Have you found this to be true and if so is it the correct from to address the street name?

[papaOU]

I have never heard this:

Harrington platted the 160-acre tract near the old Santa Fe Trail and staked out individual lots for sale. His purpose, said Harrington, was to give "sober and industrious mechanics an opportunity to secure homes."

Are they speaking of the historic Santa Fe Trail? Or the Santa Fe Railroad?

[Doug Loudenback]

Sounds like you're quoting from Jana Hausburg's article at the Metropolitan Library Center: Oklahoma Images (press F5 after clicking the link if the article doesn't load). While interesting, there are at least a few errors in her article ... and you've caught one of them. The "old Santa Fe Trail" which she mentioned didn't come close to Oklahoma City, or Oklahoma, for that matter, except for the Panhandle in one of its iterations.

[papaOU]

I had thought that the 1st time that Capitol Hill appeared in the available Sanborn Maps was 1922. Not so. Before 1922, the prior version of such maps available through the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System on-line Sanborn Maps was/is 1906, and Capitol Hill was included in that version. The maps generally show a sparsely inhabited area (i.e., not many dwellings or other buildings are shown to be present) and, with one exception, they are not particularly notable. If you want to see them for yourselves, click the links at the end of this post ... I've reduced the size down to 1024 px wide from their original 5100 px wide size but you can still read them.

The exception is part of page 93 which shows the area embraced within the "CapitAl" Hill definition and shows the location of a school identified as "Capital Hill School" at what would be the northwest corner of Harvey & SW 29th today. The notations in this page are also informative:






Cropped portions of page 93 (click on image for larger):



The school mentioned is presumably the one referred to in this August 15, 1906, article:



Other than electrical power for trolley lines which had separate electrical power contracts (by 1908, the Oklahoma Railway Company had its own power plant via its Belle Isle facility; the trolley lines east of the Santa Fe RR were part of the Patterson line (Oklahoma Traction Company) until it was bought out by the ORC in 1913) Capitol Hill was without electricity per the March 2, 1909, article below.



In Jana Hausburg's article at the MLS website (press F5 after clicking the link if it does not automatically load),


As yet, I've not located a similar Oklahoman article to that effect, and I'm a bit unsure of the statement since, in January or so 1910 Capitol Hill's annexation by Oklahoma City was a fait accompli and, so, presumably, Okc's contract with OG&E would have extended to the new boundaries established by the annexation.

The town would have to wait until 1907 to get telephone service, per the January 15, 1907, article below:



So, in this time, Capitol Hill had no electricity, no phones, no public utilities of any kind other than the quasi-public utility of the trolleys. To boot, until a "wagon" bridge over the North Canadian on Robinson was done ... see the June 19, 1906, article below ... only a foot bridge connected Capitol Hill to Oklahoma City.



Small wonder, then, that many in Capitol Hill wanted to be annexed by Oklahoma City ... which of course is another story.

You can see the detailed Sanborn Map pages of Capitol Hill at the links below:

Page 93: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49...n_1906_p93.jpg

Page 94: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49...n_1906_p94.jpg

Page 95: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49...n_1906_p95.jpg

Page 96: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49...n_1906_p96.jpg

Why are lots 10-11-19-20-21-22 and half of 29&30 shaded on the above Osborn Map? Does this represent anything or just a flaw in the copy?

[papaOU]

You are probably aware of this Doug, but for those who don't know the Walker and Robinson Underpass are going to be demolished to make room for the new I40 pathway.

My parents used to honk while going under, I honked for my kids while going under and now my grand kids want me to honk when going under these railroad tracks. You used to be able to see trolley car tracks in the inside lanes of the passes. I think part of the rails system of the Union Station Depot is coming out as well.

Progress is bypassing people like us away............

[ddavidson8]

You used to be able to see trolley car tracks in the inside lanes of the passes. I think part of the rails system of the Union Station Depot is coming out as well.

Progress is bypassing people like us away............

Are they on the ceiling? I drove under tonight and wondered what the things on the ceiling of the underpass were.

[Generals64]

Are they on the ceiling? I drove under tonight and wondered what the things on the ceiling of the underpass were.

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At one time, there were Electric trolley Cars in the OKC Area. I remember as a small kid there were some trolley's in downtown but I don't remember any of them being in Capitol Hill. Those could very well be the electrical contacts that the trolley's used. If it's not gone, check around S.W. ninth and Walker there were some trolley tracks there. gotta go out of town tomorrow but will look for them Tuesday....those are about to disappear with the new I-40 exchange.
You would think they were railroad tracks but no, they were trolley tracks.

[papaOU]

Are they on the ceiling? I drove under tonight and wondered what the things on the ceiling of the underpass were.

You are correct. Forgot those. The street cars were electric.

This question was raised on another thread but the above fits in within as well.

The question was why is S.W.25 divided between Blackwelder and Agnew?

Any divided streets in "inner Okc" was divided so that street cars could pass each other.

S. Shields/ S. Harvey from S.W. 29Th to S.W. 44Th/

There are more in the northern part of the city but I don't know the stop and start loctions. N.W.13th Western to ?

