Artist's Concept
Jazz and blues clubs, railway stations ans turn-of-the-century building characterize the "Bricktown Experience" and have provided a modern and familiar iconography for the mural design at Bricktown Ballpark.
These six mosaic murals at Bricktown Ballpark pay homage to the first Afro-American school "Douglass School" in Oklahoma City (formerly located at home plate entry) and the rich and uniquely diverse culture in the old "Deep Deuce" community. I also wanted to pay tribute to the first railways in Oklahoma City that encouraged and allowed the new prosperity in Oklahoma City to flourish.
The juxtaposition of old Bricktown and modern skyscrapers suggest a physical and spiritual connection between the two. By placing 1890 motifs alongside present day images a virtual methaphor is created that invokes the timeless connection between past and present.
Susan Morrison
Crossroads of the Past and Future - Panel 1
Spaghetti Warehouse, Chelinos, Bricktown Brewery, Neal Horton's Dream, Railroad Crossings.
Crossroad of Commerce - Panel 2
Pettee Hardware Co., Frisco Rairoad, Katy Railroad, Rock Island Railroad, Sante Fe Railroad, Oklahoma City Oilfield, Douglass School, Passenger Trains, Huckins Hotel, The First National Bank.
Crossroads of Diversity - Panel 3
Petroleum Hotel, Ford Assembly Plant, Wells Fargo Depot, Cotton Export Industry, Old Sante Fe Station Water Barrels, Walnut Street Bridge, Military Encampment on Calvary Hill.
Crossroad of Culture - Panel 4
Aldridge Theater, Charlie Christian, Second Street and Stiles, Ruby's Grill, The Lyons Den, Slaughter's Hall, Dunbar Library, The Black Dispatch, Utopia Hospital, Lyons Mansion, Sandtown.
Crossroads of Community - Panel 5
Jimmy Rushing ('Mr Five by Five'), Blue Devils Band, Deep Deuce, Zelia N.P. Breaux, Douglass School, Frisco Railroad, Rock Island Railroad, Calvary Baptist Church.
Crossroads of Renewal - Panel 6
Bricktown Canal, Deep Deuce Jazz Festival, Oklahoma Spirit Trolley, Southwest Bell Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Skyline 2000.