Check this out from Blair Humphreys' blog:
http://imaginativeamerica.com/2009/02/evolution-of-bricktown-in-google-earth-50/

For one of his posts he's taken Internet snapshots of aerial photos of Bricktown. Google Earth has a new feature that includes aerial photos from the past. I don't have Google Earth on my computer because it's already so bogged down with photographs, Internet files, and CAD programs. Does anyone that does have Google Earth know if they have aerial photos from like 1920?

LOL just kidding, I'm not that stupid. But still, that would be fascinating to compare as well. But nonetheless here are 1995, 2003, and 2007..watching Bricktown go from derelict blight to a vibrant urban district. You can also notice development heat up north of Bricktown.

1995
http://imaginativeamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/imagi_bricktown_1995_feb19-640x457.jpg

2003
http://imaginativeamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/imagi_bricktown_2003_nov15-640x455.jpg

2007
http://imaginativeamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/imagi_bricktown_2007_feb26-640x455.jpg

You could do this for any area that has been the subject of a lot of public investment, like a light rail line, or the Bricktown Canal. Personally I wish all the aerials were taken in the summer or spring when everything is green and attractive, which is why honestly the 2003 aerial looks better than the 2007 aerial. But you can still notice a lot of changes and a lot more activity in Bricktown in 2007 than in 2003. Also, a 2009 aerial would have even more changes in it with..a new 10-story hotel along the north side of the ballpark, an urban-design McDonalds (right against the street) across Reno from the Bass Pro Shops, the Centennial Lofts are finished, and you would also notice how in several areas parts of Sheridan Avenue are blocks off because of 3 separate developments' "hard-hat" areas. That's a problem in dense neighborhoods where there's not a whole lot of room to do construction work.

I'm glad to see Bricktown is anchored by a world class restaurant in McDonald's and a world class shop like Bass Pro.

Right. If it weren't for McDonald's people in Bricktown would go hungry..
http://www.bricktownokc.org/Default.aspx?p=13791 (I don't even think McD's is one of the lucky few listed, actually)

Ugh. I really hate these aerials. Bricktown is cool to see.

Lower Bricktown however disgusts me. What an utter waste of time, space, and prime canal frontage. Theres more PARKING LOTS fronting the canal in Lower Bricktown than actual buildings. Wasteland.

Yeah, tell me about it. OCURA finally wishes they hadn't let Stonegate Hogan go all stucco throughout Lower Bricktown when they try and impose no stucco on other developments and these developers say, "well you let them do stucco in LB, so let me do it" in the Medical District, or Upper Bricktown, or wherever.

You know what city looks great in aerials? Portland, OR. You know what city looks bad in aerials? OKC..no joke.

So it looks like the canal was just built through this area from nothing. Is that right? Or was there some type of small creek that was "expanded" to form the canal? Where does the canal start? Where does it end? It looks like it kind of starts near that new building in the bottom right corner of the aerial photo. It looks like it may come from the "south?", as it may come from under that street across the southern edge of the photo. Where does it go at the end though? It kind of looks like it runs through that denser area of buildings and then disappears near those railroad tracks (?) on the left side of the picture. I'm just curious. It must come from and go to some body of water, but you don't really see anything like that. btw -- even if it was the middle of the summer, it doesn't seem like the bottom photo would look much more green. There are so many parking lots, I barely see any green areas at all that are left now (other than the infield of the ball park).

The Bricktown Canal actually is completely man-made. It starts at a public plaza that features a lot of pumps. This public plaza is right up against the elevated tracks, so it's kind of an underused space. They're fixing to do an overhaul to it and expand the canal back down to the south, making sort of a U against the historic portion of Bricktown.

Right now the Canal doesn't empty into anything, but work is underway to extend it further south as well once the Crosstown Expressway gets moved 5 blocks south of downtown. Then it will pass under the new Crosstown and empty into the Oklahoma River. By 2012 the Crosstown will be moved and replaced with an at-grade boulevard so a lot of those parking lots that back up to the expressway will probably get filled in by 2020.

If the pics were taken in the summer instead of the winter there would have been a lot more activity on the streets and you would have notice green elements like trees and landscaping along the Canal and a few streets, and of course the infield at the Ballpark.

Here are some pics I took of the Upper Canal a few years ago:
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/TheOkie/Bricktown/P1010268.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/TheOkie/Bricktown/P1010259.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/TheOkie/Bricktown/P1010270.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/TheOkie/Bricktown/P1010278.jpg

Thanks for the info SRG. Nice pictures. Yes, Summer is a good thing!!