[Doug Loudenback]

Why are lots 10-11-19-20-21-22 and half of 29&30 shaded on the above Osborn Map? Does this represent anything or just a flaw in the copy?

flaw in the copy

[Doug Loudenback]

You are correct. Forgot those. The street cars were electric.

This question was raised on another thread but the above fits in within as well.

The question was why is S.W.25 divided between Blackwelder and Agnew?

Any divided streets in "inner Okc" was divided so that street cars could pass each other.

S. Shields/ S. Harvey from S.W. 29Th to S.W. 44Th/

There are more in the northern part of the city but I don't know the stop and start locations. N.W.13th Western to ?

SW 25th between Blackwelder & Agnew was part of a trolley route to/from Packingtown.

A trolley map appears in When Oklahoma Took the Trolley by Allison Chandler and Stephen D. Maquire (Interurbans 1980), shown below (except that I've added color coding):



One problem with any trolley map is that not all parts of the overall route were in place at any one particular time. When the Capitol Hill/Packingtown route was added, or when it ended, I don't know. But, it did not exist in 1910.

A nice map and lengthy article appeared in the March 20, 1910, Oklahoman which showed the then existing and proposed routes for the then existing trolley company lines.

The map appears below but it's pretty hard if not impossible to make out everything in this view of the map -- but the map is handy (to the extent that it is accurate) in showing the development of Capitol Hill at this point in time:



For most of the above map, segments can be copied and then pasted together to form a single image, although that is not possible for the very bottom of the map. If you want to see the map reconstituted as just described, click here.

The part of the reconstituted map which embraces Capitol Hill and nearby environs is shown below ... I've added color coding for the routes which appear to me to be Oklahoma Railway Co. routes (orangy-red) and Citizens Traction Co. (Patterson) lines (green):



I may have gotten something wrong, though ... it is hard to read with certainty even in the reconstituted map. Comparing Allison Chandler and Stephen D. Maquires' When Oklahoma Took The Trolley book with the 1910 Oklahoman map it is evident that (1) the Capitol Hill/Packingtown link did not exist in 1910, but (2) the Citizen's Traction Company line along the east side of Capitol Hill did, even though it was much more extensive than shown in the book's map.

About the Oklahoma Traction Co. line for the Capitol Hill area, the accompanying article says, "The Oklahoma Interurban Traction company has a present terminus at Hudson and Grand avenues and extends through South Oklahoma, Ekroat and Schilling's addition into Capitol Hill on South Robinson Avenue. This line has been in operation for the past five years and has three cars in service over about four and one-half miles of track."

You can read the lengthy article which accompanies the above 1910 trolley map and which states the status and projections of the two trolley lines by clicking this link.

All trolley service in Oklahoma City ended in 1947.

[papaOU]

At one time there was a movement to get a railway station in Capitol Hill. Santa Fe, KATY......................
I wonder if the Interurban put an end to that?
Did Capitol Hill want a station for passenger or freight service? Both?

[Doug Loudenback]

At one time there was a movement to get a railway station in Capitol Hill. Santa Fe, KATY......................
I wonder if the Interurban put an end to that?
Did Capitol Hill want a station for passenger or freight service? Both?

It badly wanted a Santa Fe depot of some kind. City leaders (at least by the time that H.C. Schillng) was mayor) tried for years for that to happen, saying that Capitol Hill (then a town) was the largest town on the route not to have a depot. I'm not aware of other RRs being sought out for one, but then, I'm just a Capitol Hill beginner.

[papaOU]

The former Yale theater is now for sale.

[sansee]

what about capital hill general hospital i never see any pics of it

[papaOU]

At the last Coit's meeting a question was brought up about the radio station broadcasting from Capitol Hill. My sources (Mom & Dad) tell me it was KLPR but are unsure the exact location. They seem to think it was 134 Commerce or 2600 S. Robinson. Mom said they would allow people in to listen to live guests: Wanda Jackson, Jude & Jody and so on.

Anybody know the true location?

[Doug Loudenback]

At the last Coit's meeting a question was brought up about the radio station broadcasting from Capitol Hill. My sources (Mom & Dad) tell me it was KLPR but are unsure the exact location. They seem to think it was 134 Commerce or 2600 S. Robinson. Mom said they would allow people in to listen to live guests: Wanda Jackson, Jude & Jody and so on.

Anybody know the true location?

Here's a 1955 Sanborn map:



Here's a 2/12/1953 Oklahoman article ...



... and a 9/26/1953 KLPR ad

[papaOU]

what about capital hill general hospital i never see any pics of it

It's still there. It is being updated and repaired to be used/leased for office's. I think Doug has a few photos.

[Doug Loudenback]

what about capital hill general hospital i never see any pics of it

It's still there. It is being updated and repaired to be used/leased for office's. I think Doug has a few photos.

Old: 1930 Postcard From Vanished Splendor II (click for larger)



Old: 1930 Photo From Oklahoma History Center Archives (larger not available)



Taken May 11, 2009 (click for larger):