Bricktown to Paseo: 5 trendy OKC districts for shopping, dining
Oklahoma City offers a number of trendy districts for shopping, dining and more. Here are five notable neighborhoods to visit in OKC.
From a large blue whale in a landlocked state to a haunted mansion, Oklahoma is home to several odd landmarks that attract visitors from all over.
WorldAtlas recently named these weird sites the 10 strangest landmarks in Oklahoma.
Blue Whale of Catoosa
Location: 2600 N State Hwy 66, Catoosa
A local celebrity resides along Route 66 year-round in northeast Oklahoma, welcoming visitors into its aquatic belly.
The Blue Whale of Catoosa was built by zoologist Hugh S. David in 1972 so that his grandchildren could play in the nearby pond, according to Travel Oklahoma. David’s friend, Harold Thomas, assisted the zoologist in building the The 20-feet-tall and 80-feet-wide mammal over a span of two years.
While swimming is no longer available, visitors can still picnic and fish with the famous Blue Whale.
World’s largest peanut
Location: 300 W Evergreen St., Durant
A small city in southeast Oklahoma is home to the world’s largest peanut commemorated with a statue outside of Durant City Hall, according to Travel Oklahoma. The statue was dedicated in 1974.
“Dedicated to the Bryan County peanut growers and processors,” inscription reads.
Circus cemetery: Mount Olivet Cemetery
Location: Trice & S 8th St., Hugo
Hugo, another small city in southeast Oklahoma, has a cemetery for rodeo greats Freckles Brown, Lane Frost, Todd Watley and L. Hammock, according to Travel Oklahoma.
Mount Olivet Cemetery is also the final resting place for Ed Ansley, also known as Buster Brown, and William H. Darrough, the founder of Hugo.
Blanchard Cemetery
Location: 2318 North Council Ave., Blanchard
Another known cemetery in Oklahoma is the Blanchard Cemetery where visitors may see a dark figure in a trench coat waving at them, according to WorldAtlas.
If they keep walking, they may spot a little girl flitting between the gravestones, or hear a small child crying or see a blue light hovering over the graves in Section 2, the website says.
Overholser Mansion
Location: 405 NW 15th St, Oklahoma City
The Overholser Mansion, the former abode of Henry and Anna Ione Overholser, is a most famous haunt in Oklahoma City. The ghost-story-filled mansion has been a museum and public venue for decades.
Some claim the ghost of Anna Ione Overholser, once the queen of Oklahoma City society, still haunts the home. She wears a pearl-decked lacy white gown, her dark hair piled gracefully around her face.
Frog Rock
Location: Frog Rd., Terlton
A large amphibian sits in Terlton on Frog Road just outside of Mannford. The six-foot-tall rock formation is painted green and white to look like a frog, according to Travel Oklahoma.
To get to it, trek over a bridge and through backwoods, but don’t worry — it can’t hop away before you reach it.
Cimmy the Dinosaur
Location: 1300 N Cimarron, Boise City
Sitting outside of the Cimarron Heritage Center in Boise City is Cimmy the Dinosaur, a metal Apatosaurus, measuring 65 feet long, 35 feet high and weighs thousands of pounds, according to Travel Oklahoma.
The dinosaur was created as a real life representation of a dinosaur that was extracted from Cimarron County in the 1930s. It’s referred to as a “Cimarronasaurus,” according to the state’s travel website.
Center of the Universe
Location: 20 E Archer St., Tulsa
Located in downtown Tulsa, the Center of the Universe if an 8-feet concrete circle described as an “acoustic anomaly” by Travel Oklahoma.
Noises made inside the brick circle is loudly echoed, but only those inside the circle can hear it. Loud sounds heard inside the circle cannot be heard from outside the perimeter of the brick structure.
Lake Hefner Lighthouse
Location: Lake Hefner Pkwy., Oklahoma City
Lake Hefter Lighthouse, officially the Lighthouse at East Wharf, in Oklahoma City is one of the finest spots in Oklahoma City to watch the setting sun.
The 36-foot lighthouse, beige with burgundy trim and a locked green door, was built in 1999 as part of a development project led by Randy Hogan. The lighthouse is modeled after the Brant Point Light Station on the north side of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.
Gravity Hill
Location: Pioneer (Pitt) Rd., Springer
Gravity Hill, or Magnetic Hill, is another anomaly in Oklahoma near Springer. On the hill, drivers will sense that instead of their car rolling downhill with the motor turned off, it’ll actually roll uphill, according to Travel Oklahoma.
The website instructs visitors to drive to Pioneer Road, stop the car at the bottom of the hill and put it in neutral, then feel a force “pull” you and the car up the hill.
