Oklahoma City, OK (OKC)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$1,399,517

Station Ridership

FY 2011

56,368

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The 20,685 square-foot Art Deco stone station in Oklahoma City was built for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (ATSF) Railway in 1934. The Oklahoma City station had been served by the Amtrak Lone Star until October 9, 1979. Prior to 1971, it was served by Santa Fe's Texas Chief. Since passenger rail had not come to Oklahoma City in nearly 20 years, the building was neglected. In 1998, Jim Brewer, the developer of the neighboring Bricktown entertainment and arts district, purchased the station from the railroad for $374,667 after nearly seven years of negotiation.

After the acquisition, Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials approached Brewer about using the station as one of the endpoints of the Heartland Flyer, to begin service in 1999 between Oklahoma City and Ft. Worth. ODOT funded the renovation and upgrade through the Transportation Equity Act. Nearly $2 million was spent in making the station compliant with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, installing an elevator and rebuilding the overhead platform. Other repairs, made at the same time, included duplicating some of the rotted Art Deco molding, redoing the floors and walls and replacing two 40-foot high light fixtures that had disappeared sometime after the station closed in the 1970s.

In 2005, ODOT Director Gary Ridley dedicated the Oklahoma City rail platform to the memory of Paul Adams, former ODOT Deputy Director. Adams, who passed away in 2004, was instrumental in the negotiations that brought Amtrak back to Oklahoma in 1999 after a 20-year absence. A replica of the plaque to be mounted at the station was presented to his widow, Karen Adams.

In late 2007, $3.1 million was spent on renovations. Today, Amtrak uses space in the building for an unstaffed waiting room and restrooms. Other parts of the building are frequently rented for private events.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 0f 2009 will bring several improvements to the Oklahoma City station including a new wheelchair lift and enclosure, new curb cuts from the parking lot to platform, and paint markings for accessible parking stalls on existing paving. The estimated cost for these improvements is $30,000.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored the rolling grassy hills where Oklahoma City would later stand in 1541, at which time the area was largely uninhabited. After Oklahoma became part of the Arkansas territory in 1819, with the beginning of the westward settlements, the U.S. government removed thousands of Native Americans from their homelands; what are known as the Five Civilized Tribes—Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole—moved into Indian Territory, which would later become Oklahoma. However, settlers continued to come from the east.

Prior to the official land opening, the Southern Kansas Railway (later the ATSF) built a line from the Kansas border to Purcell, with a watering stop at Oklahoma station, established in 1887. The post office name there changed twice more, to finally become Oklahoma City on July1, 1923.

When the Oklahoma City area was officially opened on April 22, 1889, more than 50,000 homesteaders gathered at the boundaries; at noon, a cannon was shot and people streamed across the landscape to stake their claims. Where there had been only a railroad station and three buildings before, about 10,000 people staked claims in a single day. A provisional government was selected and elections held on May 1, 1889. The city became the seat of Oklahoma County. At that time, Guthrie was the territorial capital, until June 11, 1910, at which time Oklahoma City became the new state capitol.

From 1889 to the early 20th century, the railroad watering stop evolved into a busy commercial and transportation hub. The local economy was originally based on agriculture, and by 1894 the city supported a corn mill, grain elevator, cotton gin, and several grain mills. Around 1909, two meat packing plants were built near the Oklahoma National Stockyards in southwest Oklahoma City. On December 4, 1928, the Oklahoma City Number One discovery well was completed by the Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company and the Foster Petroleum Company; by 1935, the Oklahoma City oil field had produced 409 million barrels of crude oil, and 95 oil companies employed twelve thousand people. In fact, the capitol sits above an oil pool, and in 1941, the Capitol Site Number One (also known as Petunia Number One) was brought in, using directional drilling, on the south plaza of the capitol’s main entrance.

Oklahoma City was a major stop on Route 66 during the early part of the 20th century and was prominently mentioned in Bobby Troup's 1946 jazz classic, "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," later made famous by Nat King Cole and the Rolling Stones.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at this facility.

Oklahoma City is served by two daily trains.