OKLAHOMA CITY

city, capital of Oklahoma, U.S., and seat of Oklahoma county. It lies along the North Canadian River near the state's centre. Through annexations it has become one of the nation's largest cities in land area (more than 600 square miles [1,550 square km]). Born of the Run of '89, it came into being on April 22, 1889, when approximately 10,000 homesteaders congregated at Oklahoma Station (a stop established in 1887 on the Santa Fe Railway) to stake out land claims in central Oklahoma. A provisional town government was organized at a mass meeting in May 1889, but it was not until May 2, 1890, with the organization of the Oklahoma Territory, that official incorporation came. While the name Oklahoma City was in popular use from the city's beginning, the U.S. Post Office did not adopt the name until 1923. The city developed as a distribution point for crops and cattle; its designation as the state capital in 1910 stimulated its growth. Meat-packing plants were established, and, with the arrival of more railroads, wholesale trade increased. Now a major transportation centre, it is the chief marketing and processing point for the state's vast livestock industry and a shipping point for cotton, wheat, and cattle. The first oil well in the Oklahoma City pool came in on Dec. 4, 1928. At one time about 1,400 wells were producing oil within the city limits, including some on the state capitol grounds. By the late 20th century the number had dropped to a few hundred. The city has become one of the nation's foremost aviation centres with Tinker Air Force Base (a large logistics and communications base) and the Federal Aviation Administration's Aeronautical Center for training in air safety and airport administration. The city's highly diversified manufactures include petroleum products, executive aircraft, oil-field machinery, electronic equipment, and fabricated steel. Oklahoma City University was founded in 1904, Oklahoma Christian University of Science and Arts in 1950, and Oklahoma State UniversityOklahoma City in 1961. Oklahoma City is the home of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center and the National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Oklahoma State Museum of History has an outstanding collection of American Indian archives. The State Fair of Oklahoma is held in the city each September, and the State Fair Park is the scene of the International Finals Rodeo in January. The Tunnel, built in the 1970s as part of a program to revive the downtown area, is a broad subterranean concourse, four blocks long, connecting downtown buildings and lined with shops and restaurants. The downtown revitalization program continued with the creation of Myriad Gardens, a 12-acre (5-hectare) recreational park with gardens, an amphitheatre, and the seven-story Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory. Oklahoma City became the site of the deadliest terrorist incident ever to occur in the United States on April 19, 1995, when a truck bomb destroyed part of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in the downtown area, leaving 168 people dead and more than 500 injured. Pop. (1990) city, 444,724; Oklahoma City MSA, 958,839; (1994 est.) city, 463,201; (1995 est.) Oklahoma City MSA, 1,015,174.