See American Journeys - Oklahoma City - Reaping the Benefits of the New Oil Boom - NYTimes.com (http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/travel/escapes/08American.html?em)


Oklahoma City Is Booming With Oil and a New Exuberance

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/08/08/travel/08american-600.jpg

Excerpt:
Newcomers to Oklahoma City might at first have a hard time guessing what part of the United States they’re in. A generally flat cityscape and the Chicago-style Art Deco architecture downtown, coupled with the friendly-but-not-too-friendly nods and hellos, hint at the Midwest. Jazz, blues bars and ubiquitous barbecue joints suggest the South. But the wide vistas, blast-furnace winds from the surrounding red-dirt prairie and preponderance of American Indian shops (Oklahoma has 38 sovereign tribes), pickups and cowboy hats indicate that you are indeed in the West.

And a Western kind of audacity pervades, from the 55-foot-tall glass Dale Chihuly sculpture in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art — which boasts the world’s most comprehensive collection of Chihuly’s works — to the exuberant parades and festivals that seem to be a constant. While I was in town, a nationally known local psychedelic band, the Flaming Lips, screened a homemade movie and music extravaganza, “Christmas on Mars,” to a raucous crowd at the deadCENTER Film Festival. At the same time, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum was hosting a gathering of contemporary Western artists — imagine a group of people resembling the cast of a Sam Peckinpah movie with paintbrushes. There is also a frisson in the air over the news that the city has managed to snag a National Basketball Association franchise, with the SuperSonics moving here from Seattle next season.
* * *
Come to think of it, given that it seems to be having the ride of its life, one could say that about the whole city.
Nice slide show in the article is here: The New Oklahoma City - The New York Times > Travel > Slide Show > Slide 1 of 11 (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08/07/travel/0808-OKLA_index.html)

My son sent that to me. It is very flattering. I don't know that I attribute all of it to oil, they way it at least implies, but it is still a favorable article.

I see that there is a good report at Forbes, also:


Okla. cities outpace nation in personal income
Okla. cities outpace nation in personal income - Forbes.com (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/08/07/ap5302109.html)

Oil Boom....I hadn't really thought of us in the midst of an Oil Boom. Perhaps that's because I remember the one in the '80s and everything seems far more sober right now.

I was in college with lots of kids who's families were on the high end of that boom and it seemed way more extreme than what we have now.

Perhaps the high end of the '80s boom was more decentralized. It seems that anybody who had a drink with a Penn Square exec in the early '80s came away with a multi-million dollar line of credit.

Today, the big money seems centered around a few big corporate guys. They are feeding a lot of construction and other economic stimuli, but it seems very different.

For example, I don't think you see 1000 insta-bagillionaires fighting for helicopter pad space at OU football games like in the '80s or every investment bank in the world fighting to loan money for any oil related project.

However, there's no denying that oil putting a lot of money in our economy right now.

Devon and Chesapeake's shadow over our current economy looms large and I worry about what happens when/if they start having problems.

I think, ala the bumper sticker, "Please God, give us another oil boom, and I promise I won't blow this one", you're not seeing the ridiculous spending that occurred doing the previous oil boom. The difference between this one and that one is that the first oil boom was an artificial shortage created by the Arab Oil Embargo. This one is related to significant increases in world-wide demand. I'm sure there will be ups and downs of a minor variety, but I don't see demand lessening. Also, Chesapeake is natural gas, so there might be some differences in price fluctuations between the two markets.

Great article. I wish the writer could have visited the Chesapeake Boathouse and whatnot.

Terrific article.

Anytime you can get a feature in one of the largest newspapers in the country, and its not revolving around bad press, you know something good is going on.

Seriously? Who paid for this?

What's really crazy is that, even as comprehensive as the article is, he still missed some things, like MidTown and the Paseo.

