I have been lurking around OKC Talk and the Midwest City / Del City forum for some time and finally decided to post something.

With the rapid and radical changes that have been happening in Midwest City over the past few years, I was wondering if there might be a repository of historic photographs. I stopped by the Midwest City branch of the Oklahoma County Metropolitan Library System, but there wasn’t a whole lot there in the way of pictures.

I was eating in a barbecue place in Dallas and the fixtures hanging from the ceiling were reminiscent of the radial wave shade streetlights that Midwest City had before Mercury Vapor street lamps became prevalent. I have seen a couple of houses in MWC that have what appear to be old streetlights in the yard, but these no longer have their original hanging arms. I wonder where I might find a street scene with an original street light. I need to return to the library and look again.

I would also like to find a picture of the fire station that originally sat where station 2 is today.

In a Heritage Park Mall thread, someone mentioned that there used to be a dirt bike track or something in the space now occupied by the mall. I don’t remember the track for some reason, but it got me trying to recall Midwest City in the 1960s and 1970s.

I have lived in Midwest City all of my life and most of my early recollections are restricted to the original mile and adjacent square mile areas close to where I lived. I grew up during the period when it was commonplace to go "downtown" to bank at the First National Bank of Midwest City (“at least we beat a piggy bank”); shop at Oklahoma Tire and Supply, Florsheim Shoes, Langston’s, and Streets; eat at the Plaza Restaurant; and have prescriptions filled at the Conrad-Marr Drug Store. The southeast corner of Southeast Fifteenth Street and Air Depot Blvd., where the self-storage place is, there was a large grassy lot with some type of antenna array, possibly connected with Tinker Air Force Base. Supermarkets were everywhere including, at Southeast Fifteenth Street and Air Depot Blvd., Humpty Dumpty where the ihop stands now and across the street to the east, Brannon’s where the Dollar Tree is located. Stockton’s Supermarket and Delicatessen is now vacant at the west end of the Uptown Shopping Center.

We spent most of our shopping time Uptown at Sears (before it burned to the ground, where Michaels is now), or T.G.&Y (where Langston’s is currently situated, or the Uptown OTASCO (Evelyn’s Flowers). We also ate at Adair's Cafeteria (Henry Hudson’s Pub).

At the Lockheed Shopping Center we had Conrad-Marr #2 and Smith Hardware. If they would hurry up and take down that confounded "Open during construction" sign, I'd like to take a night photo of the original neon in the window of the cleaners.

Where the Jimmy's Egg now stands was Burn’s Tastee Freeze. Where the Chase bank is now, along Southeast Fifteenth Street, is where Dunn's Dairy Queen (drive in) used to be. Next to the Dairy Queen (where the Enterprise car rental, ex sit down Dairy Queen is now) was a small building housing a barber shop and Herman’s Sporting Goods.

When I was attending Traub Elementary School, I remember being fascinated by the construction cranes used as I watched Oscar Rose Junior College being built.

My purpose in the preceding prattle is to, perhaps, stimulate recollections of Midwest City’s earlier days by others before evidence of that era is erased from the earth. Also, since recollections are notoriously subject to being incomplete factually, any corrections or amplifications to my own are encouraged. Recently, I ran into someone with whom I attended school, and in reference to finding that my high school yearbook picture had been posted on one of the classmates type websites, I suggested that if I had known back then that one day there was going to be something called the internet some day, I would have been a bit more particular about what pictures of myself are floating around. Perhaps Midwest City residents, present and former, can turn the prevalence and permanence of the internet to good use by writing Midwest City recollections into the record right here.

I don't have quite the record since I got my start in '82, but here are a few things I remember.

When Hunt's Law Office was the pancake house.
When Walgreen's was Mama Lou's.
When PhotMat even existed (that was sooo cool to a 4 year old)
When that air conditioning place was actually a business on Midwest.
When the Army Surplus store had cool stuff...if you could find the building.
When MCHS had it's entrance where the new admin building is.
When we actually had a real lumber yard!!!! Including those cheesey red shirts the folks that worked there wore to try and show how "strong" they were. That always made me laugh.

When onCue was a Shlotzky's....

