Assessing Safety Knowledge in Mobile Home Technician Work

Assessing Safety Knowledge in Mobile Home Technician Work

How SEER Ratings Impact Energy Efficiency in Mobile Homes

In the realm of mobile home maintenance, the role of a technician is both vital and intricate. These professionals are tasked with ensuring that mobile homes remain safe, functional, and comfortable for their inhabitants. However, amid this multifaceted job lies an essential component that cannot be overstated: the importance of safety knowledge. For mobile home technicians, possessing a robust understanding of safety protocols is not merely beneficial; it's imperative.


Mobile home technicians often find themselves working in environments that can present numerous hazards. From electrical systems to structural components, each aspect of their work carries its own set of risks. Compact heat pumps are ideal for mobile homes with limited space mobile home hvac systems expert. Therefore, having a comprehensive knowledge of safety measures is crucial to prevent accidents and injuries. This awareness begins with training and continues through ongoing education and practice.


Assessing safety knowledge among mobile home technicians involves evaluating their understanding of potential hazards and their preparedness to handle emergencies effectively. It requires them to be well-versed in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), safe handling techniques for tools and materials, and strategies for mitigating risks associated with confined spaces or elevated work areas.


Moreover, effective safety knowledge assessment goes beyond theoretical understanding; it also considers practical application in real-world scenarios. Technicians must demonstrate proficiency in identifying faulty wiring or gas leaks before they become critical issues. They must also exhibit the ability to implement preventive measures that safeguard both themselves and the residents they serve.


Continuous assessment ensures that technicians stay up-to-date with evolving safety standards and technological advancements within the industry. Regular workshops, certifications, and refresher courses are integral to maintaining high levels of competency in safety practices.


Ultimately, prioritizing safety knowledge within this profession not only protects the technicians but also instills confidence in homeowners who rely on these experts for maintaining their living spaces. By emphasizing the significance of thorough safety education and consistent evaluation, we ensure that mobile home technicians are equipped to perform their duties safely and efficiently while minimizing risks.


In conclusion, assessing safety knowledge among mobile home technicians is fundamental to fostering a secure working environment. As these professionals navigate complex repair tasks within potentially hazardous settings, their ability to apply sound safety principles is crucial for preventing accidents and safeguarding lives. Through continual learning and assessment efforts focused on enhancing safety acumen, we bolster the integrity of this critical workforce sector while promoting overall well-being within residential communities.

Working in the field of mobile home HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) can be both rewarding and challenging. Technicians are tasked with ensuring that these homes maintain a comfortable climate while also adhering to safety standards. One critical aspect of this work is understanding and managing common safety hazards associated with mobile home HVAC systems.


Mobile homes present unique challenges compared to traditional houses. They often have different structural designs, materials, and space constraints that influence how HVAC systems are installed and maintained. As a result, technicians need to be particularly vigilant about the safety risks inherent in their work environment.


One of the primary safety hazards in mobile home HVAC work is electrical shock. Many components of an HVAC system operate on electricity, making it essential for technicians to understand the electrical schematics they are working with. Faulty wiring or improper grounding can lead to serious injuries or even fatalities. Therefore, it is crucial for technicians to always ensure power is turned off before starting any maintenance work and to use insulated tools whenever possible.


Another significant hazard involves working with refrigerants. These substances are necessary for cooling mechanisms but can pose health risks if mishandled. Refrigerant exposure can cause respiratory problems or skin irritation, and improper handling can lead to leaks that may harm the environment. Technicians must be knowledgeable about safe handling practices, including wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and goggles.


Confined spaces in mobile homes add another layer of risk during HVAC servicing. The limited space can make it difficult for technicians to maneuver safely, increasing the likelihood of slips, trips, or falls. Additionally, poor ventilation in these confined areas may exacerbate exposure to harmful fumes or dust particles during repairs or installations. To mitigate these risks, it's important for technicians to conduct thorough assessments before entering such spaces and ensure they have adequate ventilation.


Furthermore, mechanical injuries from moving parts within an HVAC system pose a threat if proper precautions aren't taken. Blower fans and other components can cause cuts or bruises if accidentally activated during service operations. Lockout/tagout procedures should be strictly followed to prevent accidental energizing of machinery while maintenance is being performed.


Given these potential dangers, assessing the safety knowledge of mobile home HVAC technicians becomes imperative not only for their well-being but also for that of the residents they serve. Comprehensive training programs should emphasize hazard recognition, correct usage of PPE, adherence to industry standards like those set by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), and emergency response protocols.


In conclusion, understanding common safety hazards in mobile home HVAC work is vital for every technician involved in this specialized field. By prioritizing education on these risks and implementing proactive safety measures consistently throughout their tasks, technicians not only protect themselves but also enhance the reliability and efficiency of their service delivery-ultimately contributing to safer living environments within mobile homes across communities.

Nationwide Observations Show Positive Impact of High SEER Units in Mobile Home Communities

Nationwide Observations Show Positive Impact of High SEER Units in Mobile Home Communities

The transition to high Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) units in mobile home communities is an encouraging development in the quest for sustainable living.. By enhancing energy efficiency, these units not only reduce environmental impact but also offer significant economic benefits to residents.

Posted by on 2024-12-29

Choosing the Right SEER Rating for Your Mobile Home HVAC System

Evaluating the current safety training programs for technicians, particularly in the context of assessing safety knowledge in mobile home technician work, is a critical endeavor that demands both thoroughness and sensitivity to the unique challenges faced by this workforce. Mobile home technicians operate in environments that present a diverse array of risks and safety considerations. Therefore, it is imperative that their training not only meets regulatory standards but also genuinely equips them with the practical knowledge and skills needed to navigate their everyday tasks safely.


At the heart of effective safety training is the ability to understand and mitigate potential hazards specific to mobile home maintenance and repair. These hazards can range from electrical issues and structural instability to exposure to harmful substances. A robust training program should encompass comprehensive modules on these topics, ensuring technicians are well-versed in identifying risks before they escalate into accidents.


One major aspect of evaluating these programs lies in assessing how well they translate theoretical knowledge into real-world application. Training sessions should incorporate hands-on learning opportunities, where technicians can practice skills in a controlled environment that mimics actual working conditions. This experiential learning approach not only reinforces theoretical concepts but also builds confidence among technicians as they learn to handle tools and equipment safely.


Moreover, continuous assessment plays a pivotal role in maintaining high safety standards. Regular evaluations-through quizzes, practical demonstrations, or scenario-based assessments-ensure that technicians retain crucial information over time. Feedback from these assessments should be utilized constructively to adapt and improve training materials continually.


Another essential factor is keeping pace with advancements in technology and industry practices. As new tools and techniques emerge, training programs must evolve correspondingly. This involves updating curriculum content regularly and providing refresher courses so that all personnel remain current with best practices.


Furthermore, fostering an organizational culture that prioritizes safety can greatly enhance the effectiveness of any training initiative. When management leads by example-emphasizing safety protocols consistently across all levels-it creates an environment where every technician feels responsible for not only their own wellbeing but also that of their colleagues.


Ultimately, evaluating current safety training programs requires a holistic approach that considers both content quality and delivery methods while fostering an ongoing dialogue about improvement based on feedback from those directly involved-the technicians themselves. By investing in comprehensive education frameworks tailored specifically for mobile home technician work, organizations can significantly reduce workplace accidents and promote a safer working environment for all employees involved.

Choosing the Right SEER Rating for Your Mobile Home HVAC System

Factors Influencing SEER Rating Effectiveness in Mobile Homes

Assessing safety knowledge and skills in mobile home technician work is a critical component of ensuring the well-being of both technicians and the residents they serve. This specialized field requires a comprehensive understanding of safety protocols, as technicians are often tasked with handling complex systems in potentially hazardous environments. As such, employing effective techniques to evaluate their safety competence is paramount.


One fundamental technique for assessing safety knowledge is through structured training programs followed by rigorous testing. These programs should cover all aspects of mobile home maintenance and repair, emphasizing areas that pose significant safety risks, such as electrical systems, gas lines, and structural integrity. Post-training assessments can take various forms, including written exams and practical evaluations, to ensure that technicians not only understand theoretical concepts but can also apply them in real-world scenarios.


Another vital technique involves regular on-the-job observations. Supervisors or experienced mentors can accompany technicians during their routine tasks to directly assess their adherence to safety protocols. This method provides immediate feedback and allows for the correction of unsafe practices before they result in accidents. It also helps identify areas where additional training might be necessary.


Simulated emergency scenarios are another effective assessment tool. By creating controlled environments that mimic potential hazards technicians might face, employers can evaluate how well their staff responds under pressure. These simulations test both the individual's problem-solving abilities and their capacity to remain calm while adhering to safety procedures.


Peer reviews also offer valuable insights into a technician's safety competencies. Encouraging team members to provide constructive feedback about each other's performance fosters an environment of continuous improvement and accountability. This technique not only highlights individual strengths and weaknesses but also builds a culture of mutual support where safety is prioritized.


Finally, maintaining open lines of communication between technicians and management about changes in safety standards or new equipment is crucial for ongoing assessment. Regular meetings or briefings can keep everyone informed about the latest best practices and regulations, ensuring that all staff members remain up-to-date with industry standards.


In conclusion, assessing safety knowledge in mobile home technician work requires a multifaceted approach involving training programs, practical evaluations, on-the-job observations, simulated emergencies, peer reviews, and consistent communication. By integrating these techniques into the workplace, employers can significantly enhance the overall safety culture within their organizations-protecting not only their employees but also the clients they serve.

Comparing SEER Ratings Across Different Mobile Home Cooling Systems

In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile home construction and maintenance, the role of a technician is critical. These professionals ensure that mobile homes are not only functional but also safe for habitation. However, as with any occupation involving complex machinery and potential hazards, safety awareness and compliance are paramount. Therefore, assessing safety knowledge among mobile home technicians is crucial for fostering a culture of safety and preventing accidents.


One effective strategy to improve safety awareness is through comprehensive training programs tailored to the specific needs of mobile home technicians. These programs should cover a breadth of topics including hazard recognition, proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), emergency procedures, and updates on regulatory changes. By offering hands-on workshops alongside theoretical instruction, technicians can better internalize best practices and apply them in real-world scenarios. Moreover, integrating technology such as virtual reality simulations can provide immersive experiences that enhance learning outcomes.


Another key approach is implementing regular assessments to gauge the current level of safety knowledge among technicians. These assessments can take various forms: written tests, practical demonstrations, or interactive quizzes that focus on critical aspects of their work environment. By evaluating their understanding periodically, companies can identify knowledge gaps early and address them promptly through targeted training sessions or refresher courses.


Creating a culture where safety discussions are encouraged also plays an essential role in improving compliance. Regular safety meetings where technicians share experiences and learn from one another can cultivate a sense of collective responsibility towards maintaining high safety standards. Encouraging open dialogue about near-misses or potential hazards without fear of reprimand can lead to constructive feedback loops that continuously enhance workplace practices.


Furthermore, leadership commitment cannot be overstated when it comes to promoting safety awareness and compliance. When supervisors actively participate in safety training sessions and model appropriate behavior, it reinforces the importance of these initiatives throughout the organization. Leaders should also recognize and reward adherence to safety protocols to motivate technicians further.


Lastly, leveraging technology for monitoring compliance ensures accountability while providing valuable data insights into areas needing improvement. Digital checklists for routine inspections or mobile applications for reporting hazards streamline processes while keeping accurate records that are easily accessible for audits or reviews.


In conclusion, enhancing safety awareness and compliance in the realm of mobile home technician work requires a multifaceted approach centered on education, assessment, culture-building, leadership involvement, and technological integration. Through these strategies, we fortify our commitment to safeguarding not only the lives of those who work within this field but also those who reside in the homes they help build and maintain.