As for the oil boom, I agree that it seems a lot more "sober" than what I kind of remember from when I was young. I think the biggest noticeable difference on the street is that it seems a lot more young people have better paying jobs and/or are sticking around than even just 8 years ago when I moved back.

Thanks for sharing that!


I think the biggest difference in this flavor of oil boom is that it's concentrated in a few large companies rather than a ton of smaller and mid-sized ones. I worked in OKC in the early 80's and remember the excesses very well.

Having lived through that (not unlike those that went through the depression) I can't help but worry about some of the large-scale corporate spending now. It's almost all good for OKC but everything in this world is cyclical and I just hope these companies don't have their necks too far out and that OKC as a whole doesn't end up paying the price as well.

Man, between this and and Oklahoma River/regatta park story that made it into the NYTimes, I think that's like two major OKC stories in the NYT in the past year.

Here's to hoping the good press keeps on coming...

Seriously? Who paid for this?

If, in asking that, you are inquiring as to who PAID this journalist to write that article, then the answer is "nobody."

If you want to know how it came to pass that OKC got a glowing article in the NYT, then you can thank none other than the efforts of the dutiful staff of our local OKC CVB (Convention and Visitors' Bureau), who hosted the North American Travel Journalists Association at the end of June.

Over 100 travel journalists from across the US, and some from Canada, participated in the three-day event. The journalists visited the entire OKC metro area, including day trips as far as the Arcadia area, and down to Norman.

They focused mostly on the major tourist attractions of downtown OKC, including Bricktown, the Oklahoma River, Memorial, OKCMOA, Myriad Gardens, and then went up to the Adventure District, etc.

I don't recall if a trip to the Paseo District or Mid-Town were a part of the tour. I believe the Paseo was.

The journalists had more or less free rein in how they wanted to organize their trips, signing up for different itineraries that took them to various attractions.

This writer was one of the journalists attending the convention.

I've already booked three rooms from out-of-staters today BECAUSE they read this article. None of them have even been to Oklahoma before.

Platemaker,

Where do you work? (If it's OK for you to say....)

cool article. Oklahoma Were Booming again... come to think of it thats should be the new state motto!

Seriously? Who paid for this?

We Oklahomans paid for this story. We paid for it with perseverance, hard work and a belief that Oklahoma City could be better than it was. We paid for it with our tax dollars, including the upcoming renovations to the Ford Center and a practice facility for our NBA team.

And this is just the start. Once our crosstown expressway is moved to the south in the next few years, Core to Shore will start in earnest. We'll pay for that too, and be damned proud of it.

And you'll still be twittling your thumbs over the viaduct.

And you'll still be twittling your thumbs over the viaduct.
I don't get it. What viaduct?

i assume that Martz is talking about the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle

Why a duck?

Why a duck?
When I was a kid, I never could figure out why duck tape was called duck tape! :dizzy:

We Oklahomans paid for this story. We paid for it with perseverance, hard work and a belief that Oklahoma City could be better than it was. We paid for it with our tax dollars, including the upcoming renovations to the Ford Center and a practice facility for our NBA team.

And this is just the start. Once our crosstown expressway is moved to the south in the next few years, Core to Shore will start in earnest. We'll pay for that too, and be damned proud of it.

And you'll still be twittling your thumbs over the viaduct.

First off, I'm not a troll, but good guess on the Seattle part. I'm a transplant living in OKC going on 7 years now, so I paid for a lot of this stuff myself. I love it here and am excited about this city, which is why I'm pretty active on this forum and okmet. That being said, it feels a little inappropriate to downplay any of our good press, but this article just struck me as being a bit over the top. I'd also had a few in me at the time. It's a positive thing though nonetheless, so I'll leave it at that.

