Inhabited by Plains tribes and sold to the United States by France as a part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, much of what is now Oklahoma was subsequently designated as Indian Territory.  As such, it was intended to provide a new home for tribes forced by the federal government to abandon their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States.  Many of those forced to relocate in the 1830's were from what were called the Five Civilized Tribes - Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole- who set up independent nations in the new territory.  After the Civil War, however, the pressure of westward expansion brought railroads into the Indian Territory, where the U.S. government began to declare some land available for white settlement.  Prairie land surrounding a Santa Fe railroad single-track boxcar station was designated as a town site when presidential proclamation opened the central portion of Indian Territory to claims stakers on noon of April 22, 1889.  Thousands crossed the borders of the "unassigned lands" (unassigned land was land that had not been assigned to any tribes) at high noon when a cannon was fired.  By sunset of that day the land run had produced a tent city of 10,000 people on the town site, which eventually became Oklahoma City.

 

 The settlement attained official status in 1890, just a few weeks after the western half of Indian Territory was re designated Oklahoma Territory, named for a Choctaw phrase meaning "red man".  Incorporated as Oklahoma City on May 23, 1890, Oklahoma City swiftly became one of the new territory's largest cities.  More railroad connections to the city helped make it a center for trade, milling,and meat packing.  The Oklahoma and Indian territories merged and were admitted to the union as the state of Oklahoma in 1907.  Oklahoma City became the state capital in 1910.  By the time Oklahoma was admitted to the Union Oklahoma City had supplanted Guthrie, the territorial capital, as the population center and commercial hub of the new state.  Thanks to political and commercial savvy of such early city leaders as John Shartel, Anton Classen and Henry Overholser, Oklahoma City had become an attractive Victorian city with an efficient trolley system, a major regional commercial center, a railway hub and had attracted several large meat packing plants to Stockyards City (Oklahoma) along with other industry.  The city, now with a population of 64,000 put in a petition to become the new state capital.  A popular vote was held, with Governor Charles N. Haskell as one of the strongest advocates for Oklahoma City's candidacy, which Oklahoma City won.  The Oklahoma State Capitol was established at NE 23rd Street and Lincoln Boulevard.  The capitol was long known for its lack of a dome, which could not be added by the time the building was completed in 1919 due to lack of funds.  A dome was finally added to the building in 2002. 

 

 

The capital city was flourishing as a financial and manufacturing center when in 1928 an oil field beneath the city proved to be what was then the largest oil strike ever made.  Oklahoma City joined neighboring regions in the petroleum industry with vast economic benefits.  A gigantic deposit at the Mary Sudik well in Oklahoma City gushed wildly for 11 days in 1930, spewing 10,000 barrels of a oil each day in a great geyser and spreading an oily cloud that deposited petroleum as far away as 15 miles.  By the time it was capped the Mary Sudik well had produced a total of one million barrels of oil.  Oil wells popped up everywhere, even on the south lawn of the capitol building.  The sudden influx of oil money with the city and throughout the state greatly accelerated the city's growth.  While those who had made money during this early oil boom largely escaped the Depression, the majority of Americans and Oklahomans were not so lucky.  By 1935, rural migrants and unemployed workers had built a massive shanty town  ( or "Hooverville" after president Herbert Hoover) on the south bank of the North Canadian River.  The river often flooded, bringing disease and misery to the people living there.  As part of the "New Deal" , the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps greatly reduced the level of the river to prevent flooding (a move which would later become a problem for Oklahoma City leaders stuck with a nearly empty river) and built one of the first experiments with public housing in the country.

  

 

The Second World War and the resultant war industries brought recovery to the nation and Oklahoma City, and the post war period saw Oklahoma City become a major hub in the national Interstate Highway System.  Additionally, Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City became the largest air depot in the country in the post war period, a fact which made Oklahoma City become the likely target for a possible Soviet nuclear strike.  As the civil rights era dawned, downtown Oklahoma City became the site of a revolution in civil rights tactics.  History teacher Clara Luper and some of her students from nearby Douglass High School led the first "sit in" in American history to desegregate the lunch counter at a downtown department store in 1958.  When they succeeded, the tactic was adopted throughout the country, notably by the young activists of SNCC.

 

From February 3 to July 29, 1964, Oklahoma City was subjected to eight sonic booms per day in a controversial experiment known as the Oklahoma City sonic boom tests.  The intent was to quantify the sociological and economic costs of a supersonic transport aircraft.  The experiment resulted in 15,400 damage claims.  The persistence of the experiment and 94% rejection rate of damage claims led to turmoil at all levels of government and embroiled Senator Mike Monroney's office in a battle with the Federal Aviation Administration.  The embarrassment over the Oklahoma City experiments partially contributed to the demise of the Boeing 2707 SST project seven years later.

