Saturday spottings (the spread)

While researching this week's strange search-engine queries, I stumbled upon this one: places to eat in the 4000 block of East Reno Ave. in Oklahoma City. Not having a handy wiseass remark for this, other than to note that the 4000 block of East Reno is actually within Del City limits, I duly drove to the scene and determined that unless you can cadge a meal from one of the residents on the south side of the street — there are petroleum storage tanks on the north side — there is, in fact, no place to eat from 3900 through 4100 East Reno.

This was opening day for the Southwest Showcase of Homes, a joint venture by the South OKC and Moore Homebuilders Associations, with 56 houses on display for the next eight days or so. As real-estate events go, this one has considerable longevity; I remember seeing a couple of these in the 1970s. The difference, of course, is that the new subdivisions are farther out than ever; you're looking at a house just west of Santa Fe on SW 171st Street. (This is an Aaron Tatum home; Tatum built one of the two Project Homes in the Showcase this year. Tatum also has background music on his Web site, so be warned.) The next section-line road south is Indian Hills Road, where Santa Fe turns into 48th Avenue NW, so this is practically in Norman. This particular subdivision is called Talavera, and it's not especially pricey as these things go; you can buy this house for $224,900. (I should point out that this house is not part of the Showcase, though there is a Showcase home on the next block north, and it's about $25k less.)

As always, I'm of two minds about these things. While Oklahoma City is reviled in some circles for its sheer sprawl, I'm happy to see people actually buying within the city limits instead of automatically opting for the suburbs. ("I take comfort in the fact that they're still in the city, no matter what their return address may say: we're all in this together, whether we live on 9th Street, 99th Street, or 199th Street.") On the other hand, you've got to be making a heck of a lot more money than I am to be able to afford one of these pointy boxes, and I'm quite certain that if I could afford one, I'd buy something smaller anyway. Then again, it's just me here; had I teenagers afoot, I might well want them as far away as possible without going outside the property line.