Secondly, the whole Seattle/OKC message board wars crack me up. Seattle will solve the viaduct issue because they have no choice. Keep in mind that Seattle has nearly completed the first phase of a multi-billion dollar light rail project which goes from Seatac airport to Downtown and includes some rather daunting tunnel work. There is also a bill on the November ballot for a 20 billion dollar phase II extension, taking it out to The University of Washington, across the lake to Microsoft and points further south. Right now OKC can't even figure out how to run two rubber-tire trolley's, so get real. We've come a long way, but the reality is that we're still way behind and need to step it up even more. When we do, I'll be right here chipping in my tax money just like you.

Doug, great shots!

Someone posted this (NY Times) on the Seattle Times Forum "NBA in Seattle." This was a plus in more ways than one for Oklahoma City.

Can't wait for National Geographic's Attraction to come out with on Monday.

Our image will take time to change. Reputable print from these types of media outlets really help. The NBA will help to boost our true image.

Part of the reason the new oil boom seems more sober than the eighties boom is that in the eighties, we actually had two booms: the oil boom and the irresponsible banking boom. The irresponsible banking boom was probably bigger, and fueled a lot of the 'helicoptering to the OU game' excess of that era.

By the time the dust had settled, the banking industry in the two big metro areas had pretty much imploded, and the guys who were so free-wheeling with loans were run out of the business (although you might get the impression a lot of them landed at Countrywide and Bear Stearns).

Doug, great shots!

Someone posted this (NY Times) on the Seattle Times Forum "NBA in Seattle." This was a plus in more ways than one for Oklahoma City.

Can't wait for National Geographic's Attraction to come out with on Monday.

Our image will take time to change. Reputable print from these types of media outlets really help. The NBA will help to boost our true image.
What attraction is that? Print? TV?

this only further confirms my theory that there is nothing wrong with capitalizing on our western heritage. i'm serious that people from new york want to come to an "exotic" locale where they can see people in trucks and cowboy hats, but still have a nice dinner at nonna's and stay in the luxurious skirvin.

Yeah, WSUCougs is a good guy. You can't always assume something negative just because of their name tag or location.

I live in Seattle but Im probably one of hte biggest believers of OKC, as is WSUCougs - he loves and cares for OKC and was just thinking the article was a little 'fliffy' in his opinion.

I do agree somewhat - that the article didn't have a WHOLE LOT of substanance (where he could have really had some much more tangible OKC attractions listed) but it was from this reporter's point of view; and aside from the frequent notes about country-western bars/clubs, the National Cowboy Hall of Shame, and a few others - he was pretty well right on. We all know OKC is MUCH more than that - and im sure like many, I wish he could have wrote more about OKC's urban-ness,

but then again, he's coming from NYC - so he's looking for something different yet still Big City, and he found it in Oklahoma City. I think in that regard, it was well written and should be quite appealing to his NYC audience. When they get here, they'll see for themselves that OKC is quite urban as well - and deserves to be in the club of major cities of the US/World.

I see the article as - give Oklahoma City a chance, it just might impress you too.

If, in asking that, you are inquiring as to who PAID this journalist to write that article, then the answer is "nobody."

If you want to know how it came to pass that OKC got a glowing article in the NYT, then you can thank none other than the efforts of the dutiful staff of our local OKC CVB (Convention and Visitors' Bureau), who hosted the North American Travel Journalists Association at the end of June.

Over 100 travel journalists from across the US, and some from Canada, participated in the three-day event. The journalists visited the entire OKC metro area, including day trips as far as the Arcadia area, and down to Norman.

Just in case anybody thinks this is "cheating" or anything like that, I just want to make it clear that EVERY city does this. All the CVB's put together trips for multiple travel journalists at once. Some even hire PR firms to organize them.


this only further confirms my theory that there is nothing wrong with capitalizing on our western heritage. i'm serious that people from new york want to come to an "exotic" locale where they can see people in trucks and cowboy hats, but still have a nice dinner at nonna's and stay in the luxurious skirvin.

Well said. I thought the article was a pretty good balance of cosmo (Lobby Bar, RedPin, etc) with the "cowboys & indians" stuff. The latter is what really will get people interested, because it's something that is UNIQUE.


