PRESS
OKC'S CLASSEN INN REOPENS AS ANINTERACTIVE, "FUNKY" DESTINATION
Since opening on Aug. 14, the reopened 1963 motel has drawn more than three dozen Instagram posts by visitors attracted to the Googie architecture and mid-century finishes added as part of a $2 million makeover by owners Steve Mason and Aimee Ahpeatone. ︎09/06/2020OUT OF CHAOS, SIEG FINDS ORDER
Chef Shelby Sieg has partnered with Aimee Ahpeatone to form a restaurant group that includes the Iguana Mexican Grill and Lua, which replaces The Pritchard where she previously worked.︎05/19/20
PHASE I OF FACTORY OBSCURA SET TO STUN
Just hours before Factory Obscura’s (FO) phase I opening of their latest endeavor, Mix-Tape, located at the iconic OKC art venue, the Womb, there was a flurry of activity about the place.02/28/20
ART-OMOBILE ALLEY
Late in the first decade of the millennium, a strip of Northwest Ninth Street between North Broadway Avenue and the railroad tracks in Oklahoma City’s Automobile Alley started to come alive.︎02/01/20
11 AMERICAN CITIES WITH SURPRISING STREET ART SCENES
From down-and-out neighborhood to modern-art hub, Oklahoma City’s trendy Plaza District is proof of public art’s transformative power.09/19/19
PLAZA DISTRICT FESTIVAL, PLAZA WALLS MURAL EXPO AND OKLAHOMA CITY IMPROV FESTIVAL MAKE FALL FESTIVE IN OKC'S PLAZA DISTRICT
With three festivals planned in one week, fall is undoubtedly the most festive time of the year in the Plaza District.09/19/19
JUST PUSH PLAY
OKC artist collective Factory Obscura mixing it up with new 'Mix-Tape' experience at The Womb09/13/19
YALE THEATER SET TO RETURN TO CENTER STAGE AS CAPITOL HILL ANCHOR
Recently, members of the VeloCityOKC editorial staff sat down with Oklahoma City developer Steve Mason to discuss his renovation of Yale Theater in the Capitol Hill District.07/18/19
Q&A WITH AUTOMOBILE ALLEY, PLAZA DEVELOPER STEVE MASON: 'THE PLACE TO BE IS IN THE URBAN CORE'
Developer, engineer and President of Bluebird Consulting and Mason Realty Investors Steve Mason is known for his firm’s work in Automobile Alley, the Plaza District, the Oklahoma State Capitol, 1200 Penn and Capitol Hill.05/17/19
GREATEST HITS
Factory Obscura estimates more than 1,000 visitors attended the phase one opening of its interactive installation Mix-Tape.04/13/19
RECORD STORE DAY
Record Store Day exclusive: Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne shares the oral history of the 'King's Mouth' art installation and album.04/13/19
THE WOMB REMIXED:
Flaming Lips' iconic Auto Alley art complex reborn with Factory Obscura's 'Mix-Tape' Wayne Coyne likens The Flaming Lips and their crew to pirates, constantly voyaging with their otherworldly music to audiences around the globe.03/15/19
BUILDING MOMENTUM
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition holds its 18th annual Momentum art show Friday-Saturday. Since 1988, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) has celebrated the work of Oklahoma artists.02/20/19
SCOUTING A NEW SITE
“Lilly Thomson sells Girl Scout cookies just about as well as anyone, and she proved it by moving more than 6,000 boxes of Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Do-si-dos this year, earning her a trip to Disney World.”06/18/18
NEW OWNERS PLAN TO REHABILITATE CLASSEN INN
“Spinning glass globes once again will appear atop the Classen Inn sign almost 40 years after they were taken down as the area just west of Midtown fell into a decades-long decline that has been reversed in the new century.”05/15/18
BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN CAPITOL HILL
“People loved it before, and they’ll love it again,” Aimee Ahpeatone says. She was speaking of Capitol Hill, the historic neighborhood south of downtown, where she and Steve Mason – the driving forces behind the Plaza District’s development renaissance – are now making substantial investments in property.02/28/18
OKLAHOMA CAPITOL'S RENOVATED WEST ENTRANCE REOPENS
In another step toward restoration of the state Capitol, the building’s recently renovated west public entrance was reopened Wednesday. The action is part of a $245 million Capitol overhaul being paid for with bonds approved by the Legislature.1/31/18
IS THE PLAZA DISTRICT OKC'S BEST DINING DESTINATION?