Tips for Maintaining Optimal Performance of High-SEER Rated Systems

In the realm of mobile home HVAC maintenance, safety is a paramount concern that demands constant attention and diligence. The unique nature of mobile homes, with their compact spaces and often complex layouts, presents distinct challenges for technicians tasked with ensuring that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems function correctly without compromising safety. To delve deeper into this subject, examining case studies on safety incidents can offer valuable insights into the current state of safety knowledge among mobile home HVAC technicians.


A critical aspect of assessing safety knowledge in this field involves understanding the common hazards that technicians may encounter during their work. Electric shocks, gas leaks, refrigerant exposure, and falls from heights are just a few examples of potential risks inherent to HVAC maintenance in mobile homes. Each incident provides an opportunity to explore what went wrong and how similar occurrences can be prevented in the future.


One illustrative case study involved a technician who suffered an electric shock while attempting to repair an air conditioning unit inside a mobile home. An investigation revealed that the technician had not fully de-energized the system before beginning repairs-a fundamental step in electrical safety protocols. This incident underscores the importance of comprehensive training programs that emphasize adherence to established safety procedures. Technicians must be equipped with not only technical skills but also a robust understanding of safety measures specific to their working environment.


Another case highlighted issues related to inadequate ventilation when dealing with refrigerants. In this instance, improper handling led to refrigerant exposure that resulted in respiratory distress for two technicians. Such incidents highlight gaps in safety practices related to hazardous material management within confined spaces typical of mobile homes. This points to a need for enhanced training on proper equipment handling and environmental monitoring techniques.


Additionally, falls remain a significant concern as technicians often navigate precarious positions both inside and atop mobile homes during installations or repairs. A reported fall from a ladder brought attention to insufficient use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as harnesses or non-slip footwear-tools essential for minimizing fall risk.


To address these recurring issues effectively requires more than just reactive measures post-incident; it necessitates proactive strategies focused on education and prevention. Regular workshops and refresher courses tailored specifically for mobile home environments can reinforce critical safety concepts among HVAC technicians. Incorporating real-world scenarios from past incidents into training sessions can help illustrate potential dangers vividly while fostering problem-solving skills crucial for emergency situations.


Moreover, fostering an organizational culture where continuous learning about workplace hazards is encouraged will empower technicians themselves as advocates for safer practices within their teams or companies at large.


In conclusion, analyzing case studies concerning safety incidents offers invaluable lessons regarding existing knowledge gaps among mobile home HVAC maintenance professionals concerning safe operations amidst challenging conditions unique to such settings.
Through dedicated efforts towards improving educational initiatives centered around practical applications paired with cultivating awareness-driven cultures across organizations involved in these services we stand poised not only safeguard lives but also enhance overall efficiency within industry standards thereby elevating service quality provided by skilled conscientious frontline workers entrusted safeguarding comfort well-being countless individuals residing modular dwellings nationwide worldwide alike!

 

Oklahoma City is located in the United States
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City
Location within the United States
Oklahoma City
State capital city
Downtown Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Hall
Skydance Bridge
Oklahoma City National Memorial
Oklahoma State Capitol
Paycom Center
Convention Center
Flag of Oklahoma City
Official seal of Oklahoma City
Nickname(s): 
"OKC", "The 405", "Oklas", "Boomtown", "The Big Friendly",[1] "The City",[2]
Map
Interactive map of Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is located in Oklahoma
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City
Location within the state of Oklahoma

Coordinates: 35°28′7″N 97°31′17″W / 35.46861°N 97.52139°W / 35.46861; -97.52139CountryUnited StatesStateOklahomaCounties

  • Oklahoma
  • Canadian
  • Cleveland
  • Pottawatomie

FoundedApril 22, 1889[3]IncorporatedJuly 15, 1890[3]Government

 

 • TypeCouncil–manager • BodyOklahoma City Council • MayorDavid Holt (R) • City managerCraig FreemanArea

[4]
 • City

620.79 sq mi (1,607.83 km2) • Land606.48 sq mi (1,570.77 km2) • Water14.31 sq mi (37.06 km2) • Urban

 

421.73 sq mi (1,092.3 km2)Elevation

[5]

1,198 ft (365 m)Population

 (2020)
 • City

681,054 Increase • Rank62nd in North America
20th in the United States
1st in Oklahoma • Density1,122.96/sq mi (433.58/km2) • Urban

 

982,276 (US: 46th) • Urban density2,329.2/sq mi (899.3/km2) • Metro

[6]

1,441,695 (US: 42nd)

  • Oklahoma Cityan
  • Oklahoma Citian

Demonyms
GDP

[7]

 • Metro$100.054 billion (2023)Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST)) • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)ZIP Codes

Zip codes[8]

Area code(s)405/572FIPS code40-55000GNIS feature ID1102140[5]Websitewww.okc.gov

Oklahoma City (/ËŒoÊŠkləˈhoÊŠmÉ™ -/ ⓘ), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County,[9] its population ranks 20th among United States cities and 8th in the Southern United States. The population grew following the 2010 census and reached 681,054 in the 2020 census.[10] The Oklahoma City metropolitan area had a population of 1,396,445,[11] and the Oklahoma City–Shawnee Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,469,124,[11] making it Oklahoma's largest municipality and metropolitan area by population.

Oklahoma City's city limits extend somewhat into Canadian, Cleveland, and Pottawatomie counties. However, much of those areas outside the core Oklahoma County area are suburban tracts or protected rural zones (watershed). The city is the eighth-largest in the United States by area including consolidated city-counties; it is the second-largest, after Houston, not including consolidated cities. The city is also the second-largest by area among state capital cities in the United States, after Juneau, Alaska.

Oklahoma City has one of the world's largest livestock markets.[12] Oil, natural gas, petroleum products, and related industries are its economy's largest sector. The city is in the middle of an active oil field, and oil derricks dot the capitol grounds. The federal government employs a large number of workers at Tinker Air Force Base and the United States Department of Transportation's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (which house offices of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Department's Enterprise Service Center, respectively).

Oklahoma City is on the I-35 and I-40 corridors, one of the primary travel corridors south into neighboring Texas and New Mexico, north towards Wichita and Kansas City, west to Albuquerque, and east towards Little Rock and Memphis. Located in the state's Frontier Country region, the city's northeast section lies in an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers. The city was founded during the Land Run of 1889 and grew to a population of over 10,000 within hours of its founding. It was the site of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, in which 167 people died,[13] the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history until the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

Since weather records have been kept beginning in 1890, Oklahoma City has been struck by 14 violent tornadoes, 11 of which were rated F4 or EF4 on the Fujita and Enhanced Fujita scales, and two rated F5 and EF5.[14]

History

[edit]
Map of Indian Territory (Oklahoma) 1889, showing Oklahoma as a train stop on a railroad line. Britannica 9th ed.
Native American names for Oklahoma City
Choctaw: TÊ‹maha chito Oklahumma
Cherokee: ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ ᎦᏚᎲᎢ
Romanized: ogalahoma gaduhvi
Cheyenne: Ma'xepóno'e
Comanche: Pia SookaÌ hni
Delaware: Oklahoma-utènaii
Iowa-Oto: Chína Chége Itúⁿ[15]
Navajo: Halgai Hóteeldi Kin Haalʼáhí
Meskwaki: Okonohômîheki[16]

Oklahoma City was settled on April 22, 1889,[17] when the area known as the "Unassigned Lands" was opened for settlement in an event known as "The Land Run".[18] On April 26 of that year, its first mayor was elected, William Couch. Some 10,000 homesteaders settled in the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900.[19] Early leaders of the development of the city included Anton H. Classen, John Wilford Shartel, Henry Overholser, Oscar Ameringer, Jack C. Walton, Angelo C. Scott, and James W. Maney.

Lithograph of Oklahoma City from 1890.
Looking north on Broadway from present-day Sheridan Ave, 1910.

By the time Oklahoma was admitted to the Union in 1907, Oklahoma City had surpassed Guthrie, the territorial capital, as the new state's population center and commercial hub. Soon after, the capital was moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City.[20] Oklahoma City was a significant stop on Route 66 during the early part of the 20th century; it was prominently mentioned in Bobby Troup's 1946 jazz song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" made famous by artist Nat King Cole.

Before World War II, Oklahoma City developed significant stockyards, attracting jobs and revenue formerly in Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska. With the 1928 discovery of oil within the city limits (including under the State Capitol), Oklahoma City became a major center of oil production.[21] Post-war growth accompanied the construction of the Interstate Highway System, which made Oklahoma City a major interchange as the convergence of I-35, I-40, and I-44. It was also aided by the federal development of Tinker Air Force Base after successful lobbying efforts by the director of the Chamber of Commerce Stanley Draper.

In 1950, the Census Bureau reported the city's population as 8.6% black and 90.7% white.[22]

In 1959, the city government launched a "Great Annexation Drive" that expanded the city's area from 80 to 475.55 square miles (207.2 to 1,231.7 square kilometers) by the end of 1961, making it the largest U.S. city by land mass at the time.[23]

Patience Latting was elected Mayor of Oklahoma City in 1971, becoming the city's first female mayor.[24] Latting was also the first woman to serve as mayor of a U.S. city with over 350,000 residents.[24]

Oklahoma City National Memorial at Christmas.

Like many other American cities, the center city population declined in the 1970s and 1980s as families followed newly constructed highways to move to newer housing in nearby suburbs. Urban renewal projects in the 1970s, including the Pei Plan, removed older structures but failed to spark much new development, leaving the city dotted with vacant lots used for parking. A notable exception was the city's construction of the Myriad Gardens and Crystal Bridge, a botanical garden and modernistic conservatory in the heart of downtown. Architecturally significant historic buildings lost to clearances were the Criterion Theater,[25][26] the Baum Building,[27] the Hales Building,[28][29] and the Biltmore Hotel.[30]

In 1993, the city passed a massive redevelopment package known as the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), intended to rebuild the city's core with civic projects to establish more activities and life in downtown. The city added a new baseball park; a central library; renovations to the civic center, convention center, and fairgrounds; and a water canal in the Bricktown entertainment district. Water taxis transport passengers within the district, adding color and activity along the canal. MAPS has become one of the most successful public-private partnerships undertaken in the U.S., exceeding $3 billion in private investment as of 2010.[31] As a result of MAPS, the population in downtown housing has exponentially increased, with the demand for additional residential and retail amenities, such as groceries, services, and shops.

Since the completion of the MAPS projects, the downtown area has seen continued development. Several downtown buildings are undergoing renovation/restoration. Notable among these was the restoration of the Skirvin Hotel in 2007. The famed First National Center is also being renovated.

Residents of Oklahoma City suffered substantial losses on April 19, 1995, when Timothy McVeigh detonated a bomb in front of the Murrah building. The building was destroyed (the remnants of which had to be imploded in a controlled demolition later that year), more than 100 nearby buildings suffered severe damage, and 168 people were killed.[32] The site has been commemorated as the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.[33] Since its opening in 2000, over three million people have visited. Every year on April 19, survivors, families, and friends return to the memorial to read the names of each person lost. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.

The "Core-to-Shore" project was created to relocate I-40 one mile (1.6 km) south and replace it with a boulevard to create a landscaped entrance to the city.[34] This also allows the central portion of the city to expand south and connect with the shore of the Oklahoma River. Several elements of "Core to Shore" were included in the MAPS 3 proposal approved by voters in late 2009.

Geography

[edit]
Mid-May 2006 photograph of Oklahoma City taken from the International Space Station (ISS)

Oklahoma City lies along one of the primary corridors into Texas and Mexico and is a three-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The city is in the Frontier Country region in the state's center, making it ideal for state government.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 620.34 square miles (1,606.7 km2),[35] of which 601.11 square miles (1,556.9 km2) is land and 19.23 square miles (49.8 km2) is water.