I've already booked three rooms from out-of-staters today BECAUSE they read this article. None of them have even been to Oklahoma before.

Very cool!

the National Cowboy Hall of Shame,

Excuse me? Have you been there?

Can't wait for National Geographic's Attraction to come out with on Monday.

What attraction is that? Print? TV?
Bump.

Does anyone know about the National Geographic item mentioned? I've googled but came up empty.

It's too bad this didn't run in Sunday's Times. Still, great PR for our city. Expect much more of this in the future.

Bump.

Does anyone know about the National Geographic item mentioned? I've googled but came up empty.

Found this...


Sat August 9, 2008
Oklahoma scene

More national praise for Oklahoma City
The September issue of National Geographic ADVENTURE magazine lists Oklahoma City as one of the 50 next great adventure towns in which to live and play.

"The NBA's bid to relocate here was a smart play,” the magazine states. "Okies have 78 miles of city trails, a Farmer's Public Market and 3,000 annual hours of sunshine. And the Army Corps of Engineers' recent overhaul has made the Oklahoma River a mecca for elite water sports.”

The magazine goes on sale next week.

From: Oklahoma scene | NewsOK.com (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-scene/article/3281093/?tm=1218263334)

Yeah, WSUCougs is a good guy. You can't always assume something negative just because of their name tag or location.

I live in Seattle but Im probably one of hte biggest believers of OKC, as is WSUCougs - he loves and cares for OKC and was just thinking the article was a little 'fliffy' in his opinion.



cool, thx.

Excuse me? Have you been there?

Yes, it's a fine museum but a horrible name. I was making a ploy with the name.

and even though they got rid of the Hall of Fame (shame) crap - it still says cowboy museum (so hence my ploy with keeping Hall of Shame).

I don't understand why they don't just call it, National Western Heritage Museum *and make it part of the Smithsonian. .....

I mean, calling it Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum or Cowboy Hall of Fame would make sense if it were located in Stockyard's City (where it would be the showcase attraction to the THEME district).

Until they drop the 'cowboy' altogether, I will still mock it and call it Hall of Shame. But it is a great museum nonetheless - we/OKC just need to call it that.

From: Oklahoma scene | NewsOK.com (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-scene/article/3281093/?tm=1218263334)

Thanks, Luke.

Until they drop the 'cowboy' altogether, I will still mock it and call it Hall of Shame. But it is a great museum nonetheless - we/OKC just need to call it that.

it is a museum mostly about cowboys...

It would be a good thing for those of you who mock the museum, or it's name, to recall that it was not all that easy for this city to host this museum over the track of its history, but, more, to go there for a visit. That may change your thoughts about the matter. It was not set up to be a "Native American" museum. It's origins were "Cowboy," but its scope is much broader, these days.

That said, the Native American Cultural Center, developing along I-40 at Eastern, will not likely include "cowboys." Is it not possible for some sense of balance to occur?

Go there, spend a day, and see if you don't have some different thoughts.

It's official name is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

it would be cool if our little energy centric companies boom was based on issuance of options in the equity markets for low hangers-that way some lowly sap desk jockeys could be raking it in like the silicon valley desk jockeys of the past boom.

it seems the energy boom is benefiting long lost out of state/country investors in energy as much as local owners. i would be happy if the equity appreciation were spread more broadly, but it seems to be really localized and reinvested in things like the devon tower and the chk campus.

plus damn CHK took a huge swan dive after riding up on that recent NG price wave. very volatile!

spread it around before it is gone! N E way, we are lucky, reinvest and bring greater dividends, help move OK forward!

Yes, it's a fine museum but a horrible name. I was making a ploy with the name.

and even though they got rid of the Hall of Fame (shame) crap - it still says cowboy museum (so hence my ploy with keeping Hall of Shame).

