Bricktown Canal, Oklahoma City, Bezoekersgids & wat te doen in de buurt

The Bricktown Canal is a landscaped waterway running through Bricktown, the old warehouse district of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is lined with red brick buildings from the railroad era that now hold restaurants, shops and entertainment venues. It shows how a district that stood empty by 1980 found a second life.

The story behind it

Bricktown was established in 1898 as a warehouse district serving the railroads. The first brick buildings, only one or two storeys tall, went up between 1898 and 1903. Larger ones followed until 1911, and the tallest were raised between 1911 and 1930. Working-class houses stood close by.

Then the tide turned. The Great Depression cut business, and during and after the Second World War families moved to new suburbs along new highways. The railroads restructured and freight shifted to trucks. By 1980 the district was a cluster of abandoned buildings. The canal belongs to the later revival: a man-made waterway added in the 1990s as the area was rebuilt around dining and entertainment, with the old warehouses kept as its backdrop.

What to look for

• The red brick warehouse walls along the water, where the lower, early buildings sit beside taller ones from later decades.
• The contrast between today's bright signs and crowds and the plain, practical design of buildings made for storing goods.
• The canal itself, with its walkways and bridges, which gives the district a promenade that its railroad founders never had.
• The mix of building heights along the streets, which lets you read the district's growth from small early warehouses to the larger ones that followed.

Tips for your visit

• The canal-side walk is outdoors and open to stroll. Allow 30 to 60 minutes, or longer if you stop to eat.
• Late afternoon and evening are lively and the light on the brick is warm. Mornings are quieter if you want photographs without crowds.
• Water taxi rides have run along the canal. Check current availability and operating times before you plan around one.
• Bricktown is compact and walkable, so you can combine the canal with the surrounding streets, restaurants and the district's ballpark in one outing.

See it on a quest

Ghost Hunt in Oklahoma City is a good fit if you like a darker angle on a city. You reach the canal on foot as one stop of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Dorothy’s Quest: The Trials of Oz in Oklahoma City suits families and anyone who likes a story-led walk. The route passes the Bricktown Canal among other places, you hear about each one as you get there, and the puzzles are set in what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Lucky Treasure Hunt: The Golden Shamrock in Oklahoma City turns the district into a treasure hunt on foot. The canal is one stop on a longer route, the app gives you the background at each place, and you solve a puzzle there. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.