Oklahoma City, OK

Answer 1

Oklahoma City, OK is located in the very center of Oklahoma, and serves as the state capitol. It is filled with historic sites from the days of the Wild West, museums that offer a glimpse into its past, and entertainment venues that range from amusement parks to rodeo exhibitions. You will find dining experiences that offer a taste of the diverse people who live and work in this central city. Mexican restaurants are side-by-side with French cuisine and hamburger joints.

Culture and Historic Sites

One of the best places to begin a tour of Oklahoma City, OK, is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. This site is the home of historic items from the rough and tumble days when Oklahoma was still Indian Territory, before it became a state. The showpiece of this museum is a 17-foot tall sculpture called The End of the Trail that depicts a Native American drooped over his horse as he arrived, exhausted, in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Bombing Museum will give you unique insight into that defining event. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art houses breathtaking glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. The Air and Space museum is a great place to learn about America's history of flight and space travel.

Professional Sports

Oklahoma City, OK, is home to several professional sports teams. You can find a game of some sort in any season. The most recent team to call Oklahoma City home is the Oklahoma City Thunder from the NBA. Bricktown in downtown Oklahoma City is the home of the AAA Baseball team, the Oklahoma City Redhawks. The Oklahoma City Blazers play hockey in the impressive Ford Convention Center in downtown. When you are finished watching a game, you can relax in one of the many restaurants and pubs that line the streets of downtown and the surrounding areas.

Fun for the Whole Family

If you are planning a family vacation, one of the best places in Oklahoma City is an amusement park named Frontier City. Based on the designs of larger amusement parks like Six Flags, Fronteir City is a large, sprawling, western themed park that offers something fun for all ages. Thrilling Roller Coasters ring the park, while smaller rides are perfect for younger kids. The park looks and feels like an old western town, and offers several foods and shopping items you won't find anywhere else.

Answer 2

General Overview

Oklahoma City was founded during the 1889 land run when about 10,000 settlers chose the area for their homes. It became the state capital in 1910 when the state seal and records were spirited away from Guthrie, then the capital, in the middle of the night. Although Oklahoma City ranks only thirty-first in the nation in terms of population, with an estimated 550,000 residents, it ranks eighth in terms of land area, encompassing parts of three counties.

The city originally experienced growth due to the cattle industry, and the Stockyards are still an important market for livestock. However, the discovery that the city was located in the middle of a major oil field spurred even further development. Today, visitors can still find oil derricks operating on the grounds of the capital building. The oil boom naturally led to several energy companies establishing corporate headquarters in the area.

After losing many historic sites to urban development, the city began establishing historic districts to protect existing buildings. Several neighborhoods of lovely Victoria homes have received protected status. Downtown, The Skirvin Hotel, built in 1911, has been renovated after sitting vacant for more than a decade and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Oklahoma City lies near the center of the state and is about a three hour drive north of Dallas. Interstate highways 35, 40, and 44 pass through the town, offering easy access by automobile. The area is served by Will Rogers Airport and there is an Amtrak station near downtown.

Arts & Entertainment

Many entertainment venues are spread throughout the city. The renovated Bricktown district is home to numerous clubs and restaurants. Bricktown Stadium, home to Oklahoma City’s Triple A baseball team, the Redhawks, is also in the area. Visitors can take water taxi rides along the Bricktown Canal as well.

Movie buffs might be interested in the Film Exchange District, a 42 block area in downtown with several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. The first film exchange in the area dates to 1907, and at times, the district has included Paramount, MGM, Warner Brothers, and Fox.

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is also home to the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center. In addition to exhibits and a restaurant, there is a theater that screens classic, foreign, and independent films.

Lyric Theater, Civic Center Theater, and the Jewel Box theater offer live performances, including ballets and operas. The Ford Center is the host of many concerts and productions as well.

There are many family-friendly museums of interest in the area. The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum offers art depicting various aspects of frontier life. The Science Museum Oklahoma boasts exhibits on aviation and science. The 45th Infantry Division Museum has both indoor exhibits, such as uniforms and weapons, and outdoor exhibits of tanks and aircraft.

Oklahoma City was the site of the 1995 bombing that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building and killed 168 people. The site was turned into a museum and memorial. The outdoor memorial is open 24 hours a day and is free of charge.

Food & Drink

Oklahoma City is home to an eclectic mix of restaurants. Visitors can choose from numerous fine dining, barbecue, Tex-Mex and seafood restaurants. Steak houses are also very well represented, including the famous Cattlemen’s Steak House, which has been in operation since the 1920s and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are also microbreweries, Asian and Italian restaurants, and several that specialize in chicken fried steak.

Remington Racetrack and Casino offers quarter horse racing, restaurants, and off track betting. There are also several casinos, operated by various Indian tribes, within about a 45 minute drive of the city. Many of these feature luxury hotels, although Remington does not.

Oklahoma has some of the strictest liquor laws in the country. Those under 21 years of age are not even allowed to enter the bar area of a restaurant or a liquor store. DUI laws are severe and strictly enforced.

Answer 3

Oklahoma City is fast becoming one of the most enjoyable places to visit in the entire United States. Unlike other cities like Los Angeles or New York, Oklahoma City has managed to hold onto it’s laid back atmosphere. Oklahoma city has a variety of great food for low prices, an assortment of attractions that are great for the whole family, and just the right amount of personal space.

The first attraction that is probably on every visitor’s list is the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is just what it sounds like it is from its name. It is the preeminent museum of American Western art, history, and culture and was founded in 1955. The permanent collection involves over 2,000 pieces of art. This institution is internationally-renowned for its extensive collection of artifacts and art pieces from the old west. It also sponsors various important educational programs as well as the vital scholarly research that stimulates people’s contemporary interest in what is so fascinating about the rebellious lifestyle and inspiring history of the American West. Over ten million visitors have come from around the world to take in everything that the Cowboy Hall of Fame has to offer and to learn about and reflect on the western culture that has made such an impact on make-up of the United States’ modern society.

Another popular attraction is the new NBA Basketball team that is currently enjoying a fair amount of excitement and success and only getting better. Named The Thunder, the Oklahoma City NBA team plays in the recently-constructed Ford Center arena. The Thunder used to be the Seattle SuperSonics, but they relocated to Oklahoma City in the year 2008. The Seattle SuperSonics had a decent recent before moving to Oklahoma. They were able to make it into twenty-two NBA playoffs. They were even six time division champions and actually won the prestigious NBA Championship in 1979. IAfter moving to Oklahoma City, the team made the 2010 NBA Finals and nearly beat the year’s champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Oklahoma City is a great place that both adults and children can enjoy together.

Answer 4

Although it doesn’t get a lot of press, Oklahoma City is a vibrant place to visit, in the very center of the state of Oklahoma. One of the best bets to seeing a great, and unexpected, side of the city is Bricktown, a section of the city that is built with, well, brick facades. But the bricks are just an aesthetic means to an end; what makes Bricktown fun is the shopping, dining and night life.

Bricktown is built around the downtown baseball stadium, Bricktown Ballpark, and extends to several top notch places to dine, including Bourbon Street Cafe, Bricktown Burgers and Coach’s Restaurant, which overlooks the ballpark.

There’s a lot to do in Bricktown, but one cannot mention Oklahoma City without mentioning that there are Indian reservation casinos in the city, so there’s gambling, and although it’s not Vegas, it’s still a surprise to most visitors. Finally, there is the sombre and sobering Oklahoma City Bombing memorial, one place that many stop at to pay their respects.