Directions to the Residence Inn

We%26#39;re driving on I-40 from Memphis, TN in one day and staying at the new Residence Inn Downtown/Bricktown (400 East Reno Av.). Can someone provide me with the easiest directions from I-40 West for arriving in this hotel?

Also, recommendations for a nice place (no fast food and buffet) for dinner will be appreciated. We prefer a restaurant within a walking distance from the hotel.

Is it possible to take a long walk in the evening from this hotel without driving anywhere? Any museum, art gallery, nice architectural landmarks where we can easily get the next morning? Are canal tours available in March?

Thank you for any information that would help us with this short visit.

Directions to the Residence Inn

Heading East on I-40:

Take EXIT 151A toward LINCOLN BLVD.

Turn RIGHT onto S BYERS AVE.

Turn LEFT onto E RENO AVE.

End at 400 E Reno Ave

The Hotel is pretty much right in Bricktown. There are plenty of restaurants to enjoy.

Here is the bricktown website: http://www.bricktownokc.com/

Here is the Water Taxi website:

http://www.watertaxi.com/Oklahoma/OKCHome.Asp

You should probably call to see if it is running the days you are here. My guess is, with the nice weather we have been having, it will be operating. Call 405-234-8262 for hours of operation.

Other area attractions are the Murrah Bombing Memorial and the OKC Museum of Art at 415 Couch Drive. Both attractions are About a 1.5 mile walk, but there are trolleys that will get you close to each should you choose to go.

Also, the new Downtown Library is about a block from the Museum of Art. Should you walk there you would pass right by it.

Have fun!

Directions to the Residence Inn

I also forgot to mention the Myriad Gardens Crystal Bridge is not that far from Bircktown:

http://www.myriadgardens.com/index.html

modcon, this is great. Thank you for helping me out. I%26#39;ll check out all your recommendations. We%26#39;ll be heading West on I-40. Are directions the same to the Residence Inn like those when traveling east? First we need to turn right on S Byers Avenue and then left to E Reno? Thanks

It will be a little different headed east:

From I-40 merge onto ';I-235 N / CENTENNIAL EXPY / US-77 N'; via EXIT 126 toward ';OKLA. HEALTH CENTER / STATE CAPITOL / EDMOND.';

Take the WESTBOUND SHERIDAN AVE exit- EXIT 1C- toward DOWNTOWN.

Turn LEFT onto S LINCOLN BLVD.

Turn RIGHT onto E RENO AVE.

End at 400 E Reno Ave Oklahoma City, OK 73104, US

As for a nice place to eat, I would recommend The Mantel. It%26#39;s not inexpensive, but it is very good. Steaks/chops/Seafood. It%26#39;s across Sheridan from the ballpark at 201 E. Sheridan (Not to be confused with Mickey Mantle%26#39;s Steakhouse.) That%26#39;s a very short walk from your hotel, but then, most of Bricktown is a short walk from there.

If you want a less expensive place, try Abuelo%26#39;s for Mexican food, or for fish, try Pearl%26#39;s Crabtown. You can also stop into Earl%26#39;s Barbecue for a quick lunch.

And go to Uncommon Grounds for desert and coffee. You won%26#39;t regret it.

Have fun!

For a sit-down restaurant, if you like Italian, I would definitely recommend Trattoria il Centro in the Arts District. It is on Main Street in the Montgomery building- that%26#39;s a bit south and west of the Art Museum. Eva Longoria has eaten there! :) It would be right on the loop of your nice walk from the Residence Inn to all the big attractions like the Memorial and Museums in the Arts District.

Speaking of the walk- I recommend walking all along the canal, meandering through downtown up to the Memorial, down to the Art Museum (GREAT glasswork exhibit even if you%26#39;re not into art!), over to Trattoria for dinner, and then walk back toward Bricktown through the Myriad Gardens which is always a really pretty place to walk.

Good names mentioned. Places, Bricktown/Downtown is actually the most walkable part of the city, with so many attractions and restaurants within several smaller blocks.

As for architectual landmarks, your tour could begin and end with the 1) Skirvin Hilton hotel, which was recently opened after almost two decades of dormancy. This Victorian 1911 hotel is the city%26#39;s grand old lady. Check out who%26#39;s been there in the lobby gallery. The lounge and bar are also first rate. Its architect was Solomon Layton, who also designed the state capital several blocks away.

2) I would then check out First National Center, the Rockefeller Center/Empire State of OKC, on the neighborhing block. Inspect its art deco ornamentation on the W side exterior and (if possible) the Great Banking Hall inside. Just as there was a race for completion between Empire State and the Chrysler building, there was a race between First National and Ramsey Tower (its next door neighbor now known as UMB Bank City Place, N on the other side of Park Ave.). It finished second in 1931.

3) Continue W on Park Avenue until you hit its end at the Municipal Building: looking W, N, and NE, you%26#39;ll see a nice ensemble of WPA government art deco architecture, featuring City Hall, the County Courthouse, and OKC Museum of Art. The latter is fairly new, but Civic Center Music Hall, W behind City Hall, is also from the WPA era.

4) Going S one block on Hudson at Sheridan, on the SW corner of the intersection, is Stage Center. This late 60%26#39;s/early 70%26#39;s theater complex, opened as ';Mummers Theater'; made a splash in the architectural realm but was panned by locals. The Modern structure was designed by John M. Johansen.

5) Walk a few blocks N to NW 5th St and turn right (E) one block to the OKC National Memorial. Universally praised for its symbolism, the memorial%26#39;s gates of time are (for better or for worse) in my opinion the most iconic images of OKC.

6) Finally, going back to your hotel room, take a look at the retro-styled Bricktown Ballpark on Reno, N of the Residence Inn. Enjoy the statues and mural. This is arguably the most important structure of today%26#39;s times. The ballpark was the first project of the MAPS initiative, which provided funding for it and eight other projects downtown (such as the Ford Center). MAPS was the answer to OKC%26#39;s dead downtown and inferiority complex spurred by the oil bust of the early eighties. Also, for some time, the city government%26#39;s reputation wasn%26#39;t very good. The initiative barely passed a referendum vote, and public was skeptical. But the Bricktown Ballpark exceeded all expectations. Locals loved it, and minor league baseball fans nationwide consistently rate it as the best facility of the league. Seeing the ballpark gave the city and its citizens the confidence to push ahead with the rest of MAPS, which revitalized downtown and gave locals newly-found pride in their city.

For addresses and maps, see

http://www.downtownokc.com/

Your posts are fabulous and I want to thank you for so much information. I printed all out and will try to do as much as possible i a very short time. I only wish we had more time. We%26#39;ll be stopping in Oklahoma City for two nights and spend most of one day with family coming from Tulsa and Norman. I recalled three years ago during our first visit how impressed and surprised we were with Oklahoma City. Before our trip I heard and read many negative opinions about Oklahoma and did not expect much. Then it turned out to be a very exciting visit with many things to be admired. You gave me many wonderful ideas including a step by step itinerary. Thank you again

We%26#39;ll be in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Anyone knows whether there is a place in Bricktown where we can get the Sunday edition of The New York Times?

You can find the Times at Taylor%26#39;s News and Books, a newsstand in downtown at 133 W Main Street, across the street from the Sheraton Hotel going N underneath a parking garage. It%26#39;s next to a Subway.

urbanokcadvisor, thank you for this info.