Good Old
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by Lin Stone
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It used to be that everyone knew where Guthrie was.
Of course, that was back when Guthrie was capital of Oklahoma. Guthrie was originally founded during the Land Run of 1889, sprouting from a population of zero to 10,000 in one single day of feverish staking. Spoil Sports like to pretend that Guthrie would still be the capital if some quick-thinking politicians hadn't pulled a midnight heist of the Great Seal and took it to Oklahoma City where it really belonged. There were giants in the earth in those days. The giants of Guthrie fought with the giants of Oklahoma City. The battle went not to the strong, but to the swift: In the middle of the night, on June 11, 1910, the state seal was yanked to Oklahoma City and soon thereafter the giants of Guthrie lost the battle to retain the capital, along with the economic booty that goes with honest governmental stewardship.. Once the slide began there was no stopping it. Guthrie soon lost its status as Oklahoma's second largest city, first to Muskogee, then later to mighty Tulsa. Consequently, much of the entire central business and residential district of Guthrie has been left totally intact, just like it used to be. While growth spurts and lousy planning skills caused other Oklahoma towns to destroy much of their early downtown architecture Guthrie withered with grace. It withered on the vine for so long it was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1999. Today, Guthrie has earned the title as the largest urban Historic Preservation District in the United States, containing 400 city blocks. The Oklahoma Territorial Museum is found here, as is the Guthrie Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, the world's largest conservatory. Guthrie also claims to be the "Bed and Breakfast capital of Oklahoma". Nonetheless, Guthrie is now just a little community of 11,000 friendly people with one foot cemented in their town's wonderful (ancient) history and the other foot dangling like a blind participle. Inside the historic Preservation District there are whole buildings for sale. Outside the District there are numerous homes that have long ago lost all prospects of being sold, and are constantly passed up at all the tax sales too. Perhaps a few of their boards can be salvaged to make Genuine Guthrie Picture Frames. |
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| Tourists love to ogle the historical buildings with
their cute little cornices and ornate embellishments. For the contented
tourist, cozy carriage
tours will wheel you around town like royalty, Replica trolley cars
are even more fun. Footloose
tourists pretty much wander where they want
to, consuming most of their time by gazing at the unique Victorian
architecture or hunting for bargains among the antiques. The most prominent artifacts here have come from local sources. Step back sixty or eighty years and this merchandise is what Granny Guthrie was sewing with, and here's her very own dresser. Books are mostly of a later vintage, as are the dolls and toys. Oil company mementoes abound, including Texaco, Mobil, Sinclair and other biggies of yesterday. My own favorite antique store is the Olde Towne Emporium found at 105 West Oklahoma Ave. Phone 405 282 73044 It is open Monday through Saturday from ten to five. It can't be the attitude of the staff that I liked because I never talked to anyone. But the shop is laid out in a friendly way and getting a good careful glimpse of the merchandise is easy. Guthrie has two lakes south of it called Liberty Lake and Guthrie Lake. |
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To get to Guthrie from Oklahoma City, take I-35 North for about thirty
miles. I prefer to wander through sage, cedar and sand so followed
Sooner Road as far north as it would go. Along the way I found
numerous places of interest, including Arcadia, home of the famous Round
Barn. From the other side of the picture it still looks operational. Almost directly across the street from the barn was a large exhibit for tourists with stores, houses, barns and corrals made of substances found locally. One sign still legible said HOLLYWOOD. Arcadia was found on what used to be Route 66. Just down the road from the barn is the Pops store. My chauffeur insisted that we stop, and I'm glad I did. Never in my life have I seen so many varieties of soda pop. It also has a friendly staff and great burgers. The great Italian mansion was found somewhere along the way. |
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Bio: Lin Stone is the author of thirty three books. He also maintains directories of the Best Insurance Providers in the United States. The list of Health Insurance Providers starts here.
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