Oklahoma City lies in the Sandstone Hills region of Oklahoma, known for hills of 250 to 400 feet (80 to 120 m) and two species of oak: blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) and post oak (Q. stellata).[36] The northeastern part of the city and its eastern suburbs fall into an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers.[37]

The city is roughly bisected by the North Canadian River (recently renamed the Oklahoma River inside city limits). The North Canadian once had sufficient flow to flood every year, wreaking destruction on surrounding areas, including the central business district and the original Oklahoma City Zoo.[38] In the 1940s, a dam was built on the river to manage the flood control and reduce its level.[39] In the 1990s, as part of the citywide revitalization project known as MAPS, the city built a series of low-water dams, returning water to the portion of the river flowing near downtown.[40] The city has three large lakes: Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser, in the northwestern quarter of the city; and the largest, Lake Stanley Draper, in the city's sparsely populated far southeast portion.

The population density typically reported for Oklahoma City using the area of its city limits can be misleading. Its urbanized zone covers roughly 244 square miles (630 km2) resulting in a 2013 estimated density of 2,500 per square mile (970/km2), compared with larger rural watershed areas incorporated by the city, which cover the remaining 377 sq mi (980 km2) of the city limits.[41]

Oklahoma City is one of the largest cities in the nation in compliance with the Clean Air Act.[42]

Tallest buildings

[edit]
Rank Building Height Floors Built Ref.
1 Devon Energy Center 844 feet (257 m) 50 2012 [43]
2 BancFirst Tower 500 feet (152 m) 36 1971 [44]
3 First National Center 446 feet (136 m) 33 1931 [45]
4 BOK Park Plaza 433 feet (132 m) 27 2017 [46]
5 Oklahoma Tower 410 feet (125 m) 31 1982 [47]
6 Strata Tower 393 feet (120 m) 30 1973 [48]
7 City Place 391 feet (119 m) 33 1931 [49]
8 Valliance Bank Tower 321 feet (98 m) 22 1984 [50]
9 Leadership Square North 285 feet (87 m) 22 1984 [51]
10 Arvest Tower 281 feet (86 m) 16 1972 [52]

Neighborhoods

[edit]
Automobile Alley in Oklahoma City
Looking up in the heart of Oklahoma City's Central Business District

Oklahoma City neighborhoods are highly varied, with affluent historic neighborhoods located next to districts that have not wholly recovered from the economic and social decline of the 1970s and 1980s.[citation needed]

The city is bisected geographically and culturally by the North Canadian River, which divides North Oklahoma City and South Oklahoma City. The north side is characterized by diverse and fashionable urban neighborhoods near the city center and sprawling suburbs further north. South Oklahoma City is generally more blue-collar working class and significantly more industrial, having grown up around the Stockyards and meat packing plants at the turn of the century. It is also the center of the city's rapidly growing Latino community.

Downtown Oklahoma City, which has 7,600 residents, is seeing an influx of new private investment and large-scale public works projects, which have helped to revitalize a central business district left almost deserted by the Oil Bust of the early 1980s. The centerpiece of downtown is the newly renovated Crystal Bridge and Myriad Botanical Gardens, one of the few elements of the Pei Plan to be completed. In 2021, a massive new central park will link the gardens near the CBD and the new convention center to be built just south of it to the North Canadian River as part of a massive works project known as "Core to Shore"; the new park is part of MAPS3, a collection of civic projects funded by a one-cent temporary (seven-year) sales tax increase.[53]

Climate

[edit]

Oklahoma City has a temperate humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cfak), along with significant continental influences. The city features hot, humid summers and cool winters. Prolonged and severe droughts (sometimes leading to wildfires in the vicinity) and hefty rainfall leading to flash flooding and flooding occur regularly. Consistent winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help temper the hotter weather. Consistent northerly winds during the winter can intensify cold periods. Severe ice storms and snowstorms happen sporadically during the winter.

The average temperature is 61.4 °F (16.3 °C), with the monthly daily average ranging from 39.2 °F (4.0 °C) in January to 83.0 °F (28.3 °C) in July. Extremes range from −17 °F (−27 °C) on February 12, 1899 to 113 °F (45 °C) on August 11, 1936, and August 3, 2012;[54] The last sub-zero (Fahrenheit) reading was −14 °F (−26 °C) on February 16, 2021.[55][56] Temperatures reach 100 °F (38 °C) on 10.4 days of the year, 90 °F (32 °C) on nearly 70 days, and fail to rise above freezing on 8.3 days.[55] The city receives about 35.9 inches (91.2 cm) of precipitation annually, of which 8.6 inches (21.8 cm) is snow.

The report "Regional Climate Trends and Scenarios for the U.S. National Climate Assessment" (NCA) from 2013 by NOAA projects that parts of the Great Plains region can expect up to 30% (high emissions scenario based on CMIP3 and NARCCAP models) increase in extreme precipitation days by mid-century. This definition is based on days receiving more than one inch of rainfall.[57]

Extreme weather

[edit]

Oklahoma City has an active severe weather season from March through June, especially during April and May. Being in the center of what is colloquially referred to as Tornado Alley, it is prone to widespread and severe tornadoes, as well as severe hailstorms and occasional derechoes. Tornadoes occur every month of the year, and a secondary smaller peak also occurs during autumn, especially in October. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is one of the most tornado-prone major cities in the world, with about 150 tornadoes striking within the city limits since 1890. Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by 13 violent tornadoes, eleven rated F/EF4 and two rated F/EF5.[14]

On May 3, 1999, parts of Oklahoma City and surrounding communities were impacted by a tornado. It was the last U.S. tornado to be given a rating of F5 on the Fujita scale before the Enhanced Fujita scale replaced it in 2007. While the tornado was in the vicinity of Bridge Creek to the southwest, wind speeds of 318 mph (510 km/h) were estimated by a mobile Doppler radar, the highest wind speeds ever recorded on Earth.[58] A second top-of-the-scale tornado occurred on May 20, 2013; South Oklahoma City, along with Newcastle and Moore, was hit by an EF5 tornado. The tornado was 0.5 to 1.3 miles (0.80 to 2.09 km) wide and killed 23 people.[59] On May 31, less than two weeks after the May 20 event, another outbreak affected the Oklahoma City area. Within Oklahoma City, the system spawned an EF1 and an EF0 tornado, and in El Reno to the west, an EF3 tornado occurred. This lattermost tornado, which was heading in the direction of Oklahoma City before it dissipated, had a width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km), making it the widest tornado ever recorded. Additionally, winds over 295 mph (475 km/h) were measured, one of the two highest wind records for a tornado.[60]

With 19.48 inches (495 mm) of rainfall, May 2015 was Oklahoma City's record-wettest month since record-keeping began in 1890. Across Oklahoma and Texas generally, there was a record flooding in the latter part of the month.[61]

Climate data for Oklahoma City (Will Rogers World Airport), 1991−2020 normals,[a] extremes 1890−present[b]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 83
(28)
92
(33)
97
(36)
100
(38)
104
(40)
107
(42)
110
(43)
113
(45)
108
(42)
97
(36)
87
(31)
86
(30)
113
(45)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 71.7
(22.1)
77.1
(25.1)
84.2
(29.0)
86.9
(30.5)
92.3
(33.5)
96.4
(35.8)
102.4
(39.1)
101.5
(38.6)
96.2
(35.7)
88.9
(31.6)
79.1
(26.2)
71.2
(21.8)
103.8
(39.9)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 49.3
(9.6)
53.8
(12.1)
62.9
(17.2)
71.1
(21.7)
78.9
(26.1)
87.5
(30.8)
93.1
(33.9)
92.2
(33.4)
83.9
(28.8)
72.8
(22.7)
60.7
(15.9)
50.4
(10.2)
71.4
(21.9)
Daily mean °F (°C) 38.2
(3.4)
42.3
(5.7)
51.2
(10.7)
59.3
(15.2)
68.2
(20.1)
76.9
(24.9)
81.7
(27.6)
80.7
(27.1)
72.7
(22.6)
61.1
(16.2)
49.2
(9.6)
40.0
(4.4)
60.1
(15.6)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 27.0
(−2.8)
30.8
(−0.7)
39.5
(4.2)
47.5
(8.6)
57.6
(14.2)
66.2
(19.0)
70.3
(21.3)
69.1
(20.6)
61.5
(16.4)
49.4
(9.7)
37.7
(3.2)
29.5
(−1.4)
48.8
(9.3)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 11.7
(−11.3)
15.4
(−9.2)
21.5
(−5.8)
32.3
(0.2)
43.8
(6.6)
56.6
(13.7)
63.6
(17.6)
61.7
(16.5)
48.4
(9.1)
33.8
(1.0)
21.7
(−5.7)
14.3
(−9.8)
7.5
(−13.6)
Record low °F (°C) −11
(−24)
−17
(−27)
1
(−17)
20
(−7)
32
(0)
46
(8)
53
(12)
49
(9)
35
(2)
16
(−9)
9
(−13)
−8
(−22)
−17
(−27)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.32
(34)
1.42
(36)
2.55
(65)
3.60
(91)
5.31
(135)
4.49
(114)
3.59
(91)
3.60
(91)
3.72
(94)
3.32
(84)
1.68
(43)
1.79
(45)
36.39
(924)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 1.8
(4.6)
1.8
(4.6)
0.8
(2.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.5
(1.3)
1.8
(4.6)
6.7
(17)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 5.0 5.7 6.9 7.9 10.0 8.6 6.0 6.7 7.1 7.5 5.8 5.7 82.9
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 1.3 1.3 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 1.4 4.9
Average relative humidity (%) 66.6 65.7 61.3 61.1 67.5 67.2 60.9 61.6 67.1 64.4 67.1 67.8 64.9
Average dew point °F (°C) 23.7
(−4.6)
28.0
(−2.2)
35.2
(1.8)
45.1
(7.3)
55.8
(13.2)
63.7
(17.6)
65.3
(18.5)
64.4
(18.0)
59.5
(15.3)
47.7
(8.7)
37.0
(2.8)
27.5
(−2.5)
46.1
(7.8)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 200.8 189.7 244.2 271.3 295.2 326.1 356.6 329.3 263.7 245.1 186.5 180.9 3,089.4
Mean daily daylight hours 10.1 10.9 12.0 13.1 14.1 14.5 14.3 13.4 12.4 11.3 10.3 9.8 12.2
Percent possible sunshine 64 62 66 69 68 75 80 79 71 70 60 60 69
Average ultraviolet index 3 4 6 8 9 10 10 9 8 5 3 2 6.4
Source 1: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961−1990)[62][55][63]
Source 2: Weather Atlas(Daylight-UV) [64]

Demographics

[edit]
Population of Oklahoma City 1890-2022
Census Pop. Note
1890 4,151  
1900 10,037   141.8%
1910 64,205   539.7%
1920 91,295   42.2%
1930 185,389   103.1%
1940 204,424   10.3%
1950 243,504   19.1%
1960 324,253   33.2%
1970 368,164   13.5%
1980 404,014   9.7%
1990 444,719   10.1%
2000 506,132   13.8%
2010 579,999   14.6%
2020 681,054   17.4%
2024 (est.) 709,330 [65] 4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[66]
1790-1960[67] 1900-1990[68]
1990-2000[69] 2010[70]

In the 2010 census, there were 579,999 people, 230,233 households, and 144,120 families in the city. The population density was 956.4 inhabitants per square mile (321.9/km2). There were 256,930 housing units at an average density of 375.9 per square mile (145.1/km2). By the 2020 census, its population grew to 681,054.[71]

Of Oklahoma City's 579,999 people in 2010, 44,541 resided in Canadian County, 63,723 lived in Cleveland County, 471,671 resided in Oklahoma County, and 64 resided in Pottawatomie County.[72]

In 2010, there were 230,233 households, 29.4% of which had children under 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. One person households account for 30.5% of all households, and 8.7% of all households had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.11.[73]

According to the American Community Survey 1-year estimates in 2022, the median income for a household in the city was $63,713, and the median income for a family was $80,833. Married-couple families $99,839, and nonfamily households $40,521.[74] The per capita income for the city was $35,902.[75] 15.5% of the population and 11.2% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total population, 20.1% of those under 18 and 10.6% of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line.[76]

