If you grew up in Oklahoma City, you probably remember driving past a stretch of old brick warehouses near downtown that looked like they had been forgotten by time. Nobody was hanging out there, nobody was eating canal-side, and there was definitely no water taxi.
Fast forward to today, and this is one of the most energetic entertainment districts in the entire state, packed with restaurants, shops, live music, and a canal that makes you feel like you have landed somewhere far more glamorous than the middle of the Great Plains.
I have spent a good amount of time wandering its streets, and every visit reminds me just how far this neighborhood has come from its humble warehouse roots.
From Grain Elevators to Good Times: The History Behind the Brick
Long before the restaurants and neon signs arrived, Bricktown was pure industrial Oklahoma. Built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the neighborhood served as the commercial backbone of Oklahoma City, housing warehouses, grain elevators, and distribution centers that kept the city running…