OKC: First the trains came back, then the hotels.

AP reports (via CNN) that Oklahoma City's historic Skirvin Hotel has just reopened, as a Hilton. It's about 5 blocks from the Amtrak station. Here's an interesting comment from the article:

Built by William Skirvin, who participated in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 and later made a fortune in land and oil, the Skirvin is near railroad depots and is an example of the grand hotels that prospered during the golden age of railroad travel, said Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society.

"If you went anywhere in style and you could afford it, you went by railroad," Blackburn said.

When the Heartland Flyer began running, there was one upper-end hotel near the station, the Westin (now Sheraton). Then came the Renaissance. And now the Skirvin.

Now to be sure, Amtrak plays a smaller role in driving downtown hotel activity than, say, Bricktown, Myriad Gardens and the Ford Center. But the train's in there.