I remember when that On Cue was an empty field. We would go cruising every Friday and Saturday night from McDonalds to Sonic and cars would line up in that field. Cruising came to an abrupt stop in the mid-80's when they made it illegal.

I wish they would bring it back...

we still go to Meridian, even though I havn't been in a good while, and NW 39th.

I worked at Sound Warehouse, before it was a CiCis. I loved Rose Field. I still do. I used to come home from work at the Sound Warehouse and drive Air Depot just to see my friends. It would take me two hours just to traverse two miles.

I loved the Apollo Twin theater. I saw "The Jerk" and "The Kids Are Alright" there.

I used to go to Heritage Park Mall the last Tuesday of every month to buy "Creem" magazine from the book store. I would sit in the courtyard outside Dillards for hours reading that magazine.

I once ate a 22 oz. steak at the Sirloin Stockade on Air Depot, when I was on break from my job at TG&Y. I ate the whole thing. With a baked potato.

Ok, maybe it shows my age too, but I remember the arcade in heritage park. "Can I borrow a quarter?" and spending all my allowance there. I also remember the Sound Warehouse too. Used to go in and spend hours just looking around.

I don't have quite the record since I got my start in '82...

I think that recollections of Midwest City of any time period are apropos as the city has been subtly changing throughout the years.

I have one minor correction to my original post. The building housing the barber shop and Herman’s Sporting Goods was not where Enterprise car rental is now: It was down in the hole in what is now the Hobby Lobby parking lot between Chase Bank and Enterprise. As late as 1977, that entire area with the exception of the Brannon’s (Dollar Tree) building and the buildings along SE 15th St. was a grassy field.

My earliest memory of the location of Twid’s Sporting goods was that they were located along SE 15th Street where the Ace Alternator Shop is currently located. They then moved to SE15th and Air Depot to the vacant Security Bank Building where they had their shoe department in the vault. From there, they relocated across the intersection, northeast, to the right half of the building where the Dollar Tree is now, the left portion being occupied at the time by Mardel. Twid’s then moved to its current location at SE 15th. St. and Buena Vista.

The Security Bank Drive in, believe it or not, was remodeled into what is now Auto Zone. Tooling down the aisles looking for windshield washer fluid or fuzzy dice for the rear view mirror, one is walking under the same roof where cars sat idling waiting for pneumatic tubes to shuffle between the Diebold stations and the tellers located behind windows that are still visible behind the motor oil display along the back wall of the store.

To the best of my memory, the southwest corner of SE15th St. and Air Depot Blvd. Transitioned backward in time: Walgreens > Phillips 66 > Security Bank Building > ?

I was graduated from Midwest City High School and I believe that it was the following summer that they moved the entrance to the west. Does anyone remember the year when the major remodel of Midwest City High School began?

The comment about Schlotsky’s reminded me that before they were at 15th St. and Air Depot Blvd., they were in the building on Air Depot where US Cellular is. Prior to that, Schlotsky’s was at the North end of the strip center on the west side of Air Depot Blvd. at Peach St.

If I recall correctly, the southeast corner of SE 15th and Air Depot transitioned backward in time: On Cue > Schlotsky’s > Carl’s Jr. > Hardees > vacant lot.

Locke Electrical Supply was originally a Kinney’s Shoe Store and between it and Adair’s Cafeteria (Henry Hudson’s Pub) was an O.G&E. electrical Sub Station.

Sears sat where Michaels is today and the Locke Supply plumbing, heat and air building behind it was the Sears tire and auto center. The main Sears building burned completely to the ground on the first day of school, 1976, and Sears relocated, until the mall store was built, as a catalog only store to the “Quonset hut” building on Midwest Blvd adjacent to the Santa Fe, ex Oklahoma City, Ada, and Atoks railroad tracks.

I can’t remember if the odd building across the parking lot to the west of the Sears auto center was a furniture store or an appliance store.

After high school, I moved to Midwest City for a few years befor I went into the USAF. I lived with three other people in a tiny house near the country club off of Reno near Post Road. There were 3-4 small rental houses along the last east-west street before the country club property. The street ended in a cul-de-sac and a heavily wooded area just west. This was in 1974 - so I think the statute has passed and I can tell you about the "Oklahoma Gold" that was grown in those woods! The tenants in the rent houses were all late teens/early twenties and the homegrown was both a method to party and to pay rent.