In the 2000 census, Oklahoma City's age composition was 25.5% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

Oklahoma City has experienced significant population increases since the late 1990s. It is the first city in the state to record a population greater than 600,000 residents and the first city in the Great Plains region to record a population greater than 600,000 residents. It is the largest municipal population of the Great Plains region (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota).[ambiguous]

In the 2020 census, there were 268,035 households in the city, out of which 81,374 households (30.4%) were individuals, 113,161 (42.2%) were opposite-sex married couples, 17,699 (6.6%) were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2,930 (1.1%) were same-sex married couples or partnerships.[77]

Race and ethnicity

[edit]
Map of racial distribution of the Oklahoma City area, 2020 U.S. census. Each dot is one person: ⬤ White

⬤ Black

⬤ Asian

⬤ Hispanic

⬤ Multiracial

⬤ Native American/Other

Historical racial composition 2020 [71] 2010[78] 1990[22] 1970[22] 1940[22]
White (Non-Hispanic) 49.5% 56.7% 72.9% 82.2% 90.4%
Hispanic or Latino 21.3% 17.2% 5.0% 2.0% n/a
Black or African American 13.8% 14.8% 16.0% 13.7% 9.5%
Mixed 7.6% 4.0% 0.4%
Asian 4.6% 4.0% 2.4% 0.2%
Native American 3.4% 3.1% 4.2% 2.0% 0.1%

According to the 2020 census, the racial composition of Oklahoma City was as follows:[79] White or European American 49.5%, Hispanic or Latino 21.3%, Black or African American 13.8%, Asian 4.6%, Native American 2.8%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other race 0.4%, and two or more races (non-Hispanic) 7.6%. Its population has diversified since the 1940s census, where 90.4% was non-Hispanic white.[22] An analysis in 2017 found Oklahoma City to be the 8th least racially segregated significant city in the United States.[80] Of the 20 largest US cities, Oklahoma City has the second-highest percentage of the population reporting two or more races on the Census, 7.6%, second to 8.9% in New York City.

2020

[edit]
Oklahoma City – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[81] Pop 2010[82] Pop 2020[83] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 327,225 328,582 337,063 64.65% 56.65% 49.49%
Black or African American alone (NH) 76,994 85,744 93,767 15.21% 14.78% 13.77%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 16,406 18,208 18,757 3.24% 3.14% 2.75%
Asian alone (NH) 17,410 23,051 31,163 3.44% 3.97% 4.58%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 278 464 971 0.05% 0.08% 0.14%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 452 700 2,700 0.09% 0.12% 0.40%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) 15,999 23,212 51,872 3.16% 4.00% 7.62%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 51,368 100,038 144,761 10.15% 17.25% 21.26%
Total 506,132 579,999 681,054 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Metropolitan statistical area

[edit]
Old Interstate 40 Crosstown, Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is the principal city of the eight-county Oklahoma City metropolitan statistical Area in Central Oklahoma and is the state's largest urbanized area. As of 2015, the metro area was the 41st largest in the nation based on population.[84]

Religion

[edit]

The Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020 reported that the Southern Baptist Convention was the city and metropolitan area's most prominent Christian tradition with 213,008 members, Christianity being the area's predominant religion. Non/interdenominational Protestants were the second largest tradition with 195,158 members. The Roman Catholic Church claimed 142,491 adherents throughout the metropolitan region and Pentecostals within the Assemblies of God USA numbered 48,470.[85] The remainder of Christians in the area held to predominantly Evangelical Christian beliefs in numerous evangelical Protestant denominations. Outside of Christendom, there were 4,230 practitioners of Hinduism and 2,078 Mahayana Buddhists. An estimated 8,904 residents practiced Islam during this study.[85]

Crime

[edit]

Law enforcement claims Oklahoma City has traditionally been the territory of the notorious Juárez Cartel, but the Sinaloa Cartel has been reported as trying to establish a foothold in Oklahoma City. There are many rival gangs in Oklahoma City, one whose headquarters has been established in the city, the Southside Locos, traditionally known as Sureños.[86]

Oklahoma City also has its share of violent crimes, particularly in the 1970s. The worst occurred in 1978 when six employees of a Sirloin Stockade restaurant on the city's south side were murdered execution-style in the restaurant's freezer. An intensive investigation followed, and the three individuals involved, who also killed three others in Purcell, Oklahoma, were identified. One, Harold Stafford, died in a motorcycle accident in Tulsa not long after the restaurant murders. Another, Verna Stafford, was sentenced to life without parole after being granted a new trial after she had been sentenced to death. Roger Dale Stafford, considered the mastermind of the murder spree, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 1995.[87]

The Oklahoma City Police Department has a uniformed force of 1,169 officers and 300+ civilian employees. The department has a central police station and five substations covering 2,500 police reporting districts that average 1/4 square mile in size.

The Murrah Federal Building after the attack

On April 19, 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by a fertilizer bomb manufactured and detonated by Timothy McVeigh. The blast and catastrophic collapse killed 168 people and injured over 680. The blast shock-wave destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 340-meter radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, causing at least an estimated $652 million. McVeigh was convicted and subsequently executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.

Economy

[edit]
The Sonic Drive-In restaurant chain is headquartered in Oklahoma City.

The economy of Oklahoma City, once just a regional power center of government and energy exploration, has since diversified to include the sectors of information technology, services, health services, and administration. The city is headquarters to two Fortune 500 companies: Expand Energy and Devon Energy,[88] as well as being home to Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, which is ranked thirteenth on Forbes' list of private companies.[89]

As of March 2024, the top 20 employers in the city were:[90]

# Employer # of employees
1 State of Oklahoma (State Capital) 37,600
2 Tinker Air Force Base 26,000
3 Oklahoma State University-Stillwater 13,940
4 University of Oklahoma-Norman 11,530
5 Integris Health 11,000
6 Amazon 8,000
7 Hobby Lobby Stores (HQ) 6,500
8 Mercy Health Center (HQ) 6,500
9 SSM Health Care (Regional HQ) 5,600
10 FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center 5,150
11 University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center 5000
12 City of Oklahoma City 4,500
13 OU Medical Center 4,360
14 Paycom (HQ) 4,200
15 The Boeing Company 3,740
16 Midfirst Bank (HQ) 3,100
17 Norman Regional Hospital 2,740
18 AT&T 2,700
19 OGE Energy Corp (HQ) 2,240
20 Dell 2,100

Other major corporations with a significant presence (over 1,000 employees) in the city of Oklahoma City include the United Parcel Service, Farmers Insurance Group, Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Deaconess Hospital, Johnson Controls, MidFirst Bank, Rose State College, and Continental Resources.[91][92]

While not in the city limits, other large employers within the Oklahoma City MSA include United States Air Force – Tinker AFB (27,000); University of Oklahoma (11,900); University of Central Oklahoma (2,900); and Norman Regional Hospital (2,800).[91]

According to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the metropolitan area's economic output grew by 33% between 2001 and 2005 due chiefly to economic diversification. Its gross metropolitan product (GMP) was $43.1  billion in 2005[93] and grew to $61.1 billion in 2009.[94] By 2016 the GMP had grown to $73.8 billion.[95]

In 2008, Forbes magazine reported that the city had falling unemployment, one of the strongest housing markets in the country and solid growth in energy, agriculture, and manufacturing.[96] However, during the early 1980s, Oklahoma City had one of the worst job and housing markets due to the bankruptcy of Penn Square Bank in 1982 and then the post-1985 crash in oil prices (oil bust).[citation needed]

Tourism

[edit]

Approximately 23.2 million visitors contributed $4.3 billion to Oklahoma City's economy. These visitors directly spent $2.6 billion, sustained nearly 34,000 jobs, and generated $343 million in state and local taxes.[97]

Business districts

[edit]

Business and entertainment districts (and, to a lesser extent, local neighborhoods) tend to maintain their boundaries and character by applying zoning regulations and business improvement districts (districts where property owners agree to a property tax surcharge to support additional services for the community).[98] Through zoning regulations, historic districts, and other special zoning districts, including overlay districts, are well established.[99] Oklahoma City has three business improvement districts, including one encompassing the central business district.

Culture

[edit]

Museums and theaters

[edit]
Water taxis in Oklahoma City's downtown Bricktown neighborhood

The Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is the new downtown home for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The museum features visiting exhibits, original selections from its collection, a theater showing various foreign, independent, and classic films each week, and a restaurant. OKCMOA is also home to the most comprehensive collection of Chihuly glass in the world, including the 55-foot Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum's atrium.[100] The art deco Civic Center Music Hall, which was renovated in 2001, has performances from the Oklahoma City Ballet, the Oklahoma City Opera, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and also various concerts and traveling Broadway shows.

The Survivor Tree on the grounds of the Oklahoma City National Memorial

Other theaters include the Lyric Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre, Kirkpatrick Auditorium, the Poteet Theatre, the Oklahoma City Community College Bruce Owen Theater, and the 488-seat Petree Recital Hall at the Oklahoma City University campus. The university opened the Wanda L Bass School of Music and Auditorium in April 2006.

The Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center (formerly City Arts Center) moved downtown in 2020, near Campbell Art Park at 11th and Broadway, after being at the Oklahoma State Fair fairgrounds since 1989. It features exhibitions, performances, classes, workshops, camps, and weekly programs.

The Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex) houses exhibits on science and aviation and an IMAX theater. The museum formerly housed the International Photography Hall of Fame (IPHF), which displays photographs and artifacts from an extensive collection of cameras and other artifacts preserving the history of photography. IPHF honors those who have contributed significantly to the art and/or science of photography and relocated to St. Louis, Missouri in 2013.

The Museum of Osteology displays over 450 real skeletons and houses over 7,000.[101] Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7,000 sq ft (650 m2) museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the world. Exhibits include adaptation, locomotion, classification, and diversity of the vertebrate kingdom. The Museum of Osteology is the only one of its kind in America.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has galleries of western art[102] and is home to the Hall of Great Western Performers.[103]

In September 2021, the First Americans Museum opened to the public, focusing on the histories and cultures of the numerous tribal nations and many Indigenous peoples in the state of Oklahoma.[104]

The Oklahoma City National Memorial in the northern part of Oklahoma City's downtown was created as the inscription on its eastern gate of the Memorial reads, "to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995"; the memorial was built on the land formerly occupied by the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building complex before its 1995 bombing. The outdoor Symbolic Memorial can be visited 24 hours a day for free, and the adjacent Memorial Museum, in the former Journal Record building damaged by the bombing, can be entered for a small fee. The site is also home to the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank devoted to preventing terrorism.

The American Banjo Museum in the Bricktown Entertainment district is dedicated to preserving and promoting the music and heritage of the banjo.[105] Its collection is valued at $3.5  million[citation needed], and an interpretive exhibit tells the evolution of the banjo from its roots in American slavery, to bluegrass, to folk, and to world music.

The Oklahoma History Center is the state's history museum. Across the street from the governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in northeast Oklahoma City, the museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society. It preserves Oklahoma's history from the prehistoric to the present day.

The Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum contains early colonial firefighting tools, the first fire station in Oklahoma,[106] and modern fire trucks.[107]

Restaurants

[edit]

Florence's Restaurant in 2022 was named one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation.[108][109] It was the first James Beard award for an Oklahoma entity.[108] The Oklahoman called Florence's "The Grand Dame of all local restaurants".[110] Andrew Black, chef/owner of Grey Sweater, won the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest.[111]

The Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives has been to several restaurants in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Some of these include Cattlemen's Steakhouse, Chick N Beer, Clanton's Cafe, The Diner, Eischen's Bar, Florence's Restaurant, and Guyutes, among several others.[112]

Sports

[edit]
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Oklahoma City Comets

Oklahoma City is home to several professional sports teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. The Thunder is the city's second "permanent" major professional sports franchise after the now-defunct AFL Oklahoma Wranglers. It is the third major-league team to call the city home when considering the temporary hosting of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NBA seasons. However, the Thunder was formerly the Sonics before the movement of the Sonics to OKC in 2008.

