About Us

What is Retro Metro?

RetroMetroOKC was started in September, 2009 by a group of history enthusiasts wishing to better promote and tell the history of the greater Oklahoma City metro and to support and work with like-minded organizations whenever possible. We are dedicated to making history fun and accessible to all. The founding group consists of historians, authors, urban planners, attorneys, real estate professionals, videographers and designers with ages ranging from 17 to 70.

Our Principles

  • Members should have a passion and enthusiasm for Oklahoma City history. The group’s purpose is to highlight and bring attention to the history of Oklahoma City, not the historians who interpret the history.
  • We are for free and open access to Oklahoma City history in its purest form. We encourage others to openly distribute and republish our images within limitations of copyright laws and owners’ agreements.
  • We hope to empower people by providing support and access to historical resources, thereby enabling individuals to tell the story of Oklahoma City through books, films, presentations, and/or other media.
  • We wish to work with and assist, and not compete with, other organizations promoting Oklahoma City history.
  • We encourage members to volunteer their time and resources to fulfill our mission.
  • We will have fun. We will share stories.

Activities

  • Identifying caches of photographs and articfacts
  • Scanning photographs
  • Photographing and describing artifacts
  • Collecting artifacts
  • Finding secure homes for artifacts
  • Promote OKC history at various public events (eg. fairs, festivals, conventions, etc)
  • Provide presentations, talks, etc for civic groups and schools
  • Establish or enable publishing by group members
  • Fundraising: retro t-shirt sales, re-enactment presentations, tours
  • Assist fellow local history groups
  • Group membership outings
  • Book clubs
  • Create history videos similar to those done in Tulsa