Come and travel Oklahoma with me.

Posts tagged ‘Edmond Oklahoma’

Edmond History Museum

I love history museums, I love learning about the past of an area and seeing how that area has developed over time. The Edmond History Museum is a great place to learn about the early days of Edmond Oklahoma. This is a wonderful place to spend an hour, there are exhibits that change regularly as well as permanent displays.

Sitting next to historic Stephenson Park on south Boulevard, the sandstone building which was built as an armory houses a small library for research along with a large exhibit space. Here you can learn about the history of Edmond. Originally a coal and watering stop along the Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, mile marker 103 became Summit but was officially named Edmond in 1887. The town grew on April 22, 1889, when about 150 decided to make it their home after the land run.

Several displays show the growth of Edmond over the years. Edmond became home to the Territorial Normal School in 1891, this helped grow the population of the small town. There are also plenty of artifacts for Route 66 lovers as well. Route 66 came right through town, coming in from the east on Second Street then turning south at Broadway heading to Oklahoma City. The small reproduction of Bradbury Station, which sat at the northwest corner of Route 66 and US 77, has many pictures of historic Route 66 buildings located in Edmond. The museum also has plenty of places for children to learn about the early days of living in Oklahoma, including a reproduction of a farmhouse.

The building it’s housed in is historical as well, the Edmond Armory was built in 1936-37 on the southeast corner of Stepheson Park by the WPA (Works Progress Administration). It was home to the Headquarters Company of the 179th Infantry Unit of the 45th Infantry Division and consisted of 65 men. It was in this building that troops trained to go war in Europe during World War II. The building was used consistently by the Edmond unit of the Oklahoma National Guard until 1968 and was turned over to the city of Edmond in 1972. The historical museum didn’t occupy the space until 1983, when community members collected enough artifacts from Edmond’s past to be displayed. The armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Address: 431 S. Boulevard, Edmond.

Category:

Edmond Oklahoma, National Register of Historic Places, Oklahoma, Oklahoma history, Route 66

Tagged with:

Food Friday: Woodward Pizza

Detroit style pizza is somewhat new to Oklahoma but is taking off quickly. One of the newest places to offer this style of pizza is Woodward Pizza at the Icehouse Project in Edmond.

We visited on a quiet Saturday morning right before the lunch crowd showed up. We started with spicy cheese curds. These deep-fried cheese curds have plenty of heat with them, they do come with ranch to put the fire out. If you have someone with you who might not like spicy, this definitely isn’t for them. As for the pizza, we ordered the trippple XXXtra pepperoni. This pizza is really good. Nice flavor to the deep-dish crust. The cheese and pepperoni were piled high with crispy cheese burnt around the edge. The red sauce goes on last and it was good (to tell the truth I’m not a red sauce fan). Now for a brief history of Detroit style pizza, it was of course developed in Detroit. The square shape comes from using automotive drip pans to bake the pizza. It’s been a thing in Detroit for many years but only recently has spread through the country.

I really enjoyed our first visit to Woodward Pizza and ready to go back. The service was great as well, the employees very friendly. They told me that the menu will most likely grow in the future. This is part of the new Icehouse Project, there will be more restaurants in this space. I’m giving them 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 119 W 2nd St. Suite 100, Edmond.

Category:

Edmond Oklahoma, Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma food

Tagged with:

Return of the Bathroom Jedi

wp_20161021_003

In the women’s bathroom at the new Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs in Edmond.

 

Hello!  This is Mae, reporting for bathroom duty.  I apologize for my recent absence, but I fear my allies in the Intergalactic Resistance desperately needed my guidance in the battle against the First Order to save the galaxy from destruction.  But alas, Starkiller Base has been destroyed and I have been forced to return to this miserable planet. So I am back to my quest of exploring the world’s finest bathrooms.

Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs

When I learned a new Mutts was opening in Edmond, I was automatically excited.  I must admit I did not expect the bathroom here to be as nice as it was, but I must rate it with  5 rolls of toilet paper.  It was clean, smelled nice, a good size, and the blue and green color scheme was very calming.  The polka dot tiles forming a stripe around the wall gave the room a very nice vibe.  As you go in, you are greeted by a smiling dog on the door.  This was by far one of the nicest bathrooms I’ve been in Oklahoma City.

 

Klemm’s Smoke Haus

Just like with Mutts, I did not expect much from the bathroom at Klemm’s.  I was quite surprised at how nice it was in there.  My personal favorite detail was the cluster of black stones in the sink, giving the whole place an earthy feel.  This was intensified by the plant by the sink, as well as the floral print bench by the door.  This restaurant is more than just the bathroom though, I go there for the mac n cheese and pickles.  The mac n cheese is warm and creamy while the pickles are tangy and sour, Klemm’s is the perfect place to go if you are hungry.

5  rolls of toilet paper

Tucker’s Onion Burgers

One of my family’s favorite places to get burgers is the Tucker’s on Classen Curve. Tucker’s bathroom is generally pretty nice.  The room is mostly white, with a door you can see through, though not enough to see anything but a silhouette.  It is a nice clean place to do what you need.

5 rolls of toilet paper

Though not as exciting as my intergalactic travels, my bathroom quest is one I can settle with.  The once disgusting bathrooms of the past are becoming cleaner and cleaner.  I will be sure to update my reviews as often as I can.  Mae out!