Other professional sports clubs in Oklahoma City include the Oklahoma City Comets, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Oklahoma City Energy FC of the United Soccer League, and the Crusaders of Oklahoma Rugby Football Club of USA Rugby. The Oklahoma City Blazers, a name used for decades of the city's hockey team in the Central Hockey League, has been used for a junior team in the Western States Hockey League since 2014.

The Paycom Center in downtown is the main multipurpose arena in the city, which hosts concerts, NHL exhibition games, and many of the city's pro sports teams. In 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the primary tenant. Nearby in Bricktown, the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is the home to the city's baseball team, the Comets. "The Brick", as it is locally known, is considered one of the finest minor league parks in the nation.[113]

Oklahoma City hosts the World Cup of Softball and the annual NCAA Women's College World Series. The city has held 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball First and Second round and hosted the Big 12 Men's and women's basketball tournaments in 2007 and 2009. The major universities in the area – University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, and Oklahoma State University – often schedule major basketball games and other sporting events at Paycom Center and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. However, most home games are played at their campus stadiums.

Other major sporting events include Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing circuits at Remington Park and numerous horse shows and equine events that take place at the state fairgrounds each year. There are multiple golf courses and country clubs spread around the city.

High school football

[edit]

The state of Oklahoma hosts a highly competitive high school football culture, with many teams in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) organizes high school football into eight distinct classes based on school enrollment size. Beginning with the largest, the classes are 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, A, B, and C. Class 6A is broken into two divisions. Oklahoma City schools in include: Westmoore, Putnam City North, Putnam City, Putnam City West, Southeast, Capitol Hill, U.S. Grant, and Northwest Classen.[114]

Oklahoma City Thunder

[edit]

The Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) has called Oklahoma City home since the 2008–09 season, when owner Clay Bennett relocated the franchise from Seattle, Washington. The Thunder plays home games in downtown Oklahoma City at the Paycom Center. The Thunder is known by several nicknames, including "OKC Thunder" and simply "OKC", and its mascot is Rumble the Bison.

After arriving in Oklahoma City for the 2008–09 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured a berth (8th) in the 2010 NBA Playoffs the following year after boasting its first 50-win season, winning two games in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2012, Oklahoma City made it to the NBA Finals but lost to the Miami Heat in five games. In 2013, the Thunder reached the Western Conference semi-finals without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who was injured in their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, only to lose to the Memphis Grizzlies. In 2014, Oklahoma City reached the NBA's Western Conference Finals again but eventually lost to the San Antonio Spurs in six games.

Sports analysts have regarded the Oklahoma City Thunder as one of the elite franchises of the NBA's Western Conference and a media darling of the league's future. Oklahoma City earned Northwest Division titles every year from 2011 to 2014 and again in 2016 and has consistently improved its win record to 59 wins in 2014. The Thunder is led by third-year head coach Mark Daigneault and was anchored by All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook before a July 2019 trade that sent him to the Houston Rockets.

Hornets

[edit]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the NBA's New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to the Ford Center, playing the majority of its home games there during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. The team became the first NBA franchise to play regular-season games in Oklahoma.[citation needed] The team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets while playing in Oklahoma City. The team returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007–08 season. The Hornets played their final home game in Oklahoma City during the exhibition season on October 9, 2007, against the Houston Rockets.

Professional sports teams

[edit]
Current professional sports teams
Sports Franchise League Sport Founded Stadium (capacity)
Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Basketball 2008 Paycom Center (18,203)
Oklahoma City Comets MiLB Baseball 1998 Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (13,066)
Oklahoma City Blue NBA G League Basketball 2018 Paycom Center (18,203)
Oklahoma City Energy USL Championship (Division 2) Soccer 2018 Taft Stadium (7,500)
Oklahoma City Football Club Women's Premier Soccer League Soccer 2022 Brian Harvey Field (1,500)
Oklahoma City Spark Women's Professional Fastpitch Softball 2023 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium (13,500)

2028 Olympics

[edit]

Venues in Oklahoma City will host two events during the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will primarily be held in Los Angeles. The LA Olympic Organizing Committee opted to have canoe slalom and softball in Oklahoma City, given the lack of acceptable venues for those sports in Los Angeles. Riversport OKC will host the canoe slalom competition, while Devon Park will host the softball competition. Oklahoma City is located approximately 1,300 miles away from Los Angeles.[115]

Parks and recreation

[edit]
Myriad Botanical Gardens, the centerpiece of downtown OKC's central business district

One of the more prominent landmarks of downtown Oklahoma City is the Crystal Bridge tropical conservatory at the Myriad Botanical Gardens, a large downtown urban park. Designed by I. M. Pei, the park also includes the Water Stage amphitheater, a bandshell, and lawn, a sunken pond complete with koi, an interactive children's garden complete with a carousel and water sculpture, various trails and interactive exhibits that rotate throughout the year including the ice skating in the Christmas winter season. In 2007, following a renovation of the stage, Oklahoma Shakespeare In The Park relocated to the Myriad Gardens. Bicentennial Park, also downtown located near the Oklahoma City Civic Center campus, is home to the annual Festival of the Arts in April.

The Scissortail Park is just south of the Myriad Gardens, a large interactive park that opened in 2021. This park contains a large lake with paddleboats, a dog park, a concert stage with a great lawn, a promenade including the Skydance Bridge, a children's interactive splash park and playground, and numerous athletic facilities. Farmers Market is a common attraction at Scissortail Park during the season, and there are multiple film showings, food trucks, concerts, festivals, and civic gatherings.

Returning to the city's first parks masterplan, Oklahoma City has at least one major park in each quadrant outside downtown. Will Rogers Park, the Grand Boulevard loop once connected Lincoln Park, Trosper Park, and Woodson Park, some sections of which no longer exist. Martin Park Nature Center is a natural habitat in far northwest Oklahoma City. Will Rogers Park is home to the Lycan Conservatory, the Rose Garden, and the Butterfly Garden, all built in the WPA era. In April 2005, the Oklahoma City Skate Park at Wiley Post Park was renamed the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park to recognize Mat Hoffman, an Oklahoma City area resident and businessman who was instrumental in the design of the skate park and is a 10-time BMX World Vert champion.[116]

Walking trails line the Bricktown Canal and the Oklahoma River in downtown. The city's bike trail system follows around Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser in the northwest and west quadrants of the city. The majority of the east shore area of Lake Hefner is taken up by parks and bike trails, including a new leashless dog park and the postwar-era Stars and Stripes Park, and eateries near the lighthouse. Lake Stanley Draper, in southeast Oklahoma City, is the city's largest and most remote lake, offering a genuine rural yet still urban experience.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is home to numerous natural habitats, WPA era architecture and landscaping, and major touring concerts during the summer at its amphitheater. Nearby is a combination racetrack and casino, Remington Park, which hosts both Quarter Horse (March – June) and Thoroughbred (August—December) seasons.

Oklahoma City is also home to the American Banjo Museum, which houses a large collection of highly decorated banjos from the early 20th century and exhibits the banjo's history and its place in American history. Concerts and lectures are also held there.

Government

[edit]
Oklahoma State Capitol, seen from the OK History Center
The Art Deco city hall building, a block from the Civic Center

The City of Oklahoma City has operated under a council-manager form of city government since 1927.[117] David Holt assumed the office of Mayor on April 10, 2018, after being elected two months earlier.[118] Eight councilpersons represent each of the eight wards of Oklahoma City. The City Council appointed current City Manager Craig Freeman on November 20, 2018. Freeman took office on January 2, 2018, succeeding James D. Couch, who had served in the role since 2000. Before becoming City Manager, Craig Freeman served as Finance Director for the city.[119]

Politics

[edit]

Similar to many American cities, Oklahoma City is politically conservative in its suburbs and liberal in the central city. In the United States House of Representatives, it is represented by Republicans Stephanie Bice and Tom Cole of the 5th and 4th districts, respectively. The city has called on residents to vote for sales tax-based projects to revitalize parts of the city. The Bricktown district is the best example of such an initiative. In the recent MAPS 3 vote, the city's fraternal police order criticized the project proposals for not doing enough to expand the police presence to keep up with the growing residential population and increased commercial activity. In September 2013, Oklahoma City area attorney David Slane announced he would pursue legal action regarding MAPS3 on claims the multiple projects that made up the plan violate a state constitutional law limiting voter ballot issues to a single subject.[120]

Oklahoma City region population dot map and 2016 presidential election results by precinct (click to enlarge).
Oklahoma County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of November 1, 2020[121]
Party Number of Voters Percentage
  Democratic 164,628 37.26%
  Republican 189,991 43.00%
  Libertarian 3,385 0.77%
  Unaffiliated 83,799 18.97%
Total 441,803 100%

International relations

Consulates

[edit]
Consulate Date Consular District
Guatemalan Consulate-General, Oklahoma City[122] 06.2017 Oklahoma, Kansas
Mexican Consulate, Oklahoma City[123] 05.2023 Oklahoma
Germany Honorary Consulate, Oklahoma City    

Twin towns – sister cities

[edit]

Oklahoma City's sister cities are:[124]

  • Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • China Haikou, China
  • Mexico Puebla, Mexico
  • Peru Piura, Peru
  • Rwanda Kigali, Rwanda
  • Russia Ulyanovsk, Russia (suspended August, 2022)
  • Taiwan Tainan, Taiwan
  • Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan
  • Australia Darwin, Australia

Education

[edit]

Higher education

[edit]
OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City

The city is home to several colleges and universities. Oklahoma City University, formerly known as Epworth University, was founded by the United Methodist Church on September 1, 1904, and is known for its performing arts, science, mass communications, business, law, and athletic programs. OCU has its main campus in the north-central section of the city, near the city's Asia District area. OCU Law is in the old Central High School building in the Midtown district near downtown.

The University of Oklahoma has several institutions of higher learning in the city and metropolitan area, with OU Medicine and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campuses east of downtown in the Oklahoma Health Center district, and the main campus to the south in the suburb of Norman. OU Medical Center hosts the state's only Level-One trauma center. OU Health Sciences Center is one of the nation's largest independent medical centers, employing over 12,000 people.[125] OU is one of only four major universities in the nation to operate six medical schools.[clarification needed]

The third-largest university in the state, the University of Central Oklahoma, is just north of the city in the suburb of Edmond. Oklahoma Christian University, one of the state's private liberal arts institutions, is just south of the Edmond border, inside the Oklahoma City limits.[126]

Oklahoma City Community College in south Oklahoma City is the second-largest community college in the state. Rose State College is east of Oklahoma City in suburban Midwest City. Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City is in the "Furniture District" on the Westside. Northeast of the city is Langston University, the state's historically black college (HBCU). Langston also has an urban campus in the eastside section of the city. Southern Nazarene University, which was founded by the Church of the Nazarene, is a university in suburban Bethany, which is surrounded by the Oklahoma City city limits.

Although technically not a university, the FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center has many aspects of an institution of higher learning. Its FAA Academy is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Its Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) has a medical education division responsible for aeromedical education in general, as well as the education of aviation medical examiners in the U.S. and 93 other countries. In addition, The National Academy of Science offers Research Associateship Programs for fellowship and other grants for CAMI research.

