Just returned from a visit to southern Indiana and had an overnight stay in Louisville, KY which is about the size of OKC. The Downtown area was pretty nice with wide streets, places to eat, skycrapers that were modern in design and the KFC Yum Center was very nice! Lit up with outdoor event bill boards, glass etc. KY expo center comparable to our OKC State Fair area was FAR nicer. OKC could learn from the city of Louisville

I think a lot of cities have nicer fair areas. We may have the appropriate facilities at State Fair Park to have all of these major horse shows, but our state fair park isn't the most aesthetically pleasing in the world. Hopefully that will change once most of the old exhibit buildings are replaced with a new exposition building. Tulsa, IMO, also has a much nicer fair park area.

Louisville has got a lot going on, really awesome city. Totally different place for purposes of comparisons. Unlike OKC, Louisville is more similar to Tulsa with regards of being perfectly content as a medium city and is just striving to be a really nice medium sized city, and not so much hell-bent to make it to be a "big league city." Their downtown is really good, very vibrant, and has some absolutely incredible urban fabric. They have some awesome inner city neighborhoods too, like the Highlands, and Old Louisville.

Louisville is unique and has a discernible identity as a city that you pronounce as "Loovul," the home of Kentucky bourbon, Kentucky fried chicken, and big time basketball turf. It also has more of an urban liberal vibe too it. They do the "Keep Louisville Weird" thing too, and they have some very eclectic types living in the inner neighborhoods. Good sightseeing city too..Muhammed Ali, the Louisville Slugger, Kentucky Derby, Fourth Street Live, etc etc. Urban chickens are a big deal there.

Probably very overshadowed by Cincy, which is so much smaller than Dallas, making it an interesting situation. I don't think Louisville is capable of pulling off a major downtown overhaul, nor do they need to. They already have a pretty immaculate, well-preserved downtown, with a modest amount of development (w/ or w/o Museum Place) and that's just what it is, so it lacks notoriety with regards to what we're pulling off, and you could say the same for Tulsa, Omaha, Ft. Worth, and other cities that also have a lot going on with their downtown. Of that group of 5 cities do I think OKC has the best stuff going on? Yes and it's not even close. But I think Louisville has the most existing fabric, so probably a better downtown to boot, and of course Ft. Worth has the most potential that it will always be too shortsighted to realize.

As for the KY Expo Center, that's also their convention center, so it is a different situation. It's not up against a freeway interchange several miles out of downtown, either.

Louisville has got a lot going on, really awesome city. Totally different place for purposes of comparisons. Unlike OKC, Louisville is more similar to Tulsa with regards of being perfectly content as a medium city and is just striving to be a really nice medium sized city, and not so much hell-bent to make it to be a "big league city." Their downtown is really good, very vibrant, and has some absolutely incredible urban fabric. They have some awesome inner city neighborhoods too, like the Highlands, and Old Louisville.

Louisville is unique and has a discernible identity as a city that you pronounce as "Loovul," the home of Kentucky bourbon, Kentucky fried chicken, and big time basketball turf. It also has more of an urban liberal vibe too it. They do the "Keep Louisville Weird" thing too, and they have some very eclectic types living in the inner neighborhoods. Good sightseeing city too..Muhammed Ali, the Louisville Slugger, Kentucky Derby, Fourth Street Live, etc etc. Urban chickens are a big deal there.

Probably very overshadowed by Cincy, which is so much smaller than Dallas, making it an interesting situation. I don't think Louisville is capable of pulling off a major downtown overhaul, nor do they need to. They already have a pretty immaculate, well-preserved downtown, with a modest amount of development (w/ or w/o Museum Place) and that's just what it is, so it lacks notoriety with regards to what we're pulling off, and you could say the same for Tulsa, Omaha, Ft. Worth, and other cities that also have a lot going on with their downtown. Of that group of 5 cities do I think OKC has the best stuff going on? Yes and it's not even close. But I think Louisville has the most existing fabric, so probably a better downtown to boot, and of course Ft. Worth has the most potential that it will always be too shortsighted to realize.

As for the KY Expo Center, that's also their convention center, so it is a different situation. It's not up against a freeway interchange several miles out of downtown, either.

Tulsa and Louisville are very similar in lots of ways. I think Tulsa and Omaha also have a lot in common. Louisville is ahead of Tulsa in downtown development though. It's definitely an interesting city worth a visit. A nearby city (to Louisville) that OKC is more like is Indianapolis. That city is a blueprint for OKC, and OKC seems to be following Indy's lead in a lot of areas which is a good thing.

If OKC is anything like Indy some day it will be a miracle.

If OKC is anything like Indy some day it will be a miracle.

Do you not agree that the two cities are very similar though? State capital. Surrounded by rolling farmland or forests. Downtown in geographic center of the city. Located on a small river (as opposed to Tulsa, Louisville, Omaha, etc). NBA arenas and AAA ballparks downtown. Very downtown-centric. And so on..

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/indianapolisokc.jpg

Indianapolis also has a Chase building.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/indianapolisokc.jpg


Louisville

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/louisvilleokc.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/louisvilleokc.jpg

GIS Indianapolis



Louisville

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/LouisvilleDowntownSkyline2.jpg

Louisville was suppose to have Museum Plaza done this year, but it's on hold. Nice to know Devon is well on its way to completion.

http://www.whas11.com/news/local/4-years-later-Museum-Plaza-still-on-track-83834952.html

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1000%20Rex%20Riverside%20Museum%20Plaza%20Elevatio n.jpg

Cities built on a big river or lake have inherent advantages because of the focus and historical construction. It also means that growth was usually concentrated in one or two directions, due to the natural barrier.

