Nic’s Place EAT & DRINK COME ENJOY THE BASEMENT LOUNGE THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS WITH ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS! Buy This! SHOWCASE YOUR GIFT SELECTION IN OUR special holiday gift guide FEATURE A UNIQUE AND LOCAL GIFT IN GAZETTE’S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE. PURCHASE ANY SIZE AD IN THESE ISSUES TO RECEIVE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY ITEM IN THE GIFT GUIDE. BOOK YOUR AD SPACE TODAY! CALL 405.528.6000 OR EMAIL ADVERTISING@OKGAZETTE.COM EATERY & COCKTAIL OFFICE @ THE UNION Feel the Warmth Our patio is open year-round and features a walk-up Airstream trailer bar, plus plenty of heaters to keep you and your familiars nice and toasty. <<<<<<<<<<<< Live music every Thursday & Friday! This week: Kestrel & Kite and Abbigail Dawn. Ask us about gift cards! 616 N. 5th St, Oklahoma City, OK 405.601.2857 | theunionokc.com M-W 11AM-10PM | Th-11AM-12AM or Later Fri-Sat 11AM-2AM | Sun 11AM-9PM 14 D E C E M B E R 5 , 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M F E AT U R E 1116 N Robinson Ave. OKC | 601-9234 | @nicsplacedinerandlounge Unique history Castle Falls provides a connection to pre-Land Run Oklahoma and Oklahoma City’s lost downtown history. By Jacob Threadgill More than a restaurant and event center, Castle Falls provides a unique link to pre-Land Run Oklahoma history and is a vessel to showcase long-forgotten elements of downtown Oklahoma City. Nestled on five acres at 820 N. MacArthur Blvd., as a few trees obscure its view from the busy thoroughfare; the driveway acts as a portal to Oklahoma history in an idyllic setting. Guests can stand under some of the same trees that stood in the 1850s when a portion the property was a meeting place for relocated native tribes to have peaceful meetings in their new home. Inside the main castle, one of three buildings on the property, which houses multiple dining options ThursdaysSaturdays, meals are eaten surrounded by artifacts of Oklahoma City’s self- inflicted downtown destruction. “Everything in the castle is salvaged, and we tried to carry on that tradition because the man who built the castle salvaged things way before anyone salvaged things,” said Amy Rollins, the property’s third owner, who lives in a cottage with her husband Ralph, as she serves as front of the house at the castle’s restaurant and books on-site corporate events and weddings. Castle construction As OKC was going through its first phases of urban renewal in the 1960s, historic buildings were torn down and their artifacts were sent to the landfill without regard to their significance. Oklahoma City native Bill Blecha dreamed of one day building a castle like the ones he saw in Normandy during World War I. When Blecha returned home, he became superintendent for Manhattan Construction Company, which oversaw the demolition sites of downtown Oklahoma City airport and Oklahoma County Courthouse. Instead of taking all of the items to the landfill, Blecha began storing them as part of his master plan to recreate a French castle in Oklahoma, long before historic preservation was in the zeitgeist’s lexicon. Blecha’s dream was achieved in 1972 after a five-year construction process to build the three-story replica of a castle in Normandy. Blecha lived on-site until his death in 1989. Hilda Vormann purchased the property in 1994 and transformed the castle’s cellar into the German restaurant Keller in the Kastle. The restaurant closed and she put the property up for Castle Falls owners Ralph and Amy Rollins with chef David Sullivan | Photo Alexa Ace