Primary and secondary

[edit]
Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School

Oklahoma City is home to (as of 2009) the state's largest school district, Oklahoma City Public Schools,[127] which covers the most significant portion of the city.[128] The district's Classen School of Advanced Studies and Harding Charter Preparatory High School rank high among public schools nationally according to a formula that looks at the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by the school's students divided by the number of graduating seniors.[129] In addition, OKCPS's Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School was named the top middle school in the state according to the Academic Performance Index and recently received the Blue Ribbon School Award, in 2004 and again in 2011.[130]

Due to Oklahoma City's explosive growth, parts of several suburban districts spill into the city. All but one of the school districts in Oklahoma County includes portions of Oklahoma City. The other districts in that county covering OKC include: Choctaw/Nicoma Park, Crooked Oak, Crutcho, Deer Creek, Edmond, Harrah, Jones, Luther, McLoud, Mid-Del, Millwood, Moore, Mustang, Oakdale, Piedmont, Putnam City, and Western Heights.[128] School districts in Cleveland County covering portions of Oklahoma City include: Little Axe, McLoud, Mid-Del, Moore, and Robin Hill.[131] Within Canadian County, Banner, Mustang, Piedmont, Union City, and Yukon school districts include parts of OKC.[132]

There are also charter schools. KIPP Reach College Preparatory School in Oklahoma City received the 2012 National Blue Ribbon, and its school leader, Tracy McDaniel Sr., was awarded the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding Leadership.

The city also boasts several private and parochial schools. Casady School and Heritage Hall School are both examples of a private college preparatory school with rigorous academics that range among the top in Oklahoma. Providence Hall is a Protestant school. Two prominent schools of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City include Bishop McGuinness High School and Mount Saint Mary High School. Other private schools include the Advanced Science and Technology Education Center and Crossings Christian School.

The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, a school for some of the state's most gifted math and science pupils, is also in Oklahoma City.

CareerTech

[edit]

Oklahoma City has several public career and technology education schools associated with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the largest of which are Metro Technology Center and Francis Tuttle Technology Center.

Private career and technology education schools in Oklahoma City include Oklahoma Technology Institute, Platt College, Vatterott College, and Heritage College. The Dale Rogers Training Center is a nonprofit vocational training center for individuals with disabilities.

Media

[edit]

Print

[edit]

The Oklahoman is Oklahoma City's major daily newspaper and is the most widely circulated in the state. NewsOK.com is the Oklahoman's online presence. Oklahoma Gazette is Oklahoma City's independent newsweekly, featuring such staples as local commentary, feature stories, restaurant reviews, movie listings, and music and entertainment. The Journal Record is the city's daily business newspaper, and okcBIZ is a monthly publication that covers business news affecting those who live and work in Central Oklahoma.

Numerous community and international newspapers cater to the city's ethnic mosaic, such as The Black Chronicle, headquartered in the Eastside, the OK VIETIMES and Oklahoma Chinese Times, in Asia District, and various Hispanic community publications. The Campus is the student newspaper at Oklahoma City University. Gay publications include The Gayly Oklahoman.

An upscale lifestyle publication called 405 Magazine (formerly Slice Magazine) is circulated throughout the metropolitan area.[133] In addition, there is a magazine published by Back40 Design Group called The Edmond Outlook. It contains local commentary and human interest pieces directly mailed to over 50,000 Edmond residents.

Ready Player One is set in Oklahoma City in the year 2045.

Broadcast

[edit]

Oklahoma City was home to several pioneers in radio and television broadcasting. Oklahoma City's WKY Radio was the first radio station transmitting west of the Mississippi River and the third radio station in the United States.[134] WKY received its federal license in 1921 and has continually broadcast under the same call letters since 1922. In 1928, WKY was purchased by E.K. Gaylord's Oklahoma Publishing Company and affiliated with the NBC Red Network; in 1949, WKY-TV (channel 4) went on the air and later became the first independently owned television station in the U.S. to broadcast in color.[134] In mid-2002, WKY radio was purchased outright by Citadel Broadcasting, who was bought out by Cumulus Broadcasting in 2011. The Gaylord family earlier sold WKY-TV in 1976, which has gone through a succession of owners (what is now KFOR-TV is owned by Nexstar Media Group as of October 2019).

The major U.S. broadcast television networks have affiliates in the Oklahoma City market (ranked 41st for television by Nielsen and 48th for radio by Arbitron, covering a 34-county area serving the central, north-central and west-central sections of Oklahoma); including NBC affiliate KFOR-TV (channel 4), ABC affiliate KOCO-TV (channel 5), CBS affiliate KWTV-DT (channel 9, the flagship of locally based Griffin Media), PBS station KETA-TV (channel 13, the flagship of the state-run OETA member network), Fox affiliate KOKH-TV (channel 25), independent station KOCB (channel 34), CW owned-and-operated station KAUT-TV (channel 43), MyNetworkTV affiliate KSBI-TV (channel 52), and Ion Television affiliate KOPX-TV (channel 62). The market is also home to several religious stations, including TBN owned-and-operated station KTBO-TV (channel 14) and Norman-based Daystar owned-and-operated station KOCM (channel 46).

Despite the market's geographical size, none of the English-language commercial affiliates in the Oklahoma City designated market area operate full-power satellite stations covering the far northwestern part of the state (requiring cable or satellite to view them). However, KFOR-TV, KOCO-TV, KWTV-DT, and KOKH-TV each operate low-power translators in that portion of the market. Oklahoma City is one of the few markets between Chicago and Dallas to have affiliates of two or more of the significant Spanish-language broadcast networks: Telemundo affiliate KTUZ-TV (channel 30), Woodward-based Univision/UniMás affiliate KUOK 35 (whose translator KUOK-CD, channel 36, serves the immediate Oklahoma City area), and Estrella TV affiliate KOCY-LD (channel 48). (Locally based Tyler Media Group, which owns the three stations above, also owns eight radio stations in the market, including Regional Mexican-formatted KTUZ-FM (106.7) and news–talk outlet KOKC (1520 AM).)

Infrastructure

[edit]

Fire department

[edit]
OKCFD dive team at Lake Hefner
OKCFD ambulance

Oklahoma City is protected by the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OKCFD), which employs 1015 paid, professional firefighters. The current Chief of Department is Richard Kelley, and the department is commanded by three Deputy Chiefs, who – along with the department chief – oversee the Operational Services, Prevention Services, and Support Services bureaus. The OKCFD operates out of 37 fire stations throughout the city in six battalions. The OKCFD operates a fire apparatus fleet of 36 engine companies (including 30 paramedic engines), 13 ladder companies, 16 brush pumper units, six water tankers, two hazardous materials units, one Technical Rescue Unit, one Air Supply Unit, six Arson Investigation Units, and one Rehabilitation Unit along with several special units. Each engine Company is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one to two firefighters, while each ladder company is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one firefighter. The minimum staffing for each shift is 213 personnel. The Oklahoma City Fire Department responds to over 70,000 emergency calls annually.[135][136][137]

Transportation

[edit]

Highway

[edit]

Oklahoma City is an integral point on the United States Interstate Network, with three major interstate highways – Interstate 35, Interstate 40, and Interstate 44 – bisecting the city. Interstate 240 connects Interstate 40 and Interstate 44 in south Oklahoma City. At the same time, Interstate 235 spurs from Interstate 44 in north-central Oklahoma City into downtown. Interstate 44, between NW 23rd St and NW 36th St, is the busiest roadway in the city and state, with an average daily traffic count of 167,200 vehicles per day in 2018.[138]

Major state expressways through the city include Lake Hefner Parkway (SH-74), the Kilpatrick Turnpike, Airport Road (SH-152), and Broadway Extension (US-77) which continues from I-235 connecting Central Oklahoma City to Edmond. Lake Hefner Parkway runs through northwest Oklahoma City, while Airport Road runs through southwest Oklahoma City and leads to Will Rogers World Airport. The Kilpatrick Turnpike loops around north and west Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City also has several major national and state highways within its city limits. Shields Boulevard (US-77) continues from E.K. Gaylord Boulevard in downtown Oklahoma City and runs south, eventually connecting to I-35 near the suburb of Moore, Oklahoma. Northwest Expressway (Oklahoma State Highway 3) runs from North Classen Boulevard in north-central Oklahoma City to the northwestern suburbs.

The following significant expressways traverse Oklahoma City:

  • Interstate 35
  • Interstate 40 (Crosstown Expressway, Stanley Draper Expressway, Tinker Diagonal, Tom Stead Memorial Highway)
  • Interstate 44 (Turner Turnpike, Belle Isle Freeway, Will Rogers Expressway, H.E. Bailey Turnpike)
  • Interstate 235 (Centennial Expressway) / U.S. 77 (Broadway Extension)
  • Interstate 240 (Southwest Expressway)
  • Lake Hefner Parkway (State Highway 74)
  • Airport Road (State Highway 152)
  • Kilpatrick Turnpike

Air

[edit]

Oklahoma City is served by two primary airports, Will Rogers World Airport and the much smaller Wiley Post Airport (incidentally, the two honorees died in the same plane crash in Alaska)[139] Will Rogers World Airport is the state's busiest commercial airport, with 4,341,159 passengers served in 2018, a historical record.[140]

Tinker Air Force Base, in southeast Oklahoma City, is the largest military air depot in the nation. It is a major maintenance and deployment facility for the Navy and the Air Force and the second largest military institution in the state (after Fort Sill in Lawton).

United Airlines Embraer 170 aircraft at the East Concourse of Will Rogers World Airport

Rail and intercity bus

[edit]

Amtrak has a station downtown at the Santa Fe Depot, with daily service to Fort Worth and the nation's rail network via the Heartland Flyer. Oklahoma City once was the crossroads of several interstate passenger railroads at the Santa Fe Depot, the Union Station, and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad station.[141] But service at that level has long since been discontinued. However, several proposals to extend the current train service have been made, including a plan to expand the Heartland Flyer to Newton, Kansas, which is currently being connected through Amtrak Thruway. Freight service is provided by BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, and Stillwater Central.

Greyhound and several other intercity bus companies serve Oklahoma City at the Union Bus Station in downtown.

Public transit

[edit]
Streetcar of the OKC Streetcar system passing the historic First United Methodist Church, in downtown

Embark (formerly Metro Transit) is the city's public transit company. The primary transfer terminal is downtown at NW 5th Street and Hudson Avenue. Embark maintains limited coverage of the city's primary street grid using a hub-and-spoke system from the main terminal, making many journeys impractical due to the relatively small number of bus routes offered and that most trips require a transfer downtown. The city has recognized transit as a significant issue for the rapidly growing and urbanizing city. It has initiated several recent studies to improve the existing bus system, starting with a plan known as the Fixed Guideway Study.[142] This study identified several potential commuter transit routes from the suburbs into downtown OKC as well as feeder-line bus and/or rail routes throughout the city.

Though Oklahoma City has no light rail or commuter rail service, city residents identified improved transit as one of their top priorities. From the fruits of the Fixed Guideway and other studies, city leaders strongly desire to incorporate urban rail transit into the region's future transportation plans. The greater Oklahoma City metropolitan transit plan identified from the Fixed Guideway Study includes a streetcar system in the downtown area, to be fed by enhanced city bus service and commuter rail from the suburbs including Edmond, Norman, and Midwest City. There is a significant push for a commuter rail line connecting downtown OKC with the eastern suburbs of Del City, Midwest City, and Tinker Air Force Base. In addition to commuter rail, a short heritage rail line that would run from Bricktown just a few blocks away from the Amtrak station to the Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City is under reconstruction.

In December 2009, Oklahoma City voters passed MAPS 3, the $777 million (7-year, 1-cent tax) initiative. This initiative would generate funding (approx. $130 million) for the modern Oklahoma City Streetcar system in downtown Oklahoma City and the establishment of a transit hub.