Once upon a time, what we call the Plaza District was a simple strip of NW 16 where folks who lived nearby could get groceries, clothing, hardware, furniture, a tank of gas or see a show at the Plaza Theatre.01/31/18
OKC CENTRAL CHAT COMMENTARY: OKLAHOMA CITY'S PROJECT 180
Without Steve Mason, you don't have Ninth Street or the redeveloped 1000 block of Broadway. Without the preservationist community, you don't have the Skirvin, you don't have the Walnut Avenue bridge in Bricktown, you don't have the historic buildings we still enjoy.01/20/18
MRI TENANT — TAQUERIA RAFITAS
Located in the recently lovely Ten Penn neighborhood, surrounded by the original Nic’s Grill to the north and Current Studio to the south, the restaurant isn’t exactly a secret; it’s just nowhere near as well-known as it should be.01/08/18
MRI TENANT — WICKED HIPPIE POP-UP STORE @ THE WOMB
Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne’s girlfriend, Katy Weaver, will open her Wicked Hippie pop-up store this Saturday (11/25).11/22/17
CITY IS INVESTING IN REDEMPTION
Questions continue to pop up about efforts to revitalize NE 23 and $1.3 million in tax increment financing assistance approved by the city to bring some life to the main commercial corridor in the predominantly minority eastside.11/07/17
OKC CENTRAL LIVE CHAT: DEVELOPERS DISCUSS PRESERVATION, DOWNTOWN RETAIL
The Oklahoman's Steve Lackmeyer was joined by developers Steve Mason and Aimee Ahpeatone in fielding questions from readers during his OKC Central chat on Friday.10/07/2017
YALE THEATER IN CAPITOL HILL COMPETES FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION CASH
Yale Theater in Capitol Hill has a long and colorful history, and a major renovation–now underway–may breathe renewed life into this historic gem.10/05/17
COULD CROSSROADS MALL GIVE BACK LIFE TAKEN AWAY FROM CAPITOL HILL?
Monday afternoon, amid the grim headlines coming out of Las Vegas, I sought to distract myself by exploring a possible solution to an area whose revival has always seemed just out of reach.10/03/17
SOUTH OKC'S CAPITOL HILL AMONG 25 MAIN STREETS VYING FOR PRESERVATION GRANTS
Capitol Hill in south Oklahoma City is among 25 Main Street communities vying for a grant that would re-create the marquee sign at the Yale Theater, the city's oldest surviving cinema.09/26/17
STEVE MASON MAKES AN EFFORT TO FIND THE RIGHT TENANTS FOR OKLAHOMA CITY PROPERTIES
When The New York Times Magazine did a photo shoot with Russell Westbrook earlier this year, they chose a once-forgotten retail strip at NW 12 and Pennsylvania Avenue that would have been unthinkable for such an important backdrop even a couple of years ago.05/23/17
DEVELOPER RENOVATING CAPITOL HILL'S YALE THEATER
Steve Mason, whose work to date includes helping revive Automobile Alley and the Plaza District, is setting his sights next on Capitol Hill where he is starting to renovate the long-neglected Yale Theater.︎01/20/17
RECIPE FOR GROWTH: PLAZA DISTRICT MOMENTUM PICKS UP SPEED
The Plaza District, nestled along NW 16 between Classen Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue, is a popular destination for trendy dining and entertainment, so it's easy to forget the rapid nature of this transformation.12/12/16
OWNER OF CARDINAL ENGINEERING SELLS DOWNTOWN FIRM
Steve Mason, owner of one of the city's leading civil engineering firms, and a developer along Automobile Alley and the 16th Street Plaza District, is starting his “second chapter” and selling Cardinal Engineering to two prominent engineers formerly associated with the Benham Group.01/25/15
STEVE MASON DISCUSSES OKC'S AUTOMOBILE ALLEY WITH OKV'S KATIE KURTZ
Katie Kurtz Parker sits down with Steve Mason, one of Oklahoma's Oklavisionaries, to talk about revitalizing OKC's Automobile Alley.︎07/01/13