Signs and wonders
Tom Baddley has some new content up at Lost Tulsa: the old Abundant Life Building near 16th and Boulder (the windowless building with the white and gold diamond shapes), Eastland Mall, Rose Bowl, and pedestrian tunnels in downtown Tulsa. Be sure to click on the photos to see the full photo set for each entry.
Dwayne, the Canoe Guy, has recently posted some photos of great neon signs from OKC, Tulsa, and Springfield, Missouri, including the Brookshire Motel, and the Woodland Shopping Center and Desert Hills Motel. (He also posted pictures and instructions for cooking turkey in a trash can.)
No entry about lost and forgotten places would be complete without checking in with Kevin Walsh, who set the standard for local history websites with Forgotten NY. He's under contract and working on a Forgotten NY book, due out next fall from HarperCollins. He's keeping a diary of the process.
I'm looking forward to the book, and it's interesting to learn what's involved in producing a photo- and map-intensive book. For a long time, I've wanted to do a kind of time capsule book of Tulsa in 1957, back when we called ourselves "America's Most Beautiful City." I'd like to use maps and photos to give the reader a sense of what it would be like to take a time machine back to when Tulsa still had a lively downtown, back before expressways, back when Tulsa was still a fairly compact city, but the thought of creating the maps and locating and acquiring the rights to contemporary photos has daunted me.
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To go back even earlier when, around 1938 and 1939, Central High School had around 5,000 students. A senior Central High School graduating class had around
1,200 students! Lots of talent and entrepreneurs
graduated in the early Tulsa days from Central High School where PSO now has their building in downtown Tulsa. When my grandfather was superintendent of the Tulsa Public School system, Life Magazine did a story and and sent their photographer to come to Tulsa. It was successful under my grandfather's leadership.
There were streetcars in Tulsa as many long ago could not afford an automobile.
Charles Page was not always successful in business, but when he made his money in oil he gave generously. Then later the Charles Page Trust. When you go to Sand Springs you will notice Sand Springs in indeed grateful for all of his giving. He had a place built for
orphans and widows way back in the early 1900's so they would have a place to live.
The Tulsa Historical Society should be help
with photos. Many donated their historical and early day Tulsa photos they have and in return they should be willing to
share those same photos for you to compile your educational Tulsa history series.