Steve Lackmeyer Collection

Background:

Steve Lackmeyer is the founding president of Retro Metro OKC and authored five books on Oklahoma City history (Bricktown, and OKC Second Time Around, Skirvin, Operation Scissortail and Cornerstone with co-author Jack Money).

The Steve Lackmeyer Collection represents 20 years of research with photos provided by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the City of Oklahoma City, the Myriad Gardens Foundation, the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau and the General Services Administration.

The collection also includes extensive photos of the Oklahoma River, including aerials taken by photographer Michael Downes, that document the early transformation of the waterway with the construction of dams as part of the city’s original MAPS and the start of the Boathouse District. Lackmeyer moved to Oklahoma City with his family in 1977 when his father, Robert Lackmeyer, opened the Sheraton Century Center Hotel and Century Center Mall. As a young teen, Steve Lackmeyer spent his summers touring downtown and witnessing the last gasp of the old Central Business District and the attempt by Urban Renewal to build a new downtown.