On September 10, 2013, the federal government announced that Oklahoma City would receive a $13.8-million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's TIGER program. This was the first-ever grant for Oklahoma City for a rail-based initiative and is thought to be a turning point for city leaders who have applied for grants in the past, only to be denied continuously. It is believed the city will use the TIGER grant along with approximately $10  million from the MAPS 3 Transit budget to revitalize the city's Amtrak station, becoming an Intermodal Transportation Hub, taking over the role of the existing transit hub at NW 5th/Hudson Ave.[citation needed]

Construction of the Oklahoma City Streetcar system in Downtown OKC began in early 2017,[143] and the system opened for service in December 2018.[144][145] Also known as the Maps 3 Streetcar, it connects the areas of Bricktown, Midtown and Downtown. The 6.9 mi (11.1 km) system serves the greater Downtown area using modern low-floor streetcars. The initial system consists of two lines connecting Oklahoma City's Central Business District with the entertainment district, Bricktown, and the Midtown District. Expansion to other districts surrounding downtown and more routes in the CBD is already underway.[citation needed]

Walkability

[edit]

A 2013 study by Walk Score ranked Oklahoma City the 43rd most walkable out of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Oklahoma City has 18 neighborhoods with a Walk Score above 60, mainly close to the downtown core.[146]

Health

[edit]
OU Physicians Center

Oklahoma City and the surrounding metropolitan area have several healthcare facilities and specialty hospitals. In Oklahoma City's MidTown district near downtown resides the state's oldest and largest single-site hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and Physicians Medical Center.

OU Medicine, an academic medical institution on the campus of The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, is home to OU Medical Center. OU Medicine operates Oklahoma's only level-one trauma center at the OU Medical Center and the state's only level-one trauma center for children at Children's Hospital at OU Medicine,[147] both of which are in the Oklahoma Health Center district. Other medical facilities operated by OU Medicine include OU Physicians and OU Children's Physicians, the OU College of Medicine, the Oklahoma Cancer Center, and OU Medical Center Edmond, the latter in the northern suburb of Edmond.

INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center

INTEGRIS Health owns several hospitals, including INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, the INTEGRIS Cancer Institute of Oklahoma,[148] and the INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center.[149] INTEGRIS Health operates hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, independent living centers, and home health agencies throughout much of Oklahoma. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center ranks high-performing in the following categories: Cardiology and Heart Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Nephrology; Orthopedics; Pulmonology and Urology.

The Midwest Regional Medical Center is in the suburb of Midwest City; other significant hospitals include the Oklahoma Heart Hospital and the Mercy Health Center. There are 347 physicians for every 100,000 people in the city.

In the American College of Sports Medicine's annual ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas on the basis of community health, Oklahoma City took last place in 2010, falling five spots from its 2009 rank of 45.[150] The ACSM's report, published as part of its American Fitness Index program, cited, among other things, the poor diet of residents, low levels of physical fitness, higher incidences of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than the national average, low access to recreational facilities like swimming pools and baseball diamonds, the paucity of parks and low investment by the city in their development, the high percentage of households below the poverty level, and the lack of state-mandated physical education curriculum as contributing factors.[151]

Notable people

[edit]

See also

[edit]
  • Coyle v. Smith
  • History of Oklahoma
  • List of mayors of Oklahoma City
  • USS Oklahoma City, 2 ships

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
  2. ^ Official records for Oklahoma City were kept at the Weather Bureau Office from November 1890 to December 1953, and at Will Rogers World Airport since January 1954. For more information, see Threadex

References

[edit]
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[edit]
  • Official city website
  • Oklahoma City tourism information
  • Convention & Visitors' Bureau
  • City-Data page
  • Oklahoma City Historic Film Row District website Archived March 11, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  • New York Times travel article about Oklahoma City
  • OKC.NET cultural commentary about Oklahoma City
  • Voices of Oklahoma interview with Ron Norick Archived April 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, mayor during the Oklahoma City bombing

 

Mobile homes with detached single car garages

A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Used as permanent homes, or for holiday or temporary accommodation, they are often left permanently or semi-permanently in one place, but can be moved, and may be required to move from time to time for legal reasons.

Mobile homes share the same historic origins as travel trailers, but today the two are very different, with travel trailers being used primarily as temporary or vacation homes. Behind the cosmetic work fitted at installation to hide the base, mobile homes have strong trailer frames, axles, wheels, and tow-hitches.

History

[edit]

In the United States, this form of housing goes back to the early years of cars and motorized highway travel.[1] It was derived from the travel trailer (often referred to during the early years as "house trailers" or "trailer coaches"), a small unit with wheels attached permanently, often used for camping or extended travel. The original rationale for this type of housing was its mobility. Units were initially marketed primarily to people whose lifestyle required mobility. However, in the 1950s, the homes began to be marketed primarily as an inexpensive form of housing designed to be set up and left in a location for long periods of time or even permanently installed with a masonry foundation. Previously, units had been eight feet or fewer in width, but in 1956, the 10-foot (3.0 m) wide home ("ten-wide") was introduced, along with the new term "mobile home".[2]

The homes were given a rectangular shape, made from pre-painted aluminum panels, rather than the streamlined shape of travel trailers, which were usually painted after assembly. All of this helped increase the difference between these homes and home/travel trailers. The smaller, "eight-wide" units could be moved simply with a car, but the larger, wider units ("ten-wide", and, later, "twelve-wide") usually required the services of a professional trucking company, and, often, a special moving permit from a state highway department. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the homes were made even longer and wider, making the mobility of the units more difficult. Nowadays, when a factory-built home is moved to a location, it is usually kept there permanently and the mobility of the units has considerably decreased. In some states, mobile homes have been taxed as personal property if the wheels remain attached, but as real estate if the wheels are removed. Removal of the tongue and axles may also be a requirement for real estate classification.

Manufactured home

[edit]
Example of a modern manufactured home in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania. 28 by 60 feet (8.5 m × 18.3 m)
Manufactured home foundation

Mobile homes built in the United States since June 1976, legally referred to as manufactured homes, are required to meet FHA certification requirements and come with attached metal certification tags. Mobile homes permanently installed on owned land are rarely mortgageable, whereas FHA code manufactured homes are mortgageable through VA, FHA, and Fannie Mae.

Many people who could not afford a traditional site-built home, or did not desire to commit to spending a large sum of money on housing, began to see factory-built homes as a viable alternative for long-term housing needs. The units were often marketed as an alternative to apartment rental. However, the tendency of the units of this era to depreciate rapidly in resale value[citation needed] made using them as collateral for loans much riskier than traditional home loans. Terms were usually limited to less than the thirty-year term typical of the general home-loan market, and interest rates were considerably higher.[citation needed] In that way, mobile home loans resembled motor vehicle loans more than traditional home mortgage loans.

Construction and sizes

[edit]
Exterior wall assemblies being set in place during manufacture

Mobile homes come in two major sizes, single-wides and double-wides. Single-wides are 18 feet (5.5 m) or less in width and 90 feet (27 m) or less in length and can be towed to their site as a single unit. Double-wides are 20 feet (6.1 m) or more wide and are 90 feet (27 m) in length or less and are towed to their site in two separate units, which are then joined. Triple-wides and even homes with four, five, or more units are also built but less frequently.

While site-built homes are rarely moved, single-wide owners often "trade" or sell their home to a dealer in the form of the reduction of the purchase of a new home. These "used" homes are either re-sold to new owners or to park owners who use them as inexpensive rental units. Single-wides are more likely to be traded than double-wides because removing them from the site is easier. In fact, only about 5% of all double-wides will ever be moved.[citation needed]

While an EF1 tornado might cause minor damage to a site-built home, it could do significant damage to a factory-built home, especially an older model or one that is not properly secured. Also, structural components (such as windows) are typically weaker than those in site-built homes.[3] 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) winds can destroy a mobile home in a matter of minutes. Many brands offer optional hurricane straps, which can be used to tie the home to anchors embedded in the ground.

Regulations

[edit]

United States

[edit]
Home struck by tornado

In the United States, mobile homes are regulated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), via the Federal National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. This national regulation has allowed many manufacturers to distribute nationwide because they are immune to the jurisdiction of local building authorities.[4] [5]: 1  By contrast, producers of modular homes must abide by state and local building codes. There are, however, wind zones adopted by HUD that home builders must follow. For example, statewide, Florida is at least wind zone 2. South Florida is wind zone 3, the strongest wind zone. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, new standards were adopted for home construction. The codes for building within these wind zones were significantly amended, which has greatly increased their durability. During the 2004 hurricanes in Florida, these standards were put to the test, with great success. Yet, older models continue to face the exposed risk to high winds because of the attachments applied such as carports, porch and screen room additions. Such areas are exposed to "wind capture" which apply extreme force to the underside of the integrated roof panel systems, ripping the fasteners through the roof pan causing a series of events which destroys the main roof system and the home.

The popularity of the factory-built homes caused complications the legal system was not prepared to handle. Originally, factory-built homes tended to be taxed as vehicles rather than real estate, which resulted in very low property tax rates for their inhabitants. That caused local governments to reclassify them for taxation purposes.

However, even with that change, rapid depreciation often resulted in the home occupants paying far less in property taxes than had been anticipated and budgeted. The ability to move many factory-built homes rapidly into a relatively small area resulted in strains to the infrastructure and governmental services of the affected areas, such as inadequate water pressure and sewage disposal, and highway congestion. That led jurisdictions to begin placing limitations on the size and density of developments.

Early homes, even those that were well-maintained, tended to depreciate over time, much like motor vehicles. That is in contrast to site-built homes which include the land they are built on and tend to appreciate in value. The arrival of mobile homes in an area tended to be regarded with alarm, in part because of the devaluation of the housing potentially spreading to preexisting structures.

This combination of factors has caused most jurisdictions to place zoning regulations on the areas in which factory-built homes are placed, and limitations on the number and density of homes permitted on any given site. Other restrictions, such as minimum size requirements, limitations on exterior colors and finishes, and foundation mandates have also been enacted. There are many jurisdictions that will not allow the placement of any additional factory-built homes. Others have strongly limited or forbidden all single-wide models, which tend to depreciate more rapidly than modern double-wide models.

Apart from all the practical issues described above, there is also the constant discussion about legal fixture and chattels and so the legal status of a trailer is or could be affected by its incorporation to the land or not. This sometimes involves such factors as whether or not the wheels have been removed.

North Carolina

[edit]

The North Carolina Board of Transportation allowed 14-foot-wide homes on the state's roads, but until January 1997, 16-foot-wide homes were not allowed. 41 states allowed 16-foot-wide homes, but they were not sold in North Carolina. Under a trial program approved January 10, 1997, the wider homes could be delivered on specific roads at certain times of day and travel 10 mph below the speed limit, with escort vehicles in front and behind.[6][7] Eventually, all homes had to leave the state on interstate highways.[8]

In December 1997, a study showed that the wider homes could be delivered safely, but some opponents still wanted the program to end.[9] On December 2, 1999, the NC Manufactured Housing Institute asked the state Board of Transportation to expand the program to allow deliveries of 16-foot-wide homes within North Carolina.[8] A month later, the board extended the pilot program by three months but did not vote to allow shipments within the state.[10] In June 2000, the board voted to allow 16-foot-side homes to be shipped to other states on more two-lane roads, and to allow shipments in the state east of US 220. A third escort was required, including a law enforcement officer on two-lane roads.[11]

New York

[edit]

In New York State, the Homes and Community Renewal agency tracks mobile home parks and provides regulations concerning them. For example, the agency requires park owners to provide residents with a $15,000 grant if residents are forced to move when the land is transferred to a new owner. Residents are also granted the right of first refusal for a sale of the park, however, if the owner does not evict tenants for five years, the land sale can go ahead. State law also restricts the annual increase in land lot fee to a cap of 3 percent, unless the landowner demonstrates hardship in a local court, and can then raise the land lot fee by up to 6 percent in a year.[12]

Mobile home parks

[edit]
Meadow Lanes Estates Mobile Home Park, Ames, Iowa, August 2010, during a flood

Mobile homes are often sited in land lease communities known as trailer parks (also 'trailer courts', 'mobile home parks', 'mobile home communities', 'manufactured home communities', 'factory-built home communities' etc.); these communities allow homeowners to rent space on which to place a home. In addition to providing space, the site often provides basic utilities such as water, sewer, electricity, or natural gas and other amenities such as mowing, garbage removal, community rooms, pools, and playgrounds.