I don't understand why they don't just call it, National Western Heritage Museum *and make it part of the Smithsonian. .....

I mean, calling it Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum or Cowboy Hall of Fame would make sense if it were located in Stockyard's City (where it would be the showcase attraction to the THEME district).

Until they drop the 'cowboy' altogether, I will still mock it and call it Hall of Shame. But it is a great museum nonetheless - we/OKC just need to call it that.

I don't understand the knock against cowboys or the cowboy image. I have to agree with ed, we need to embrace and promote our western heritage and use it to our advantage. The large cities in Texas have certainly cultivated the cowboy image to their advantage. And they also have urban and cosmopolitan attractions as well.

We are who we are. We'll never be NYC, just like L.A. won't ever be like NYC. We shouldn't be ashamed of who we are. There's nothing wrong with cowboys. There's plenty of hard working people out there who've made their way being cowboys.

If you have a problem with cowboys, maybe Oklahoma (and the Southwest) isn't for you.

Im not ashamed of being from Oklahoma or the Cowboy Hall of Shame,

but I think we could come up with a better name for it. Lots of museums have western artifacts and cowboy stuff, but why do we have 'cowboy' as the name for ours?

In Texas, they usually have a theme district or neighbourhood for their western heritage or artifacts. If we had the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in the StockYard's City area, then I'd be all for it; since that area is Western Themed. But, given its location in the Adventure District - and the fact that OKC is trying to be more Tier II city - then the name is ridiculous and small time.

I think "National Western Heritage Museum" sounds World Class, inserting 'cowboy' into the name brings it down into small-time. You don't have to advertise what's inside of the museum in the name, to me that just brings it down.

Again, I only mock the name not the museum or history itself. I tell everyone Im from OKC - this usually changes their opinion of OKC if they had a negative one.

Weird. When I hear the word "cowboy" I don't automatically think negative thoughts.

I tell everyone Im from OKC - this usually changes their opinion of OKC if they had a negative one.

WOW! the tourism department should hire you and send you abroad (not just seattle). they could pay you to hang out and tell people you're from okc. better yet... they could clone you and send the clones all over the world. that'd be awesome!!!

In Texas, they usually have a theme district or neighbourhood for their western heritage or artifacts. If we had the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in the StockYard's City area, then I'd be all for it; since that area is Western Themed. But, given its location in the Adventure District - and the fact that OKC is trying to be more Tier II city - then the name is ridiculous and small time.

I think "National Western Heritage Museum" sounds World Class, inserting 'cowboy' into the name brings it down into small-time. You don't have to advertise what's inside of the museum in the name, to me that just brings it down.

Again, I only mock the name not the museum or history itself. I tell everyone Im from OKC - this usually changes their opinion of OKC if they had a negative one.



If you think it's a long and clunky name, I can kind of agree, but other than that I disagree with you.

Weird. When I hear the word "cowboy" I don't automatically think negative thoughts.

Yeah, I don't think cowboy has a negative connotation like say okie does. It's like someone said earlier, cowboys are part of what we're known for and when tourists come here they want to see cowboys and our western heritage.

It's like when someone goes to Chicago they want to see old gangster hang outs and artifacts and gangsters have a far more negative connotation than cowboys. But I don't see Chicago shying away from that. It's part of their history.

It doesn't sound small time at all. Cowboys are nothing to be ashamed of. Again, it's part of Oklahoma so maybe Oklahoma is just not for you. It's a good thing you moved to Seattle. That seems to be a lot more your speed, hot rod.

I've already booked three rooms from out-of-staters today BECAUSE they read this article. None of them have even been to Oklahoma before.

well aren't you just the luxurious extreme oil reservationalist, ha ha ha, no but on a serious note, I agree I also have booked because of this article

My apologies, Cougz.

I don't understand the knock against cowboys or the cowboy image. I have to agree with ed, we need to embrace and promote our western heritage and use it to our advantage. The large cities in Texas have certainly cultivated the cowboy image to their advantage. And they also have urban and cosmopolitan attractions as well.

