Sunday, April 29, 2012

Back in Town - '12 FoA Photos


It is, truly, an almost surreal feeling to be back in town occasionally and know this may be one of my last times to call OKC home, even if I do so distantly. Oklahoma City is looking mighty pretty, as Huey Lewis once put it. Springtime in Oklahoma is interesting - it's rainy, it's hot, it's muggy, and it's extremely busy. One of my biggest complaints, the lack of abundant urban greenery a la Tulsa or points further east, is certainly staying at bay during this Spring.

Here is a set of photos I took while enjoying the Festival of the Arts, a true Springtime rite of passage for OKC. Some of these pics are taken in the wonderfully-redesigned Myriad Gardens, some are taken from the top of the Walker/Sheridan COTPA garage, others highlight the new P180 streetscapes. As much as I bemoan the epic mismanagement of the P180 cluster, this besieged program has nonetheless produced some excellent park redesigns, and some excellent new streetscapes.

View of Mid-town from the Walker garage

Chesapeake Arena geared up for the Playoffs, taken just an hour or so before the epic 99-98 win over Dallas.

The detail in the flower beds in Reno, in this picture right in front of La Luna, is impeccable

Again, the vibrant greenery makes a world of difference, actually conjuring up images of a booming city


The xeroscaping of some of the Myriad grounds is also stellar.

This is a better vantage point of the grand lawn..

..and a better vantage point of the skyscraper wall behind the stage.

This is a view.

Film Row "skyline" - is that Miami-style deco theatre being renovated?

West facade of the Montgomery

Somewhere a clock is ticking, or maybe two clocks, and an architect is weeping; maybe a preservationist, too.

Architectural contrast IS a good thing.

New tents modeled after the Outlet Mall "teepees" ?

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