State capitals old and new

  Guthrie and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Monday, January 3, 2005

Despite intentions, New Year's 2005 was a bit of a non-event. Without question the company was grand - me being out at Kieth's place in Cushing for the evening - but after a bit of chess, some jamming about on song ideas and an unclear number of beers, we all crashed in front of the TV before midnight even got there. By the time we realized 2004 was dead and buried, we were too damn tired to celebrate. Oh well . . . not every New Year's Eve has to be a raging party, I suppose.

I rolled back out of Cushing late in the morning yesterday, stopping off at perhaps the world's gaudiest eyesore of a college campus - Oral Roberts University - for some representative photos. While I was there, some guy asked me if I was a fellow alumni, but I quite happily said I was just there to take pictures. Unfortunately, the gloomy weather didn't give me a whole lot of flexibility for good shots, but I guess it's not the most picturesque subject anyhow (especially with the brown grass of winter and all). Once finished there, I dropped back by my mom's house for a bit and then headed over to my dad's for dinner.

01: West Oklahoma Ave. in Guthrie's old town

With me set to leave on the 4th and all, my mom was really wanting to have a little time together. Since both of us thought it'd be nice to do something special after all the inevitable running about that comes with a brief visit home, I hit upon the idea of going out to the town of Guthrie in central Oklahoma. Way back in the years immediately following the Oklahoma Land Run, the territory was basically governed out of this frontier city that had been

02: State Capital Publishing Museum, Guthrie

established out of nothing in a matter of days. Planned to be the capital of a new state of Oklahoma, Guthrie was built up as a uniform American town of classic Victorian brick architecture. Somehow along the way, Oklahoma City managed to eclipse it courtesy of a few select industries and its choice as a railroad junction. Thus, in 1910 the administration moved the capitol down south to its increasingly-happening neighbor and Guthrie faded into obscurity as its second-class status was quickly usurped by Muskogee and then Tulsa.

03: View down Oklahoma Ave., Guthrie

Naturally this was viewed as a tremendous tragedy for a town with a grand vision, but it had unexpectedly positive results in the long run. While Oklahoma City and, to a lesser extent, Tulsa were later gutted of much of their architectural heritage by misguided urban renewal projects, Guthrie's neglected status meant it saw very little in the way of modern development. As a result, almost the entirety of its historic central core survived well into the late 20th century, by which time the new concept of "historic preservation" injected fresh value into the place. In fact, the small town now features the largest Historic Preservation District in the whole of the United States. Having read about this years before, I thought old Guthrie would make for a fascinating place to pass a day with my mom before returning to Japan.

05: Antique shops in Guthrie's old downtown

Lying just about 20 minutes drive north of Oklahoma City, Guthrie took just under two hours to reach from Tulsa. As expected, the downtown area was an architectural treasure trove, with row upon row of beautifully-maintained historic facades. Apart from the occasional bit of sandstone or painted storefront, the central core is a symphony of red brick, making for an incredible symmetry and consistency amongst the buildings. My mom and I wandered through the numerous blocks of the downtown for an hour or so, then swung over to a classic American diner/restaurant for lunch amongst loads of early-to-mid 20th century nostalgia. Once finished, we peeked into several of the numerous souvenir shops. While knick-knacks

06: Masonic Temple in Guthrie

like that would hardly interest me at other times, each of the stores had such individual character and friendly owners that it was a pleasure stopping in for a few minutes. As a final view of the town, we ambled on down beyond the downtown area along Oklahoma Ave., passing by more humble private residences. While most were unexceptional and some even rather rundown, they retained the historic character of the town at large, making for an interesting stroll until we reached the monumental Masonic Temple crowning the end of the street (originally meant to be the capitol building).

07: Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City

The main plan for the day was just to see Guthrie and come home, but I managed to talk my mom into swinging by Oklahoma City on the way out. I hadn't been there in years, myself, and I thought it'd be nice to pay a visit to the downtown and - more specifically - its memorial to the 1995 bombing. On the way into the city, we drove past the State Capitol Building, only recently capped with a dome (in November of 2002). The Oklahoma City National Memorial itself was silent and somber, with only a few people visiting at the time of our arrival. With the grey clouds and darkening late afternoon skies, the atmosphere of the site was appropriately bleak, making for a moving experience. I last went to the memorial probably seven years ago, and it certainly hasn't lost any of its potency since.

08: Oklahoma City National Memorial

The rest of downtown OKC was empty and somewhat forlorn. The utilitarian and bland architecture of much of it made me realize how much nicer of a city Tulsa is overall. Getting back into the car, my mom and I then drove over to the former warehouse district turned hip entertainment area of Bricktown. This area alone has contributed a lot to the city's revitalization and certainly it's a lot nicer than most of the capital's other areas around downtown. However, with neither of us planning on dinner or a drink in the area, there wasn't much purpose to hanging around, so we soon got back on the road and headed back towards the turnpike.

11: Bricktown in Oklahoma City

It's good to get out and see some of Oklahoma like this though. I've spent so much time in recent years traveling abroad that I've kind of lost touch with what's my own backyard. There's a tremendous amount of the U.S. that I've never seen, a lot of it in very close reach of my hometown; sometimes it pays to keep in mind that not everything of cultural interest is in some distant, exotic land. One of these days I really want to take some extended time to get to know the States better. I'd love the opportunity to do a massive roadtrip, getting to all sorts of nooks and crannies of the U.S. (and even Canada) that I've never been to. It's something to seriously consider for the future.

And, on top of that, it's good to spend some quality time with my mom when I have the occasion. With me living practically on the other side of the world from her in Japan, we don't exactly get the opportunity to spend time together a lot. It was great having her over to show around Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and the like, but I'm sure she appreciates spending time in Oklahoma just as much. It's important to do these things when the chance arises.