Oklahoma City to celebrate 125th birthday Tuesday

Everyone’s invited to celebrate Oklahoma City’s 125th birthday by attending an open house at City Hall on Tuesday, April 22. The event will feature free birthday cake, tours of City Hall, history lessons, a Spokies bike tour and children’s activities during the Festival of the Arts.

City Hall is located at 200 N Walker in downtown Oklahoma City.

“We invite everyone to join us in historic City Hall as we celebrate 125 years of Oklahoma City history and as we set the stage for growth and prosperity in the next 125 years,” Mayor Cornett said. “We’ve come a long way since our first provisional mayor, land run proponent William L. Couch, was elected into office in 1889.”

City Hall Open House
Free birthday cake will be served in the second floor lobby of City Hall between 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. and a giant birthday card will be hung in the lobby for all to sign. The City’s first motorized fire rig, a fully restored 1910 engine, will be on display on City Hall’s east plaza. Free tours of historic City Hall will be offered every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tours will begin from the building’s second floor lobby.

History Presentation
People of all ages can join the Director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, Dr. Bob Blackburn and local architect Jim Loftis at 2 p.m. in the City Council Chamber for a captivating historical presentation and illustration of Oklahoma City history. Blackburn will present the historical information as Loftis draws the storyline using paper and markers.

Oklahoma City! Sooner or Later….exhibit
Visitors can explore the history of City departments in the latest installment of “Oklahoma City! Sooner or Later…” Read about the first governing body elected in 1889 and see artifacts from various City departments including Airports, Public Works, Information Technology, Utilities and more. The exhibit will be on display until June 13, 2014.

Civic Center Tours
The Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker, will also offer free, behind the scene tours at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tours will begin from the Meinders Hall of Mirrors on the second floor. Participants will see the new City Space Theatre, Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre, Joel Levine Rehearsal Hall, the historic Freede Little Theatre and Meinders Hall of Mirrors. Opened in 1937 as the Municipal Auditorium, the Civic Center Music Hall was built with funding from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Join Civic Center staff and volunteers for a tour of the building’s 75-year history filled with legends and lore.

Festival of the Arts
The annual Festival of the Arts will celebrate the City’s birthday all week with children’s art activities inspired by Oklahoma City’s history. The activities take place in the Children’s Art Field at the Myriad Botanical Gardens for just $2. The festival runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

Spokies OKC History Tour
People who prefer to learn about Oklahoma City’s history from a bike can register for a free Spokies bike history tour of downtown. Stops will include City Hall, Overholser Mansion, Automobile Alley, the former Calvary Baptist Church and more. The tour is open to people age 16 and older and will leave from the Spokies stand at the downtown library at 6 p.m. on April 22. Bikes will be provided. Log on to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OKCBirthdayTour to register.

Free Admission to Participating Attractions
Several local tourist attractions will celebrate the City’s birthday with free admission. Participants include Science Museum Oklahoma, Henry Overholser Mansion, Red Earth Museum, The American Banjo Museum, Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, ASA Hall of Fame complex and the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory at Myriad Gardens. The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City will offer a free coupon booklet worth more than $300 in savings, which can be picked up at the customer service desk inside the food court.
Free Bus Rides
METRO Transit is offering free bus rides on April 22 to celebrate Earth Day and the City’s Birthday. To view bus schedules and routes, visit Home | METRO Transit Providing Central Oklahoma Transportation & Bus Service Options (http://www.gometro.org) or call 235-RIDE (7433) from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for personal trip plans.

Free Trees for Classen-Ten-Penn
Access Midstream will beautify the Classen-Ten-Penn neighborhood with the gift of 125 free trees. Oklahoma proven species such as Shumard oak, Chinquapin oak, Kentucky coffee tree and redbud will be planted from NW 10 to NW 17 and from Western to McKinley starting on Friday, April 25. The donation commemorates Oklahoma City’s birthday and Arbor Day.

Children’s Education
Oklahoma City is partnering with Oklahoma City Public Schools to promote two contests for the 125th birthday. Children in first through third grade will compete to design the best birthday card for the City. Fourth through sixth grade students are encouraged to write an essay about Oklahoma City’s history. Prizes will be awarded to the winner in each category.

For more information, call 297-2578 or log on to City of Oklahoma City | News (http://www.okc.gov).

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Test yourself on OKCs history

Oklahoma City @ 125: The quiz tests your knowledge | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-125-the-quiz-tests-your-knowledge/article/4027574)

No score or indication of which questions missed? It just told me I was a "professor of OKC..." Bah.

No score or indication of which questions missed? It just told me I was a "professor of OKC..." Bah.

I have also been granted tenure. It would be nice to see what I made and missed.

Same as y'all, but I didn't fell particularly confident. Would be nice to know the answers.

Felt like I knew about 2/3 of the answers, guessed on the others. Also a Professor.

No score or indication of which questions missed? It just told me I was a "professor of OKC..." Bah.

It ranked me as a Professional Googler, I don't remember any other online surveys similar to this not telling you either how many or a percentage ones you got right/wrong, I like it much better when they also show you what the correct answers are when you miss them.

Here's some Oklahoma City history you don't hear too much about...

In 1911, the Socialist Party candidate for mayor won 23% of the vote in a three-way race. His name was Oscar Ameringer and he published the Oklahoma socialist newspapers, the Oklahoma Daily Leader and later the American Guardian which was a big socialist newspaper published in downtown Oklahoma City until the early forties.
Oklahoma Historical Society - Oscar Ameringer (1870-1943) (http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/a/am014.html)

Socialist Eugene Debs did well in his presidential runs in Oklahoma garnering a bigger share of the vote than any other state - twice. He was in Oklahoma City three times. A huge crowd in the City Auditorium in 1908.

Oklahoma City's '89er Trail' to tell story of city's birth | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-citys-89er-trail-to-tell-story-of-citys-birth/article/4083313)


Downtown property owner Chuck Wiggin, historian Bob Blackburn and author Michael Hightower are preparing to roll out a series of markers inspired by Boston’s Freedom Trail that will tell the story of the April 1889 founding of Oklahoma City.

This is a very interesting new project and cudos to those involved.

Still wondering if they are going to add the "alternative history" of our city into any of the official activities? See my post here (just a couple back)
http://www.okctalk.com/general-civic-issues/37527-oklahoma-city-celebrate-125th-birthday-tuesday.html#post776235

Oklahoma City marks 125th anniversary | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-marks-125th-anniversary/article/4303282)