Announcing Retro Metro

Retro Metro is the latest online resource for discovering information on urban Oklahoma City, and its past. The group is actually a non profit organization with a mission of educating citizens about the city's urban past, and it has a HUGE library of historic images. These guys are so dedicated that they meet regularly and have been working on this for a year that I know of--last January, Steve showed me the preliminary site and I was floored by it. I would encourage everyone to check it out.

Here is a press release relating to the website launch:


July 14, 2010 – A year-long effort to make Oklahoma City history more accessible goes public Thursday with the unveiling of Retro Metro OKC and the group’s website, www.retrometrookc.org.

Retro Metro OKC is pending 501c3 organization whose goal is to create an online exhibit of thousands of photos and documents relating to our city’s history, culture and heritage. The website debuts with more than 1,200 such materials, and thanks to a cooperative effort with the Oklahoma Historical Society and other area historical organizations, we hope to be adding many more historical Oklahoma City images in the near future.

Retro Metro OKC operates differently from other organizations in that we have no museum, we have no physical collections, and in most instances the materials we display remain in private ownership. In a typical situation our volunteer crews go to a home or business to scan an owner’s collection and the owner participates in the project by sharing information about the photos and documents as they are being scanned. The materials never have to leave an owner’s possession – the owner is simply asked to sign a release that allows for the materials to be displayed online.

The owner of such materials is given a disc of the digitized images and documents – and copies also will be given to the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Metropolitan Library System to ensure they will be preserved for future generations.

Retro Metro OKC’s founding members include historians, authors, planners, a preservation architect, a retired Greater Oklahoma City Chamber executive, a city councilman, a city clerk, business owners, graphic designers and filmmakers. Our common history is Oklahoma City history. Our youngest member is 17; our oldest members are in their 70s.

Over the past year our members have tried to carefully assess the needs and wants of our community. In addition to creating on online display of historic materials, we’re also using our experience, talent and resources to help other history organizations. For us, we check egos at the door. It’s about the history.

Our city’s history is waiting to be revealed and enjoyed. It resides in the photos left to us by our grandparents; it can be found in the postcards, souvenirs and letters gathering dust in the attic, in the stories of our relatives and in the archeology of old places.

Our city’s history can only be truly appreciated and kept intact if it’s found, revealed, shared, enjoyed and passed on to future generations.

Please feel free to visit www.retrometrookc.org and email any comments or questions to info@retrometrookc.org. The site is interactive and allows for visitors to leave comments about photos and documents as they view specific collections. Updates about our activities can be followed via our Twitter account @retrometrookc.

- Steve Lackmeyer, president, Retro Metro OKC

Another Oklahoman mention

Wow, looks like I was honored to have another mention in the Daily Oklahoman in an article written by Steve Lackmeyer, about how social media and blogs have transformed the downtown discussion. I am incredibly lucky, as critical as I have been of the status quo and the powers that be, to be included in several articles in the state's main newspaper.

Steve wrote..

"Those reporting include Doug Loudenback (www.dougdawg.blogspot.com) and Nick Roberts (www.downtownontherange.blogspot.com) — both established bloggers who also are frequent contributors to www.okctalk.com.

The solicitation of bloggers is a project launched by Michael Scroggins, spokesman for the transit authority, and Kristy Yeager, spokeswoman for the city. Some might question whether such arrangements will ensure nothing but favorable coverage.

But if history is a guide, some of the bloggers, most notably Loudenback and Roberts, have written extensive coverage, both glowing (Loudenback was a big proponent of the NBA effort and Ford Center tax), and negative. (Loudenback wrote critical coverage of the MAPS 3 campaign and Roberts has been critical of Core to Shore development plans.)"

So yeah, a very good mention altogether. I'm still scratching my head and trying to figure all this out. People think I'm an established blogger with a track record.. quite an honor, and especially to be included in Metro Transit's forums on streetcar planning.

The reality is that I am no more than a citizen journalist. I read the same news that everyone else reads. I'm familiar enough with downtown, and know its players well enough that I know where to look to find out the scoop on things. My life is primarily consumed by class and the city I currently live in, which is not OKC. Whenever I get a day that slows down and I have time, all I do is put together some quick research and write up a post that conveys generally the same message as every other post on this site.. OKC needs more infill, more density, smarter planning.. and less distractions from the real issue. I am committed to being a part of the urban movement in OKC, as exciting as it has become.

There is no reason that dozens of readers couldn't do the exact same thing that I do. That's what I'm getting at, and I hope that will eventually come of this.

Steve Lackmeyer is a terrorist

No, I'm not trying to get people to switch to reading my blog more often. It's true -- Homeland Security has deemed his new book, "Skirvin," to be a threat to freedom so they put the kibosh on his book signing event this Wednesday (tomorrow). Good news though, it will still be going on..next week. The books, which were temporarily quarantined by the people keeping America safe, will be released soon after a detailed inspection and Steve's book debut will go on as planned.

Downtown OKC 2020 on OKC Central

Well now that Steve Lackmeyer is finished putting up all of his Downtown OKC 2020 guest columns, including one from myself, I thought I'd post links to some of the important ones, which is the majority of them. The series is intended to get a perspective on how downtown should develop over the next 10 years. I'll just be starting with the most recent, ending with the oldest (that Steve posted first) so that there isn't a "most pertinent" order or anything.

1. My essay outlining how OKC can transition to being a "Tier 2" city (i.e., Denver, Charlotte, KC) and expressing some of my planning-oriented concerns regarding C2S. One of the major points that readers commented on (so I assume it was one of the better-articulated points) was the psychological benefits of fixed guideway transit opposed to any kind of bus service. The point is that you see the rails and the wires and you know the streetcar comes by, and that's a big benefit for users AND developers. You see a bus stop sign and you do your best to ignore it.

2. Blair Humphrey's long column where he largely avoids the issue of OKC specifically and outlines how the people of NYC attempted to override Robert Moses' plans to throw a bridge in Battery Park. I think the point that he's suggesting is pretty clear though. This one is so long (and well-written) that Steve debated cutting it down, but readers overwhelmingly wanted the longer version.

3. Doug Loudenback's (the best in my opinion) piece persuading the reader to "leave room in downtown for chaos and serendipity." Well put Doug. As Doug romanticizes about how downtown used to be gritty, fun, diverse, crowded, and just awesome in general, he laments how I.M. Pei took all of that out and that C2S planners aren't going to bring it back. This article is really an awesome piece and a must-read in my opinion. That's all I have to say.

4. For people wanting to know a lot about the nuts and bolts of downtown development, check out Bert Belanger's story. He largely gives his account of the development projects he has worked on, including several that failed and never materialized, and some that have, including some of the Triangle stuff. Bert Belanger is largely critical of the development that has proceded, especially development underway, and also critical of C2S. Though he does lay out 10 goals that are a lot more optimistic. A good read.

Thanks to Steve for spawning the idea, sending out the emails, and coordinating the series. Hopefully, even though not very many people participated, Steve's goals were met when he thought of the series.