Last Updated on December 2, 2022, 8:09 AM | Published: December 2, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY — Dreams over 20 years for a full, permanent plaza in the Calle Dos Cinco in Historic Capitol Hill district on the near south side came closer to reality Thursday.
Some at the meeting had been pushing for a plaza in the district for the last 20 years, and the meeting was as much a celebration of the effort as it was to satisfy the curiosity of those eager to see the plans.
Plazas are a key element of community life in even the smallest towns in Mexico and the rest of Latin America. They are a gathering place for many types of events and even for family gatherings.
Key numbers (updated)
- Budget: $2 million from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) relief money for construction
- Engineering and design costs from Community Development Block Grant Funds: $151,000
Key elements
- City Council agreed to close one block of Harvey Avenue going north from S.W. 25th Street or Calle Dos Cinco
- The ornate front of the former Capitol Hill Baptist Church, now Templo de Alabanza, will be a visual feature
- Entryways on both ends of the block will set off the plaza with removable bollards installed to stop any kind of car traffic
- Overhead lights and hanging decorative features will stretch across the plaza
- A band stage and cover for use throughout the week will be another key feature
Five-year process
Over the last five years, the plaza idea has been a central part of the City of Oklahoma City’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative (SNI) for the Capitol Hill area just south of downtown on the south side of the river.
In the program, staff work with different neighborhoods around the city to make public and private improvements to strengthen neighborhoods with the infusion of federal grant money.
When Shannon Entz, program planner for the City of Oklahoma City processed the desires and wishes of those in the neighborhood around five years ago, a plaza was one thing brought up by a majority of people at the meetings.
The first meeting was in February 2018 and Free Press covered it.
Thursday, Entz and the design contractors revealed the new design for the long-awaited plaza.
Proud history
The area south of downtown has had a strong Hispanic presence since statehood, starting in the first Hispanic neighborhood of OKC where Little Flower Catholic Church was established.
Latinos began to outgrow the area around what is now the south half of Scissortail Park and all of Lower Scissortail Park spreading southward, up and over Capitol Hill in the decades after statehood and especially after WWII.
As new shopping districts were established further south in the 1950s and 60s, and Crossroads Mall was built in the 70s, the older buildings in the historic Capitol Hill shopping district along S.W. 25th street between Shields Boulevard and Walker Avenue were then filled with shop owners who catered to the Hispanic population.
As the old district took on new life with the stronger Hispanic presence, the name “Calle Dos Cinco” started being used by the people there in everyday conversation, which eventually became part of the name of the business district today.
Proud moment
Santiago Arzate is one of those early merchants in Calle Dos Cinco who has dreamed of a plaza for 20 years. He had a restaurant in the same space that is now Tacos El Milagro where the meeting was Thursday.
“We’ve been looking forward to this for so long now,” Arzate told Free Press. “It’s finally happening.”
His son, also Santigo, a mortgage loan officer in the metro, talked to Free Press about what this meant, especially since he has been the next generation that essentially grew up hearing about that dream for a plaza.
“There’s a lot of emotional energy,” he said. “I’m very proud to see that the community at large came together to make something that I think was larger than all of us. it took an army, and it’s just beautiful to see what that’s turning into.”
Daniel Garcia, manager for the Capitol Hill branch of True Sky Credit Union (one of our sponsors) told us he has been around to see the whole 20-year trajectory of the plaza idea. We asked what was the hardest part about it for leaders.
“There are a lot of challenges in the community. This is an older neighborhood where property values have declined,” said Garcia. “And so, it really has taken a united effort from people that have an interest to revitalize, reinvest, and just really bring back to life, a culture, a community that has a lot of history. Capitol Hill District is one of the areas that has, I think, some of the richest history in the Oklahoma City area.”
And, what will it mean to the community in his view?
“I think it’s going to celebrate the hard work — that history. I think it’s going to just give a place for community to come together. There are already a lot of celebrations and gatherings that go on. This is just going to make it very special.”
If you were not able to go to either of the meetings Thursday, you may still visit the City’s SNI site for the planning phase of the plaza to leave your written comment.
UPDATES – Since original publication we have corrected the budget sources and the title of Shannon Entz.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