There are over 38,000[13] trailer parks in the United States ranging in size from 5 to over 1,000 home sites. Although most parks appeal to meeting basic housing needs, some communities specialize towards certain segments of the market. One subset of mobile home parks, retirement communities, restrict residents to those age 55 and older. Another subset of mobile home parks, seasonal communities, are located in popular vacation destinations or are used as a location for summer homes. In New York State, as of 2019, there were 1,811 parks with 83,929 homes.[12]

Newer homes, particularly double-wides, tend to be built to much higher standards than their predecessors and meet the building codes applicable to most areas. That has led to a reduction in the rate of value depreciation of most used units.[14]

Additionally, modern homes tend to be built from materials similar to those used in site-built homes rather than inferior, lighter-weight materials. They are also more likely to physically resemble site-built homes. Often, the primary differentiation in appearance is that factory-built homes tend to have less of a roof slope so that they can be readily transported underneath bridges and overpasses.[citation needed]

The number of double-wide units sold exceeds the number of single-wides, which is due in part to the aforementioned zoning restrictions. Another reason for higher sales is the spaciousness of double-wide units, which are now comparable to site-built homes. Single-wide units are still popular primarily in rural areas, where there are fewer restrictions. They are frequently used as temporary housing in areas affected by natural disasters when restrictions are temporarily waived.[citation needed]

Another recent trend has been parks in which the owner of the mobile home owns the lot on which their unit is parked. Some of these communities simply provide land in a homogeneous neighborhood, but others are operated more like condominiums with club homes complete with swimming pools and meeting rooms which are shared by all of the residents, who are required to pay membership fees and dues.

By country

[edit]

Mobile home (or mobile-homes) are used in many European campgrounds to refer to fixed caravans, purpose-built cabins, and even large tents, which are rented by the week or even year-round as cheap accommodation, similar to the US concept of a trailer park. Like many other US loanwords, the term is not used widely in Britain.[citation needed]

United Kingdom

[edit]
A mobile home marketed as a holiday home

Mobile Homes or Static Caravans are popular across the United Kingdom. They are more commonly referred to as Park Homes or Leisure Lodges, depending on if they are marketed as a residential dwelling or as a second holiday home residence.

Residential Mobile homes (park homes) are built to the BS3632 standard. This standard is issued by the British Standards Institute. The institute is a UK body who produce a range of standards for businesses and products to ensure they are fit for purpose. The majority of residential parks in the UK have a minimum age limit for their residents, and are generally marketed as retirement or semi-retirement parks. Holiday Homes, static caravans or holiday lodges aren't required to be built to BS3632 standards, but many are built to the standard.

A static caravan park on the cliffs above Beer, Devon, England

In addition to mobile homes, static caravans are popular across the UK. Static caravans have wheels and a rudimentary chassis with no suspension or brakes and are therefore transported on the back of large flatbed lorries, the axle and wheels being used for movement to the final location when the static caravan is moved by tractor or 4×4. A static caravan normally stays on a single plot for many years and has many of the modern conveniences normally found in a home.

Mobile homes are designed and constructed to be transportable by road in one or two sections. Mobile homes are no larger than 20 m × 6.8 m (65 ft 7 in × 22 ft 4 in) with an internal maximum height of 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in). Legally, mobile homes can still be defined as "caravans".

Static holiday caravans generally have sleeping accommodation for 6 to 10 people in 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms and on convertible seating in the lounge referred to as a 'pull out bed'. They tend towards a fairly "open-plan" layout, and while some units are double glazed and centrally heated for year-round use, cheaper models without double glazing or central heating are available for mainly summer use. Static caravan holiday homes are intended for leisure use and are available in 10 and 12 ft (3.0 and 3.7 m) widths, a small number in 13 and 14 ft (4.0 and 4.3 m) widths, and a few 16 ft (4.9 m) wide, consisting of two 8 ft (2.4 m) wide units joined. Generally, holiday homes are clad in painted steel panels, but can be clad in PVC, timber or composite materials. Static caravans are sited on caravan parks where the park operator of the site leases a plot to the caravan owner. There are many holiday parks in the UK in which one's own static caravan can be owned. There are a few of these parks in areas that are prone to flooding and anyone considering buying a sited static caravan needs to take particular care in checking that their site is not liable to flooding.

Static caravans can be rented on an ad-hoc basis or purchased. Purchase prices range from £25,000 to £100,000. Once purchased, static caravans have various ongoing costs including insurance, site fees, local authority rates, utility charges, winterisation and depreciation. Depending on the type of caravan and the park these costs can range from £1,000 to £40,000 per year.[15] Some park owners used to have unfair conditions in their lease contracts but the Office of Fair Trading has produced a guidance document available for download called Unfair Terms in Holiday Caravan Agreements which aims to stop unfair practices.

Israel

[edit]
Posting of caravan in Mitzpe Hila, Israel, 1982

Many Israeli settlements and outposts are originally composed of caravans (Hebrew: קראוואן caravan; pl. קראוואנים, caravanim). They are constructed of light metal, are not insulated but can be outfitted with heating and air-conditioning units, water lines, recessed lighting, and floor tiling to function in a full-service capacity. Starting in 2005, prefabricated homes, named caravillas (Hebrew: קרווילה), a portmanteau of the words caravan, and villa, begin to replace mobile homes in many Israeli settlements.

Difference from modular homes

[edit]

Because of similarities in the manufacturing process, some companies build both types in their factories. Modular homes are transported on flatbed trucks rather than being towed, and lack axles and an automotive-type frame. However, some modular homes are towed behind a semi-truck or toter on a frame similar to that of a trailer. The home is usually in two pieces and is hauled by two separate trucks. Each frame has five or more axles, depending on the size of the home. Once the home has reached its location, the axles and the tongue of the frame are then removed, and the home is set on a concrete foundation by a large crane.

Both styles are commonly referred to as factory-built housing, but that term's technical use is restricted to a class of homes regulated by the Federal National Mfd. Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.

Most zoning restrictions on the homes have been found to be inapplicable or only applicable to modular homes. That occurs often after considerable litigation on the topic by affected jurisdictions and by plaintiffs failing to ascertain the difference. Most modern modulars, once fully assembled, are indistinguishable from site-built homes. Their roofs are usually transported as separate units. Newer modulars also come with roofs that can be raised during the setting process with cranes. There are also modulars with 2 to 4 storeys.

[edit]

See also

[edit]
  • All Parks Alliance for Change
  • Campervan
  • Construction trailer
  • Houseboat
  • Manufactured housing
  • Modular home
  • Motorhome
  • Nomadic wagons
  • Recreational vehicle
  • Reefer container housing units
  • Small house movement
  • Trailer (vehicle)
  • Trailer Park Boys
  • Trailer trash
  • Vardo
  • Prefabricated home

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Part 17, Mobile Home Parks". ny.gov.
  2. ^ "Mobile Manufactured Homes". ct.gov. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Caravan Repairs? Great Caravan Repair Deals!". canterburycaravans.com.au.
  4. ^ "Titles for Mobile Homes". AAA Digest of Motor Laws.
  5. ^ Andrews, Jeff (January 29, 2018). "HUD to explore deregulating manufactured housing". Curbed. Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  6. ^ Hackett, Thomas (January 11, 1997). "Extra-wide homes to take to the road". News & Observer. p. A3.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Kirsten B. (January 10, 1997). "Wider trailer transport OK'd". Star-News. p. 1A.
  8. ^ a b Whitacre, Dianne (December 2, 1999). "Mobile-Home Makers Look to Squeeze on N.C. Roads". The Charlotte Observer. p. 1C.
  9. ^ "Study: Keep Curbs on Transporting Wide Mobile Homes". The Charlotte Observer. December 1, 1997. p. 4C.
  10. ^ Bonner, Lynn (January 7, 2000). "Program for wide mobile homes extended". News & Observer. p. A3.
  11. ^ "Wide mobile homes given final approval". News & Observer. June 3, 2000. p. A3.
  12. ^ a b Liberatore, Wendy (January 23, 2022). "Saratoga County's mobile home parks - a sign of an affordable housing crisis". www.timesunion.com. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  13. ^ "Database of Mobile Home Parks in the United States". Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  14. ^ "Homes". Answers.com. Retrieved 2006-09-12.
  15. ^ "Cost of a static caravan or lodge". StaticCaravanExpert. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-07.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Benson, J. E. (1990). Good neighbors: Ethnic relations in Garden City trailer courts. Urban Anthropology,19, 361–386.
  • Burch-Brown, C. (1996). Trailers. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. Text by David Rigsbee.
  • Geisler, C. C., & Mitsuda, H. (1987). Mobile-home growth, regulation, and discrimination in upstate New York. Rural Sociology, 52, 532–543.
  • Hart, J. F., Rhodes, M. J., & Morgan, J. T. (2002). The unknown world of the mobile home. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • MacTavish, K. A., & Salamon, S. (2001). Mobile home park on the prairie: A new rural community form. Rural Sociology, 66, 487–506.
  • Moore, B. (2006). Trailer trash: The world of trailers and mobile homes in the Southwest. Laughlin: Route 66 Magazine.
  • Thornburg, D. A. (1991). Galloping bungalows: The rise and demise of the American house trailer. Hamden: Archon Books.
  • Wallis, A. D. (1991). Wheel estate: The rise and decline of mobile homes. New York: Oxford University Press.
[edit]
  • Regulating body in the UK
  • US Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards

 

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Reviews for Durham Supply Inc


Durham Supply Inc

Jennifer Williamson

(5)

First we would like to thank you for installing our air conditioning unit! I’d like to really brag about our technician, Mack, that came to our home to install our unit in our new home. Mack was here for most of the day and throughly explained everything we had a question about. By the late afternoon, we had cold air pumping through our vents and we couldn’t have been more thankful. I can tell you, I would be very lucky to have a technician like Mack if this were my company. He was very very professional, kind, and courteous. Please give Mack a pat on the back and stay rest assured that Mack is doing a great job and upholding your company name! Mack, if you see this, great job!! Thanks for everything you did!! We now have a new HVAC company in the event we need one. We will also spread the word to others!!

Durham Supply Inc

Salest

(5)

Had to make a quick run for 2 sets of 🚪🔒 door locks for front and back door.. In/ out in a quick minute! They helped me right away. ✅️ Made sure the 2 sets had the same 🔑 keys. The 🚻 bathroom was clean and had everything I needed. 🧼 🧻. Made a quick inquiry about a random item... they quickly looked it up and gave me pricing. Great 👍 job 👏

Durham Supply Inc

Noel Vandy

(5)

Thanks to the hard work of Randy our AC finally got the service it needed. These 100 degree days definitely feel long when your house isn't getting cool anymore. We were so glad when Randy came to work on the unit, he had all the tools and products he needed with him and it was all good and running well when he left. With a long drive to get here and only few opportunities to do so, we are glad he got it done in 1 visit. Now let us hope it will keep running well for a good while.

Durham Supply Inc

Crystal Dawn

(1)

I would give 0 stars. This isnTHE WORST company for heating and air. I purchased a home less than one year ago and my ac has gone out twice and these people refuse to repair it although I AM UNDER WARRANTY!!!! They say it’s an environmental issue and they can’t fix it or even try to or replace my warrantied air conditioning system.

Durham Supply Inc

K Moore

(1)

No service after the sale. I purchased a sliding patio door and was given the wrong size sliding screen door. After speaking with the salesman and manager several times the issue is still not resolved and, I was charged full price for an incomplete door. They blamed the supplier for all the issues…and have offered me nothing to resolve this.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The technician should ensure that the power supply to the HVAC system is completely shut off and locked out to prevent accidental activation during maintenance or repair.
Proper ventilation is essential because refrigerants can displace oxygen and pose asphyxiation risks, as well as contribute to possible fire hazards if they accumulate in confined spaces.
Technicians should wear cut-resistant gloves and appropriate eye protection to guard against injuries from sharp metal edges or other hazardous materials encountered during repairs.
Technicians must use calibrated gauges to measure the systems refrigerant pressures and compare them against manufacturer specifications to ensure they fall within safe operating ranges.