I was the only one in our house with a "real" job - two, in fact. I worked at Frederick's of Hollywood and drove an ice cream truck. A lot more ice cream was consumed rather than sold - thanks to the aforementioned homegrown.

Oh, and I do remember when the land where HPM is was a dirt bike track. Not sure exactly when that was - again, thanks to the blurry memory caused by "garden products".:cool18:

HOW 'BOUT THEM BOMBERS?

It seems like the remodel of MCHS started during my sophomore year (80-81), as I remember the commons area being almost brand new. Some of my friends had lockers in the old section (where the museum is now), and I hated going over there--it was rather musty back then.



My earliest memory of the location of Twid’s Sporting goods was that they were located along SE 15th Street where the Ace Alternator Shop is currently located. They then moved to SE15th and Air Depot to the vacant Security Bank Building where they had their shoe department in the vault.

Wasn't Twid's across the street before they moved into the old bank? I'm real sure they used to be next door to Eckerd's, which was next door to the Apollo Twin. Saw some classics there back in the day.

Did anyone else here "live" at Heritage Park Mall like I did? Man, we would go to Topsy's popcorn and get an ICEE then go next door to La Pizza and have some of that AWESOME greasy east coast-style pepperoni pizza and watch the new big screen TV. Then go to Aladdin's Castle and blow a few bucks playing Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Galaxian.

It's damn depressing to walk into that mall these days.

"Wasn't Twid's across the street before they moved into the old bank? I'm real sure they used to be next door to Eckerd's, which was next door to the Apollo Twin. Saw some classics there back in the day."

I agree. That is where I remember it being at one time.

Twids was next to the Eckards, which that space became Apple medical for a long time before the whole thing was torn down and they built the Ihop.

My memory is fuzzy, I believe Greenhaws grocery was where the Hobby Lobby is now.

On the odd occasion I drive by Jarman Jr high, I look at the marquee they have and remember that when I went there, we tried to raise money to erect one but Principal Groves wouldn't allow it because of fears of vandalism.

I can remember when Midwest City/ Del City was "THE" game to be at. Now it barely registers.

MCHS added the wing of the school which now is the entrance I believe in 1978. I think the west side parking lot (which is now a circle) was the junior parking lot. Seniors parked between the entrance and the fieldhouse, sophomores had to park south of the fieldhouse.

Posts that have recalled that Twid’s was once in the old Humpty Dumpty Supermarket building when the western part was Eckerd Drug are correct. I now remember shopping at Twid’s when it was in that location. They must have moved there from the old Security Bank building and then moved across Air Depot Blvd to the space just east of where Mardel was and Dollar Tree is now.

Greenhaw’s was where Dollar Tree is. That building’s major tenants, as I recall, have been Dollar Tree > Mardel / Twid”s > Hobby Lobby > Greenhaw’s Grocery > Brannon’s Supermarket. Hobby Lobby vacated that space when they either built the building where they are currently located or moved into it after being vacated, although I cannot recall any other tenant before Hobby Lobby. Not too many years ago, they completed a phase 2 remodel essentially doubling their space by building an addition at the south end of the building.

I graduated from MCHS in May of 1978 and so1rfan’s recollection of the parking assignments is correct. I am unclear as to when they began remodeling the building: It might have been that summer.

I was driving along Air Depot Blvd between SE 15th St. and E. Reno. And I recalled the Dick Christman appliance store where Cash America Pawn is now. Edelweis Liquor Store was an A&W Root Beer. The lot where Aldi Food store is located was a “Jolly Cone” which was a Dairy Queen type place. Across the lot to the south, the NAPA auto parts store was a Silo appliance store. I also recall the rather large stone home that sat where the Applebee’s is. Across Jarman to the North, I cannot remember, however, what used to be where the Hibdon Tire Center is now. I have a four foot yardstick from the House of Paneling which was 900 ½ S. Air Depot which was a large warehouse building behind the former Binswanger Glass building.

Is the Celebrity Club still there? On Air Depot. When I was a kid (under 21), I used to drive by that club every day. I was mesmerized by the plywood cutouts of martini glasses and silhouettes of people dancing. I used to wonder what it looked like inside.

After I turned 21, I never went in. A decade later, on a whim, and on that side of town, I actually went into the Celebrity Club.

I was completely underwhelmed. All my childhood visions of what I thought it would look like were shattered when I realized it was just a bar!

There used to be a Godfather's across the street from Crest and we would go there every Friday night to eat the combo. Greatest pizza ever. My friend Scott would always lift the toppings off, then scrape the sauce off, and reassemble his pizza. It drove me crazy every time he did it.

Is the Celebrity Club still there?

Yes, it is. I believe that the owner has done some updating recently. I know that they did extensive work on the parking lot within the last year or so involving the removal and reinstallation of large sections of concrete. I have never been inside, however, from the outside, I don't recall any major changes having been made.

I also remember some type of a club that used to stand just north of the intersection of SE 29th St. and Air Depot. There was a Mobil filling station on the northeast corner where the Circle K / Shell is and this club was next to it to the north.

Thanks for reminding me about the Godfather's on Reno.

That club was notorious. For a brief time in the mid-1980s, it was known as the "Purple Palace" and it was an all-ages club where the DJ played heavy metal songs and the "bar" served only coke and O-Doul's.

It was later turned into an illegal all-nude club when MWCPD busted it sometime in the early 1990s. I think that was the death knell.

(snip)
Greenhaw’s was where Dollar Tree is. That building’s major tenants, as I recall, have been Dollar Tree > Mardel / Twid”s > Hobby Lobby > Greenhaw’s Grocery > Brannon’s Supermarket. Hobby Lobby vacated that space when they either built the building where they are currently located or moved into it after being vacated, although I cannot recall any other tenant before Hobby Lobby. Not too many years ago, they completed a phase 2 remodel essentially doubling their space by building an addition at the south end of the building.




Don't forget the little bakery in that strip! They were small, but had the best eclairs and creampuffs I've tasted in the U.S. They also would give homeroom mothers a discount for large quantities of cookies or cupcakes to take to school. It wasn't advertised - you had to ask.

After I turned 21, I never went in. A decade later, on a whim, and on that side of town, I actually went into the Celebrity Club.

I was completely underwhelmed. All my childhood visions of what I thought it would look like were shattered when I realized it was just a bar!

This totally cracked me up, because I did the SAME THING!!!



There used to be a Godfather's across the street from Crest and we would go there every Friday night to eat the combo.

That Godfather's was THE place to be on Friday nights after the football game. It was standing room only back then. The poor saps who didn't get in had to have their pizza at Mr Gatti's (which wasn't too bad by the way) or Shotgun Sam's. I REALLY MISS THAT PIZZA.


I can remember when Midwest City/ Del City was "THE" game to be at. Now it barely registers.

People don't seem to believe me when I tell them that that MWC/DC used to be as big as the Moore War is now. There used to be fights and all manner of mayhem. Of course, it helped that DC had a decent team back then.

I remember the shopping center on key (just north of 7-11 )had Kens hobbies,Smith bakery and I think a curtain or sewing shop. Wasn't the bar on 15th by the rail road tracks a mexican restaraunt called Zamudio's? Also who can remember the Soldier creek drive in at 15th & Douglas? I can also remember when everything east of post was still a gravel road. Wasn't Shotgun sam's pizza located where Grandy's is now?

Did anyone else here "live" at Heritage Park Mall like I did? Man, we would go to Topsy's popcorn and get an ICEE then go next door to La Pizza and have some of that AWESOME greasy east coast-style pepperoni pizza and watch the new big screen TV. Then go to Aladdin's Castle and blow a few bucks playing Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Galaxian.

It's damn depressing to walk into that mall these days.

I lived there!! and played all those games!


That club was notorious. For a brief time in the mid-1980s, it was known as the "Purple Palace" and it was an all-ages club where the DJ played heavy metal songs and the "bar" served only coke and O-Doul's.

I went to the purple palace!! my mom was so mad when she found out ! haha. We were supposed to only stay on the cruise... I dont get that thinking!

We were supposed to only stay on the cruise

AAAHHH!!! THE CRUISE! Remember those days? It would take about an hour to go from Sonic down to Mcdonald's. And then we'd do it all over again. We used to do stupid stuff like have watergun fights up and down Air Depot. I'd hate to imagine what would happen if you pulled out a water gun now.

I’m afraid that I was a year or two too old for “the cruise” I was more like the grumpy old geezer standing on the corner thrashing his cane in the air griping loudly about “You ornery young whippersnappers with your gas buggies!”

Be that as it may, I’ve done some more thinking:

One of the pitfalls of trying to identify buildings by tenant is that things are changing too quickly. For instance I see that Locke Supply is consolidating its Electrical, Heating and Air and Plumbing supply operations at the west end of the Uptown Shopping center where Dollar General / Save a Lot and previously Stockton’s Grocery was located, presumably vacating the former Kinney Shoe Store and the former Sears Tire and Auto Center.

I drove through the Uptown Plaza today on an errand and noticed that the store fronts along the east side of Key Blvd. are mostly vacant, save a couple of short term loan places. I was trying to recall some of the stores that previously occupied those spaces and came up with: Tubb Rexall Drug, offices of O.G.&E. and Oklahoma Natural Gas where customers could pay their bills, Rector’s Books, Ken’s Sporting Goods / Keller Hobbies, and Walker Shoe Repair.

Across Key Blvd, I was trying to figure out if it was the veterinarian clinic or the barber shop that was once the Midwest City Post Office. As I think about it, I believe that either originally or eventually, the Post Office occupied the entire building there where Sherwin Williams is. I don’t know if the Post Office was originally located in the Downtown shopping center, but if it was, it was before I was cognizant of anything.

At Key Blvd and Russell there is a building housing the Garden Club. It was originally a Midwest City fire station. I want to say that when I was a child in the 1960s, it was Fire Station #1 and that the station on Mid America was Station 2. I may have that backwards. Station 3 at SE 15th and West Blueridge had not yet been built. The next time that the Fire department has a booth set up at a safety fair or something, I’ll corner one of the old timers and see what I can find out.

I vaguely remember the Soldier Creek Drive-In Theater that ranger75 mentioned. If I recall correctly, it was located on the southwest corner of SE 15th St. and Douglas Blvd more or less where the city garage and transfer station is now. I definitely remember the Sooner Twin Drive-In previously located on the northeast corner of SE 29th St. and Sooner Rd. where the Tinker industrial park is currently.

In answer to ranger75’s question: Shotgun Sam’s was in the general area on N. Air Depot where Grandy’s is today. A little further south on Air Depot where the Hu Nan Express is now, was Ken’s Pizza. Nowadays, the delivery drivers slip the hot pizzas into a insulated bag, of course, but in the seventies when pizza delivery was in its infancy, I guess, Ken’s had a Datsun type mini pickup with an actual oven in the bed to keep the pizzas warm as they traveled the streets of Midwest City.

In the currently vacant field immediately east of Sooner Rose Elementary School, there was the Midwest Auto Auction held every Tuesday night. Across SE 15th St, on the south side of the road, where the back wall of The Home Depot is, was a large industrial building that housed what I believe was an auto machine shop. Herman’s Plumbing Co. was also located in that block.

Around the corner to the southwest on Sooner Rd., near where the Radio Shack and Army recruiting place is, was a home turned into a dance studio. On the fence surrounding the house was a sign: “Have you a dancing doll?”

HA!

I remember that "Have you a dancing doll?" sign vividly. It was like a landmark that I used before I could drive. I think it must have been there a LONG time. I'm kinda surprised that that area east of Sooner Rose Elem hasn't been developed AT ALL since the tornado. I wouldn't call it prime real estate, but it's heavily traveled.

the price for that land is outrageous!

Since the last time that I searched, I found some really interesting pictures of early Midwest City.

Midwest City Historical Photos - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94761552@N00/sets/72157602144303459/)

I was blown away!

These pictures are awesome!

I saw one aerial shot that, when enlarged, showed the beginning framing of my house!

White chipmunk, the poster of the pictures above, also has more of a 1946 brochure advertising "The Model City".

I first visited Midwest City in 1970 and lived in MWC from 1973-1976 before going off to see the world in the Air Force. I remember so many of the buildings and businesses that are now long gone, even though my memories don't go back to the beginning.

Thank you, woodyrr, for finding these pics!

That slideshow was absolutely amazing. What an amazing find!!!!

It's so "50's Nuclear Family"!!!!!

If you look closely, you can see some of the buildings are still around, like the old gas station on Air Depot near the RSC entrance....it's an auto body shop.

I went to East Side and had always heard about how the northeast corner of the school used to be the whole thing, but couldn't ever picture it being that way. NOW I'VE SEEN IT!!!!!

And Fleetwood...where did you go wrong? In the pictures they are so new and orderly looking. Who would have guessed that in such a short time, they would deteriorate so badly. I was sooooo glad when they finally tore thoe apartments down. It's so crazy to see the arial shots with all that empty land. And if you ever wondered why Atkinson was such a big name...these pictures definitely show you why.

All i can really say is, WOW!

It was so interesting to see those buildings in their heyday instead of years later. My grandfather was stationed at Tinker three different times during his career. The first time was around 5 years after MWC was born. My mom hit all 3 schools. Eastside, Jarman and MCHS. I can't wait to hear what she can tell me about those pictures.
One question. The Midwest Grocery Market is the at the old building by Eastside? I remember walking over there once a week after school to get my fix. Candy necklaces and the candy cigarettes. My kids refuse to step foot in that place now.

. . .One question. The Midwest Grocery Market is the at the old building by Eastside? . . .

I drove by there this morning while running errands and that is the same building. There has been a nondescript two story addition built on the south end and the little dormer on the front is completely hidden from the front by the current sign.

Great pics! A dumb question though. When they refer to downtown, where exactly is that?

Great pics! A dumb question though. When they refer to downtown, where exactly is that?

SE 29th and Mid-America Blvd.

Those pictures are full of interesting and unusual details.

In this one of the reception area of the original City Hall, I find it amusing that across the divider between the waiting and reception areas there is an assortment of household accoutrements beginning on the left with a “P” trap for a sink drain, some type of dusting brush or something, a soap dish, and a gate valve. On the other side of the swinging door, a mixing valve, and something that I don’t recognize. Below that, nailed to a board, appears to be plastic bathroom accessories such as a clear toilet paper holder, soap dishes and maybe a towel bar. I suspect that city government takes itself far too seriously nowadays to do something like that.

MWC city hall 1940s-50s on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94761552@N00/1434066410/in/set-72157602144303459/)

This picture caught my eye because of the “cosmic tower” in the background. I remember seeing that and, while there might have been more than one, my memory tells me that it says ”Ridgecrest Heights” on the band around the circumference and that it was located in the vacant lot along the east side of Air Depot between W. Blueridge and NE 10th St.

MWC 25th Year sign on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94761552@N00/1434070996/in/set-72157602144303459/)

This aerial shot is very interesting. A few of the many things that I notice is that Jet Dr. extends from SE 15th St. south to just past Peach St. and stops. Now it connects with Reed Pl. and continues on to Foster Pl. On the east side of Jet Dr. between Peach St. and Reed Pl., the last residential lot before Reed Pl. was vacant. While the residences were being cleared from the downtown redevelopment area a foundation was laid on that lot and one of the houses, possibly one removed from Boeing Dr., was relocated there. I see that if Foster Pl. connected between Sandra Dr. and Air Depot, it was by an unpaved section.

Interesting as well is on Sandra Dr. between Askew Dr. and what will be Eddie Dr. there are two breaks in the curb with aprons on the west side of the street. The one closer to Askew Dr., will become W. Mitchell Dr. but the second apron was never connected to anything. If one drives along Sandra, Dr., the apron is still there and serves as an unusual driveway for a residence.

I grew up on that part of Sandra Dr. and so the short eastward extension of Procter Pl. from Sandra Dr. as well as the southeasterly angled section of street from the intersection of Sandra Dr. and Askew Dr. wasn’t so much a curiosity, but the way things were. Now I wonder what the city planners had in mind.

The westbound lanes of Adair Blvd. used to be called Canyon Rd. At the western end was either a landfill or transfer station for municipal solid waste. All I remember is that the garbage trucks were constantly traveling that road. In the same location there was also a sewerage treatment plant replete with an open air “merry go round” thing that rotated over a large round enclosure dribbling water or something on the sewerage waste contained therein. There appears to be a blob on the picture located about where the Rose State College parking lot just west of the little addition of duplexes along Peppertree Ln. is currently located, that might be the plant.

Flickr Photo Download: Arial of Tinker and MWC 1950 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94761552@N00/1603188015/sizes/o/in/set-72157602144303459/)

I remember the intersection of E. Reno and N. Midwest Blvd. On the southwest corner where Carls Jr. sits was a fruit stand that sold watermelons. There were huge cotton wood trees behind the makeshift building. Sambo's was on the NW corner along with Arlans. Arlans had a pet shop that had a black Myna bird that would screech at the shoppers "I bite I bite" I bought my 1st and only pair of Klackers in side the vestibule. and Humpty Dumptywas to the north which later became Griders. Wasn't there a furniture store there for a short time? I belive there was a Mobile service station on the SE corner that used to stack tires out front that was wrapped in brightly colored foil. The city hall complex was under construction.

I remember the intersection of E. Reno and N. Midwest Blvd.

<snip> I don't remember that area as well as others close to home, but I vaguely remember "Sambo's"

I borrowed three of the historical pictures and paired them with three that I took. When Locke Supply and Evelyn's Flowers get their signs installed and / or when a tenant moves into what was Tubb Rexall Drugs, I'll go back and get some more interesting pictures.

As for the Downtown shots, I have a picture that I took to juxtapose with the picture taken in the 1980s, but unfortunately, to get a picture from the exact same place, I would have to have stood someplace in the Starbucks.

Very cool comparison shots, woody! :congrats:

I tried some more "then and now" pictures, but I'm finding out that it is very hard to exactly duplicate the pictures. In both of these shots, I would have had to stand in the middle of the street in order to get the angles right and 2009 Midwest City is too busy for that. When the weather is warmer, I might try the downtown shot again standing on the south side of 29th using a longer lens, however, I think that the Starbucks will be in the way.

They are both good shots!
Especially since the water tower will be coming down soon - the opportunity is ripe!
(Sigh - history is lost for the sake of commerce once again)

The place were Heritage Park Mall is was a field and the old original Pebble house was on the south east end, had bike trails all through the property.

On the east end of Crest Foods on Reno was Dottie's Flowers, across the street was the Hill Top Dairy. Going the the movies at the Sky Train Theater at the downtown shopping center, 29th & Mid America. Langstons at the uptown shopping center, 15th and Key Blvd, that was the only place to buy your Levis.

The Jolly Cone on Ar Depot was the original cruse through, McDonalds came later. Going to Across the Street Restaurant after football games.

Speaking of the water tower, I didn't have time to prepare this one last night.

At the risk of being accused of being an unfaithful Bomber, I have to say that I prefer the checkerboard paint job. I also prefer it without all of the antennas, but since I am a cell phone user, I'll keep my hypocritical trap shut about that.

I may be imagining this and someone who knows for sure can correct me, but: The last time that the Midwest City water tower was painted in the checkerboard scheme, the city actually wanted to paint it in another scheme, but the FAA rule was that water towers near an airport had to be checkerboard, so that's what they did. It wasn't but a year or two later that the rule was changed because it was then that Tinker painted the twin water towers along SE 29th St. like they are now.

Like I said, I don't remember why I think that or where I got that idea, but I'm sticking to the story until someone says it's wrong.

Makes sense...makes it stand out against the sky...although I think that it was a pretty stupid rule. I would imagine that's why the old gold was chosen for the top of the tower though. That way it's still a contrast and has a better chance of being seen at night.

Not that any flying object has any business being where that water tower is at any time....

This would be better if I had a picture from this angle with Conrad-Marr and Smith Hardware. The vertical line in the middle picture is where I had to combine two pictures taken on the same day.

A time machine would really be helpful.

I found another of my pictures taken from very close to the same place, toward the same direction, and featuring a similar subject as one of the historical pictures.

Nice work woodyrr.

I don't have many slides of Midwest City, but I did find this one from about 1984 to compare with one taken today.

In retrospect, I regret that I didn't take nearly as many slides of Midwest City as I have with the Digital SLR, but Kodachrome 64 Slide film was an expensive hassle to buy and an expensive hassle to have processed.

Does anyone remember the SkyTrain Drive-In restaurant? I'am not sure of location but, I remember when you ordered food it came to the car on a kind of trolley thing.

Wasn't that the place across from the little Crest? Or am I thinking of something else?

I don't remember a Sky Train Restaurant. The only thing of that nature that I remember was just west of SE 15th and Sunnylane Rd. in Del City. It was called Burger Train and tracks radiated out from a round central building and the food traversed between the building and the cars via a conveyance that could be described as a locomotive if very wide latitude in interpretation was granted.

I have tried to post a link to an aerial of the building on Google Maps, but I don't know if it is going to work. It is the building with the half round awning to the west of the marker:

del city, OK - Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=del+city,+OK&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.775203,69.433594&ie=UTF8&ll=35.450049,-97.442339&spn=0.001219,0.002119&t=h&z=19)

I went by the location today and it is currently B&G Auto Sales. Could that have been it?

The "greasy spoon" across to the north from Crest was just a drive up "Dairy Queen" type of place any time that I ate there.

It was the Burger Train. Don't know where I came up with Sky Train. The last time I was there was 1969.

It was the Burger Train. Don't know where I came up with Sky Train. The last time I was there was 1969.
And I have a picture of the Burger Train in operation and a night shot and with kids cruising the place................nay body wanna see???????????????????:woowoo:

And I have a picture of the Burger Train in operation and a night shot and with kids cruising the place................nay body wanna see???????????????????:woowoo:

Sure. That would be great!

Pleeeeeeeez.....!!

And I have a picture of the Burger Train in operation and a night shot and with kids cruising the place................nay body wanna see???????????????????:woowoo:

Come on Redskin70, Where's the pic? You got me curious.

I had to delurk to say that shot of the uptown shopping center just brought back alot of memories. Not the old one funny enough but the 2008 one. It has changed much since I was a teen.
I was probably around 13 or so and a friend and I decieded we were rebels and snuck out to visit some boys. As we were walking through that parking lot a car pulled up behind us and I thought for sure we were gonna be kidnapped. It turned out to be a cop and we were out past cerfew. Our parents never did find out but man it was a wild night. In all honesty we hadn't even made it that far coming from my house on maple dr. I'd say it was around 1993ish.

My husband wants me to jump in here and ask if anyone remembers Sparky's drive-in? It was in the parking lot of Trade Mart (where Sam's is now).

My own personal favorite was Dick's drive-in on Douglas, just north of 29th on the east side of the road.

Was there a Tastee Freeze on Midwest Blvd, between 15th and 29th? There is a building (still!!) on the east side of the road with that plastic-y looking carport stuff around the perimeter of the building.

I cannot speak to Sparky's or Dick's drive-ins, although I do remember the Trade Mart.

There was a drive-in and dine-in on the east side of S. Midwest Blvd about half way between SE 15th and SE 29th called Beaver's. They had really good charbroiled hamburgers. The last time that I passed by that building, it was a hair style shop or something of that nature and still had green plastic awning.

Does anyone remember what was on the northeast corner of S.E. 15th and Air Depot before Taco Bueno?? I can remember them building it, but cannot for the life of me remember what was there before. Forget about trying to remember what was there when I was a kid - which is shameful, considering the many enjoyable Saturdays I spent at the Apollo.

I remember in the 1970s there was a Phillips 66 service station on that corner (not to be confused with the Phillips 66 that used to stand on the southwest corner). This was a typical "filling" station of that era with a couple of pumps and a two bay garage.

On the northwest corner was a Conoco and then further west on SE 15th between CVS and Jimmy's Egg was a Champlin gas station. Still further west, on the north side of SE 15th between Crosby Blvd. and Buena Vista Ave. immediately east of the Cigarettes . Beer . Ice . Pop store, was a Fina gas station. That location is now a vacant lot.

Thanks - maybe that's why I don't remember. Before I was driving, gas stations were less than a zit on the landscape - just didn't get my attention at all.

Wasn't the fast food restaraunt in the old Trade Mart parking lot Burger Chef? Also on 29th and Air Depot there was a payless show store.

I don't remember a Burger Chef, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I remember Sparky's - 19cent cheeseburgers and skinny fries in a cup.

I remember the Payless though. Bought many pairs of wedgies in that place.