Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of Oklahoma with a population of nearly 1.5 million if the suburbs are included. It is known for extreme weather, including high winds, tornadoes, hailstorms, flash floods, hot summers, earthquakes...it must be an adventure to live here. Just driving here, I was exhausted from several hours of fighting high, swirling winds and dodging semis being pushed around on the highway. Then, severe weather alerts, including tornado warnings, large hail (luckily not as big as some areas), then alerts for possible flash flooding due to the heavy rain. My only damage was to a couple plastic roof vent covers and I woke up to a beautiful, clear day.
Oil is the life blood of this region, derricks and pump jacks are visible all over town, including the grounds of the capitol building. I understand the building itself was re-located once when oil was discovered beneath it.
On this visit, I found the capitol facade covered in scaffolding due to renovation activity. (It's amazing how often I find the same thing in other state capitols.) In this case, it seems irrelevant since there is an oil derrick and storage tanks practically in the front yard.
They also have symbolic sculptures on the grounds. Of course there's a cowboy and also an Indian maiden created by a Chiricahua Apache. Down the street is a piece of art called the "Beacon of Hope", symbolic of the city's resiliency following various disasters. The beacon becomes a green torch after dark.
The downtown area is very impressive as a result of multiple projects to restore and re-energize. A large garden includes the "Crystal Bridge" that houses tropical plants. Nearby buildings seem to have emulated that structure.
Downtown re-development has added several parks, waterways and memorials. Once the location where displaced Indians were moved to, Oklahoma now has descendants from some forty tribes, so it follows that there is a memorial to them. Also, there is a huge memorial to the 1889 "Land Run", when land was given to the first settlers to claim it.
But the thing that Oklahoma City will always be known for, more than anything else, is the bombing that took place on April 19, 1995. When a truck bomb exploded in front of the federal building, not only was there millions of dollars in damage to it and nearby buildings, but 168 innocent people were killed...including 19 children. I've visited the memorial here several times, and I'm always moved by its symbolism, but this was my first visit at night.
The Gates of Time: One for 9:01 am, the last minute of peace before the explosion; the other for 9:03 am, the first minute of healing.
The Reflecting Pool: Meant to encourage everyone to reflect on what happened here.
The Field of Empty Chairs: Each representing, and bearing the name of, a victim. The small chairs are for the children killed.
The Survivor Tree: At first, the badly damaged elm was thought to be beyond hope, would have to come down. However, it has survived and thrived since the incident.
Nearby churches have also established memorials. Across the street, St. Joseph's Church erected a sculpture called "And Jesus Wept", looking away from the horrific scene. Although it doesn't show in this photo, the stone wall in front of the statue has 168 stones missing.
I have never heard of the chair memorial . . very touching . . especially the little chairs
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