Newer, mainly western and southern cities were mostly not built on water... Heck, even L.A. is really nowhere near the ocean. And they tended to sprawl out and grow along interstates rather than waterways.

So, towns like Louisville were developed very differently than OKC or Dallas or Phoenix, and it a way that was much more downtown-centric. And the water has and always will provide a focal point for construction and recreation.

Similarly, I've raved about Milwaukee and I wish OKC had 1/4 the urban neighborhoods and amenities downtown, even though they are similarly sized cities.

Louisville is unique and has a discernible identity as a city that you pronounce as "Loovul," the home of Kentucky bourbon, Kentucky fried chicken, and big time basketball turf. It also has more of an urban liberal vibe too it. They do the "Keep Louisville Weird" thing too, and they have some very eclectic types living in the inner neighborhoods. Good sightseeing city too..Muhammed Ali, the Louisville Slugger, Kentucky Derby, Fourth Street Live, etc etc. Urban chickens are a big deal there.

Probably very overshadowed by Cincy, which is so much smaller than Dallas, making it an interesting situation. I don't think Louisville is capable of pulling off a major downtown overhaul, nor do they need to. They already have a pretty immaculate, well-preserved downtown, with a modest amount of development (w/ or w/o Museum Place) and that's just what it is, so it lacks notoriety with regards to what we're pulling off, and you could say the same for Tulsa, Omaha, Ft. Worth, and other cities that also have a lot going on with their downtown. Of that group of 5 cities do I think OKC has the best stuff going on? Yes and it's not even close. But I think Louisville has the most existing fabric, so probably a better downtown to boot, and of course Ft. Worth has the most potential that it will always be too shortsighted to realize.

As for the KY Expo Center, that's also their convention center, so it is a different situation. It's not up against a freeway interchange several miles out of downtown, either.

You are hit and miss with your assessment in the city.

The Kentucky Bourbon region is in Central Kentucky and the Lexington area, Louisville has ties to the bourbon industry but the main distilleries stretch from Lexington to about 30 minutes southeast of Louisville.

I also wouldnt consider it that overshadowed by Cincinnati either. Having lived in the region the cities offer similar amenities, and while Cincy is larger it doesnt really overshadow Louisville in any way. The major difference is major league sports and the Reds huge presents in the area, but other than that.

The KY expo center is also not the cities main convention center. it is located away from downtown where the old Six Flags park used to be. The Kentucky International Convention Center is located downtown and is the main convention center. It is connected to the 600+ room Downtown Marriott, and also close to the 1300 room Galt House and a couple other large hotels downtown.

dcscooner - did you visit the restaurant called "610 Magnolia" while you were there ? If so, how was it ?

You are hit and miss with your assessment in the city.

The Kentucky Bourbon region is in Central Kentucky and the Lexington area, Louisville has ties to the bourbon industry but the main distilleries stretch from Lexington to about 30 minutes southeast of Louisville.

I also wouldnt consider it that overshadowed by Cincinnati either. Having lived in the region the cities offer similar amenities, and while Cincy is larger it doesnt really overshadow Louisville in any way. The major difference is major league sports and the Reds huge presents in the area, but other than that.

The KY expo center is also not the cities main convention center. it is located away from downtown where the old Six Flags park used to be. The Kentucky International Convention Center is located downtown and is the main convention center. It is connected to the 600+ room Downtown Marriott, and also close to the 1300 room Galt House and a couple other large hotels downtown.

Oh, ok--I assumed the "expo center" named after the state was the same as the CC named for the state. And as for Cincy, I was just referring to perception, because people don't really think about Louisville unless it's the Kentucky Derby.

Louisville was suppose to have Museum Plaza done this year, but it's on hold. Nice to know Devon is well on its way to completion.

http://www.whas11.com/news/local/4-years-later-Museum-Plaza-still-on-track-83834952.html

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1000%20Rex%20Riverside%20Museum%20Plaza%20Elevatio n.jpg
Museum Place is officially dead.
A/N Blog - Museum Plaza Developers Scrap Plans for Tower (http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/21088)

^^Yea I saw that about a week ago,I wonder if Nashville's Signature Tower also will have the same fate?

Why do developers feel the need to build these huge structures 4 or 5 blocks from other towers? I am so glad Devon chose to keep downtown dense by building on the same block as other buildings. Imagine if they had built the tower on the SW corner of Dewey and Reno.

May be a "line of sight" type of thing...LOL

It has to be one of the ugliest buildings ever designed. I'm actually very glad it failed. They can do soooo much better.

But I agree Louiseville is very similar to OKC. Sort of like Indy.

That building reminds me of something from Gotham City in the Dark Knight (Batman).....or even the Batman ride at Six Flags. Same concept of architecture. Industrial look.

I lived in Louisville for about eight years and it has its good points and bad. The west end of Louisville, which starts less than 10 blocks from downtown, is very poor and there is a lot of crime. Downtown has had a lot of development over the past 10 years with the waterfront park, the YUM center, the convention center and Third Street Live!. The Highlands is a really fun place with restaurants, shops, bars and old homes. The school system is terrible and most people who work in Louisville who have children, live in the suburbs of Oldham County which is northeast of the city. There are some museums in Louisville but they aren't great. The zoo is OK. Personally, I much prefer OKC overall.