 

                                                                                                                                       Decline and stagnation  

As the 1960s continued, however, Oklahoma City began to decline.  By 1970, "white flight" and suburbanization had drained the life from the central business district and the surrounding areas.  The oil beneath the city had begun to dry up, and property values ( real estate ) declined.  The Oklahoma City leaders then engaged in a disastrous program of "urban renewal".  This succeeded primarily in demolishing as much as 50 historic buildings and skyscrapers.  Examples include the Oklahoma Biltmore Hotel, which was imploded to make way for the I. M. Pei-designed Myriad Botanical Gardens, the only positive outcome of Urban Renewal.  Most of the buildings which were not destroyed in the Central Business District were covered by concrete facades or left to Class-C office space, such as the Colcord Building (which had been converted to an upscale boutique hotel) and the Park Harvey Center (now apartments).

 

Oklahoma City had planned to build a massive shopping mall called "The Galleria" downtown, but money for renewal ran out before they could construct more than the parking garage for it.  This left downtown Oklahoma City in even worse shape than it had been in, with vacant lots where Victorian brownstones once stood.  The 1970s and 1980s were periods of stagnation for Oklahoma City and were periods of affluence and explosive development for the suburbs.  With the exception of the Myriad Botanical Gardens very little was done to improve the inner city or the central business district during this time, even as the oil boom of the late 70s brought a flood of money into the area.

                                                                                                                                 Recent history and renewal
                                                                                                                                
In stark contrast to the promise from Urban Renewal, downtown Oklahoma City had not seen a new skyscraper or any sort of major construction project for many years.  the last major skyscraper  built downtown was the First Oklahoma Tower 1982 and the Leadership Square complex built in 1984.  Leadership Square was originally intended to be a single 60 floor signature skyscraper but was later scaled down to two 'twin-towers' due to the economic downturn.  No one knew whether downtown Oklahoma City would turn around and was only used for office space for quite some time, with the suburban developments left with the life and energy downtown Oklahoma City once commanded.

 

By 1992, Oklahoma City was in such dire need of improvement that it was losing jobs, population, and even carriers to more attractive cities.  With this in mind, Mayor Ron Norrick pushed through a massive plan for capitol improvements throughout downtown Oklahoma City called the Metropolitan Area Projects, or MAPS.  MAPS called for a 5 year, one-cent sales tax to fund a new ballpark, a canal through Bricktown, a new central library, a large indoor arena, renovations to the fairgrounds and the civic center, and a series of low water dams on the North Canadian River to make it attractive and accessible to small boats.  Though still stinging from the failure of "urban renewal", the people of Oklahoma City passed the measure, eventually raising over 1 billion dollars for improvements to Oklahoma City and bringing life back to the central city.  As Oklahoma City movers through the twenty-first century, new changes continue to bring population, jobs, entertainment, and improvement.  In 2004 Dell call center brought over 250 jobs, and plans to employ over 19,000 more jobs in the future.  2005 brought (temporarily) Oklahoma City their first major league basketball franchise, the Oklahoma City/New Orleans Hornets.  In 2008, it was approved by the NBA for the Seattle Supersonics to move to Oklahoma City.  This will do much for Oklahoma City in providing jobs, income and excitement to the downtown area.  Many other corporations are finding Oklahoma City their home and the population is once again increasing at a very high rate.

 

Downtown Oklahoma City and surrounding areas such as Bricktown and Midtown have seen a significant revival in the wake of the MAPS program, which created new venues and attractions in the downtown area.  Today, as downtown Oklahoma City and the central business district continue in their economic revival, there are numerous condo and apartment developments being built around downtown Oklahoma City, along with older buildings that are being converted into apartments and hotels.  Leading this charge is the renovation of the historic Skirvin Hotel, where numerous presidents and dignitaries have stayed while visiting Oklahoma City.  Oklahoma City awarded developers led by Marcus Properties the bid to develop the hotel into a new 5-star property, the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

 

Devon Energy, currently occupying space in 5 separate downtown buildings, announced plans in March of 2008 to build a new 1,000,000+ square foot skyscraper at the corner of Sheridan & Hudson, a space originally planned for a "Galleria" mall under the Pei urban renewal plan.  The building is expected to bring new life to the east side on downtown Oklahoma City, which has seen less growth compared to Bricktown on the western edge and Midtown to the north. 

 

                                                                                                                              The Oklahoma City bombing