We are who we are. We'll never be NYC, just like L.A. won't ever be like NYC. We shouldn't be ashamed of who we are. There's nothing wrong with cowboys. There's plenty of hard working people out there who've made their way being cowboys.

If you have a problem with cowboys, maybe Oklahoma (and the Southwest) isn't for you.

Thank you traxx. This- especially your last line- was the best post I've ever seen here. :congrats:

well aren't you just the luxurious extreme oil reservationalist, ha ha ha,

What??

While I agree with the general sense that cowboys are not negative, there are both positive and negative associations with cowboys. Some of you folks sure are piling on. I think what the poster was suggesting is that it would be nice once and a while to have OKC mentioned without over-the-top cowboy references.

It's probably the same if you live in Iowa. You dream of an article that mentions iowa without referencing corn.

Yeah, I don't think cowboy has a negative connotation like say okie does. It's like someone said earlier, cowboys are part of what we're known for and when tourists come here they want to see cowboys and our western heritage.

It's like when someone goes to Chicago they want to see old gangster hang outs and artifacts and gangsters have a far more negative connotation than cowboys. But I don't see Chicago shying away from that. It's part of their history.

It doesn't sound small time at all. Cowboys are nothing to be ashamed of. Again, it's part of Oklahoma so maybe Oklahoma is just not for you. It's a good thing you moved to Seattle. That seems to be a lot more your speed, hot rod.

Chicago doesn't have a National Gangster and Mafia Heritage Museum, nor does Chicago do ANYTHING to glorify it's crime history. Sure, there are small time tours and what not - but as you can see (if you've been to Chicago), almost ALL of the historical gangster past (and even the recent with Caprini Green etc projects) have been bulldozed!

Now, I don't think we need to go that far. Like I said, I don't have anything against Cowboys or our OK Cowboy heritage. But why do we need to say it for our PREMIER museum when Western Heritage encompasses it already?

It's like we're in 3rd grade or something and have to 'clarify' what we're saying because we can't use Adult type complex words. Im not sure why some of you are continuing to misread my point (when Ive said it what 4 times now).

Western Heritage = Cowboys, so why do we need "Cowboy and Western Heritage" for the name of our National Museum? It's saying the same thing twice..... that's what's small time.

That's my point - THE NAME is clunky and shows a rather lack of intellect (due to the 'Cowboy-Western Heritage repeat). I would be fine if it were just Cowboy Museum or National Western Heritage Museum (which sounds world class), but saying BOTH is small time.

Both COWBOYS and INDIANS are completely legitimate and integral parts of Okc's heritage. Both are two of the parts that make up who we are, but not the only parts. The historic black parts come largely from Deep Deuce. The early Asian parts are in Okc's underground, manifested in today's time on and around N Classen, north of NW 23rd.

The Cowboy Hall is probably, as this is written, the most effusive and elegant art museum in Okc. That status may come to be eclipsed or challenged by the the Native American Cultural Center presently being constructed at I-40 and Eastern.

These are good days for arts in Oklahoma City. As for the "cowboy" and "Indian" identities, we are both and I, at least, embrace both... as well as the Asian and Black parts of our history, as well.

(and even the recent with Caprini Green etc projects) have been bulldozed!


just for the record...
it's CABRINI GREEN

I would be fine if it were just Cowboy Museum or National Western Heritage Museum

I agree. I think it should just go back to the plain, old, original Cowboy Hall of Fame. I never liked that they added Western Heritage Museum. I also still call the Cox Convention Center the Myriad. Old habits die hard.

just for the record...
it's CABRINI GREEN

And it didn't exist during the gangster period of Chicago history either.

I think it should just go back to the plain, old, original Cowboy Hall of Fame.

But do we actually induct people into some sort of Hall of Fame? I thought it was more art museum than hall of fame.