ARDMORE, OKLAHOMA: Gave us a wealth of architecture (& Rue McClanahan too)

arbeiter · #1 Posted: **Aug 25, 2009, 10:59 PM**

Ardmore, Oklahoma is proof that it is almost always worth it to exit when you feel compelled to exit the freeway. Located just a mile or so off of Interstate 35, it is a city that was clearly once "something" - blessed with rich architecture that proves it; and not just pre-war but post-war as well.

The city proper is about 25,000, Carter County (which makes up the micropolitan area) is about 55,000. The radio stations in the area are mostly based out of here; the unemployment rate is a fairly respectable 5.8%.

It was a Sunday afternoon and early evening, to be fair, but even considering the time of the week, Ardmore's downtown seemed like a museum, an artifact or exhibit.

I really liked this town. For me, there is a kind of 'reverse evangelism' about small cities like this, deeply conservative and removed from the metroplitan zeitgeist. It may not be the place for me, I may never live there, the people who live there might not like me or who I am, but that doesn't prevent me from loving it back - loving its architecture and history despite its citizens' own indifference to the riches contained within.

Bonus: Ardmore's quite close to some scenic beauty, a real surprise for highway-goers expecting nothing but flatness from Dallas to OKC. Many of these trees are ashe juniper, i.e. the same "cedar" tree species that covers most of Austin, Texas. I think this is prettier than most of the Texas hill country, but maybe that's because I've been around the hill country most of my life and am *sick of it*.

Turner Falls is the biggest attraction in the area:

OK by ME

And that was... Ardmore. I will be posting more photo series shortly, featuring Oklahoma City, Dallas, and a special small-town-Texas tour that will feature a half dozen off the beaten track railroad towns between Austin and DFW.

SLO · #2 Posted: **Aug 25, 2009, 11:03 PM**

Cool. Are the falls spring fed?

arbeiter · #3 Posted: **Aug 25, 2009, 11:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLO

Cool. Are the falls spring fed?

I don't think they are, I think it's just Honey Creek. The first "scenic" photo above is on I-35 at "Honey Creek Pass" as the sign says.

xzmattzx · #4 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 1:12 AM**

Nice pictures. Ardmore looks like a nice place.

I wouldn't say that residents are indifferent to the nice architecture in a place like this, but that it is just a given to continue to use the old buildings in town. It's more of a matter-of-fact mentality than a mentality of indifference.

Okstate · #5 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 2:11 AM**

I'm digging the Oklahoma Arbuckle mountains. I've driven that area dozens of times. Extremely different topography than most of the state.

arbeiter · #6 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 2:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Nice pictures. Ardmore looks like a nice place.

I wouldn't say that residents are indifferent to the nice architecture in a place like this, but that it is just a given to continue to use the old buildings in town. It's more of a matter-of-fact mentality than a mentality of indifference.

Well, that's the thing, most of them aren't being used. Most of the people in Ardmore stuck to the main thoroughfare a couple of miles to the west, a standard McDonald's and strip mall type affair.

Thundertubs · #7 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 4:02 AM**

I'm with you on small cities like this. I'd never live in one (again) for anything, but I just find them fascinating. Great scenery around there too.

pj3000 · #8 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 4:43 AM**

I don't share your affection for Ardmore, but your photos of the main drag downtown do capture the museum-like/small town exhibit quality. The Arbuckles are a pretty area and a nice natural scenic break between the topographic blandness of Dallas and OKC

skyline · #9 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 12:18 PM**

Looking forward to the other series. Ardmore was a good start!

LSyd · #10 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 12:43 PM**

awesome tour, thanks. there's tons of scenic towns all around.

-

Lance · #11 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 1:45 PM**

Great pictures. I am making the Dallas to OK City drive in a couple weeks and am very interested in stopping at the Turner Falls. Is it pretty clear how to get to them from the interstate and where the good picture-taking vantages are?

arbeiter · #12 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 1:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance

Great pictures. I am making the Dallas to OK City drive in a couple weeks and am very interested in stopping at the Turner Falls. Is it pretty clear how to get to them from the interstate and where the good picture-taking vantages are?

It's very easy - Turner Falls is probably 3 miles west of the interstate itself. There will be an exit for "Turner Falls Area" highway 77 and you can just take that. It roughly parallels IH 35. The thing that my cousin (an Oklahoma native) told me was not to bother with paying the expensive entrance fee to the park itself, unless you planned on staying a few hours. Just keep on driving past the entrance further up the hill (or before the entrance, if you are coming from Dallas) - there is a free viewpoint looking down where I took the pictures showing the actual waterfall. The other photos I took about 1/4 of a mile before that viewpoint. There's a huge sign which you can't miss:

kcexpress69 · #13 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 4:50 PM**

Looks like a well kept town. I knew a girl from here once. I like the hills surrounding Ardmore. People tend to mis-understand the beauty that Oklahoma has to offer and instead chalk it up to be another one of those flat featureless Midwestern states. Nice job on the pics. Looking forward to the next threads!!

Mopacs · #14 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 5:06 PM**

Thanks for the tour. Your photo thread narratives are always well written and informative.

I have never been through the heart of Ardmore, only the western edge. The architecture is indeed very charming. The vegetation and rock outcroppings of the Arbuckles along I-35 very much resembles the Loop 360 corridor through West Austin.

Mopacs · #15 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 5:10 PM**

This shot could very well have been taken in the eastern Texas Hill Country (or river valleys west of San Antonio)...very similar. I believe the annual rainfall of this region is in the same ballpark as central Texas... though this image would seem to indicate a slightly less arid climate

Lance · #16 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 7:27 PM**

Thanks for the helpful information!

arbeiter · #17 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 10:15 PM**

I would imagine it gets a bit more rain. Ardmore proper is at about 850-900 feet above sea level, putting the Arbuckles probably in the 1,300 range. 15 miles out and you'd never know they were there to begin with, Ardmore itself looks about as flat as the rest of the area, which isn't extremely flat, but gently rolling.

Also, the town could be butt ugly but Michelin Man welcoming you makes you feel so much better about it!

arbeiter · #18 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 10:21 PM**

Here are a few pictures I didn't originally include:

And even though I was travelling alone, I did have a tripod...

arbeiter · #19 Posted: **Aug 26, 2009, 10:28 PM**

Oh, and Lance, I even photographed the exit. So you can't miss it:

Dan Denson · #20 Posted: **Aug 27, 2009, 3:47 AM**

As beautiful as the central TX hill country is, the scenery you show in OK is excellent competition. To me the areas don't look the same at all (hill country can be more rugged and dramatic, especially northwest of San Antonio) but both are really beautiful in their own way.

Nice to finally see a photo of you.