 

 

Category:

Edmond Oklahoma, Oklahoma

Tagged with:

The Edmond Right-Of-Way Graves

Bre's mid Oct 2015 018

So everyone knows that the intersection of Broadway and 33rd Street in Edmond is bad.  Poor design, too much traffic, and lights that never seem to change.  I hate that intersection and try to avoid it at all costs but when I do get stuck there, I wonder if the traffic troubles in the area are a ghostly legacy of the two men buried near there.  What?  What do you mean?  There isn’t a cemetery near there, can’t be any graves.  Well that is where you are wrong, they aren’t easy to get to but yes, there are two graves just northwest of the intersection along the railroad tracks.

Let’s go back to 1886, surveyors for the Southern Kansas Railway (later part of the Santa Fe Railway) picked a location at mile marker 103 (it means one hundred and three miles south of Arkansas City, Kansas) for a coaling station on the rail line.  A few months later in September the crews came through to “scrape” the land and prepare the grade for the rail line to be laid.  On September 17th, two members of this crew, Frank Mosier and Willie Davis were killed in a fight and then buried along the rail line just a few miles south of marker 103.  What was the fight about?  Did they kill each other?  Was there really a fight?  Did they die of something else, disease or heat exhaustion maybe?  Many historians have tried to uncover the truth but what really happened to these two men is lost in time.  All we really know is that the two men were buried along the railroad right of way, side by side.

For many years the railroad tended to the graves.  There were two markers for the men, Willie Davis has a small iron cross and Frank Mosier had a stone with his name carved into it.  But as time went on, the graves had become overgrown with weeds and grass.  There have been some people who tried to take care of the graves but with the development of Edmond it was hard to keep the location clean.  At some point vandals broke Mosier’s stone and scattered the pieces in the field.  Some Edmond residents put up a wooden cross and someone has put gravel over the graves.  In 1979 the Oklahoma Historical Society put a granite marker at the site and embedded Mosier’s stone into it.  The Santa Fe railway still owns the site but has not done a good job tending to it.

This is not an easy place to find.  There is really no way to the graves.  You can try to park along the businesses that backup to the rail line but there is a very big ditch to get through in order to get to the tracks.  The other option is the one I took, park at the business on 33rd Street, then walk the rails around the curve to the site.  I will warn you- this is not safe and possibly illegal.  It is a blind curve and if you aren’t paying attention the train can come around very quickly.  I went to the site on a slow rail traffic afternoon, so I was lucky but it was still scary and any little noise sent me down the rail grade to the ditch.  I’m also not going to say the site is haunted, but I just wanted to get out of there, felt very uncomfortable.

So every time you are around the intersection of Broadway and 33rd Street in Edmond, look to the northwest at the railroad track and think about the two men who lost their lives and now reside permanently in that location.  Maybe they are “controlling” the traffic flow at that intersection.

Bre's mid Oct 2015 014

The grave marker of Willie Davis, Edmond, Ok, 2015.

Bre's mid Oct 2015 021

The granite marker with Frank Mosier’s headstone embedded next to the grave site, Edmond, OK, 2015.

Category:

Edmond Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma history

Tagged with:

Food Friday: Zarate’s Latin Mexican Grill

Late Aug 2015 545

Edmond, Oklahoma is not my most favorite place in the world- it’s too spread out, some of the people can be rude, and the traffic sucks.  But my wonderful husband works there so if I want to visit him for lunch, I have to go to Edmond.  I don’t like eating at the major chain restaurants much, so he takes me to different places.  And one of those places he introduced me to is Zarate’s Latin Mexican Grill on Broadway.

Now this isn’t the same tex-mex that you get here in Oklahoma, this is a more South American twist on what we know as mexican food.  They have the typical enchiladas, tacos and chimichangas but with a different taste than what I’ve had at other restaurants.  My personal favorite is the fajita beef chimichanga with sour cream sauce.  The beef is spiced differently than what I’ve had before and the sour cream sauce is just wonderful, has more of a sour cream tartness to it than others I’ve tasted.  I’ve also tried the enchiladas and quesadillas, the spinach quesadilla is my second favorite item on the menu.  Of course it all comes with beans and rice.  I will admit, I’ve never had the beans.  Because of the food abuse inflicted on me when I was younger by my mother, I can’t stand the smell, sight or taste of beans.  So I order double rice instead, it’s also really good- not too sticky with corn and peppers.

My husband has been the more adventurous one, he’s had the Papa Rellenas, ground beef wrapped in mashed potatoes then fried, his personal favorite.  He’s also tried the Empanadas and so many of the other offerings that he couldn’t remember them all.  This is also where they make the only guacamole in town that he will eat.  He loves it and even introduced it to his parents- I hear my father-in-law loved it.  Of course you get the normal chips, queso, and salsa with your meal.  As good as the entrees are the chips are the best.  Wish I could find them this good for at home.  I really could eat these chips all day and not feel bad.  The salsa was ok and the queso could be improved, needs to have more of the South American spices added.  But seriously the chips are killer.

Opened in 2007 by Jorge Zarate, who is a native of Peru, he brings a mix of Brazilian, Jamaican, Peruvian, Cuban, Mexican and Tex-Mex to Edmond in a small but colorful building.  You can often see Mr. Zarate himself seating guests, taking orders or serving food.  The wait staff has always been friendly and helpful, service has always been good- no complaints.  I give it my personal ranking of 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 706 S. Broadway, Edmond, OK  (east side of the road)

Late Aug 2015 542

Category:

Food, Oklahoma

Tagged with: