The Paseo Arts District, originally referred to as the Spanish Village, was built in 1929 as the first commercial shopping district north of Downtown Oklahoma City by Oklahoman G.A. Nichols. Early business in the area included a swimming pool called the Paseo Plunge, a dry cleaner, drug store, shoe repair store, and restaurants. The Spanish Village era is …The Paseo Arts District, originally referred to as the Spanish Village, was built in 1929 as the first commercial shopping district north of Downtown Oklahoma City by Oklahoman G.A. Nichols. Early business in the area included a swimming pool called the Paseo Plunge, a dry cleaner, drug store, shoe repair store, and restaurants. The Spanish Village era is said to have ended in the mid-1950s.