View Full Version : Old Bars and Night Spots



Noah Vail
02-22-2011, 09:45 AM
No phoo phoo joints with fancy lights...places only real men and women went...they knew no one was taking prisoners so you entered at your own peril.

Remember the after-hours places that didn't even start until the regular bars closed at 2:00AM? The Canadian Club in the Wheatland area....I worked as a bouncer at the Some Place Else Club, downtown, until life guarding at Twilight Beach in Warr Acres and the horrible hours did me in on the bouncing gig.

Cedar Terrace...The Pines....ring a bell with any of you do gooders?

USG'60
02-22-2011, 11:30 AM
A cop wondered onto my place of business on a Saturday morning back in the early 70s "to see if I was still alive." He had been doing security at the Canadian Club and I had been drunk and alone and seemingly trying to "get into it" with a lot of people. At some point he had determined where I worked before I left and he could not imagine that I had gotten to my car without being attacked. I know how bad the place was but I had gotten drunk before going. I only had tiny little memories of the night before and was kind of greatful that he was concerned enough to check on me. I don't THINK I ever did it again. God, I was lucky.

Noah Vail
02-22-2011, 11:50 AM
A cop wondered onto my place of business on a Saturday morning back in the early 70s "to see if I was still alive." He had been doing security at the Canadian Club and I had been drunk and alone and seemingly trying to "get into it" with a lot of people. At some point he had determined where I worked before I left and he could not imagine that I had gotten to my car without being attacked. I know how bad the place was but I had gotten drunk before going. I only had tiny little memories of the night before and was kind of greatful that he was concerned enough to check on me. I don't THINK I ever did it again. God, I was lucky.

Cops used to be kinda nice guys...always corrupt but they would let you go most of the time.

A good friend's dad and brother built and operated the original Canadian Club...it was a fancy casino with a swimming pools and the whole nine yards.....turned into a dump later but it was it's own municipality....

Remember the old OKC PD scout cars? They would always confiscate or pour out your booze and let you go.

USG'60
02-22-2011, 01:33 PM
And some would consider your stash of pot as a payoff, too. Thank God.:bow:

USG'60
02-22-2011, 01:34 PM
Was the Pines south of Guthrie?

Noah Vail
02-22-2011, 01:41 PM
No the Pines was on NE 23rd...close to Nicoma Park

Cedar Terrace was by Edmond....I can't think of one by Guthrie.

USG'60
02-22-2011, 01:57 PM
I can't think of one by Guthrie.

It was a Podie Poe related site.

Noah Vail
02-22-2011, 02:11 PM
It was a Podie Poe related site.

I tried to steer clear of gambling joints....a fella can get shot in those place....old Podie Poe....is that crazy bastard still alive?

USG'60
02-22-2011, 02:15 PM
We had a long discussion of him when he died awhile back. See if you can search it on here and then add to it if you would like.

MikeOKC
02-22-2011, 02:52 PM
Remember the old OKC PD scout cars? They would always confiscate or pour out your booze and let you go.

You write that as if it's a good thing. Try losing a very close family member (as I have) to a drunk driver screaming through a stop sign. Should the cops have stopped him a mile back before this happened and just poured out his booze and let him go? You're a piece of work, Vail.

ljbab728
02-22-2011, 10:25 PM
A good friend's dad and brother built and operated the original Canadian Club...it was a fancy casino with a swimming pools and the whole nine yards.....turned into a dump later but it was it's own municipality....



As someone who lived in Mustang for many years, I definitely remember the Canadian Club at County Line Road and Highway 152. It would have a completely full parking lot after 2AM. You may not remember that after it closed it later became a fairly decent restaurant which I used to go to occasionally before it finally closed for good. It's where Fireworks City is located today.

Noah Vail
02-23-2011, 05:53 AM
You write that as if it's a good thing. Try losing a very close family member (as I have) to a drunk driver screaming through a stop sign. Should the cops have stopped him a mile back before this happened and just poured out his booze and let him go? You're a piece of work, Vail.

Oh my...a MAD momma....yes drunk driving is not a good thing and did I say anyone was drunk? The way it was is the way it was...I didn't make the rules dude.....You are the piece of work....your phony little antenna is tuned far to sensitive for REAL LIFE and the REAL WORLD.

Noah Vail
02-23-2011, 05:57 AM
As someone who lived in Mustang for many years, I definitely remember the Canadian Club at County Line Road and Highway 152. It would have a completely full parking lot after 2AM. You may not remember that after it closed it later became a fairly decent restaurant which I used to go to occasionally before it finally closed for good. It's where Fireworks City is located today.

Fireworks City...that sounds funny...If only the Handley's were around to see what happened to their creation of open gambling in the OKC area. As a kid, I remember seeing good looking hookers hanging out at the pool when I visited.

OKCRT
02-26-2011, 08:32 AM
When did the Canadian Club close down?

Noah Vail
02-26-2011, 01:03 PM
When did the Canadian Club close down?

The law closed down the original Canadian Club in the early 60's.....it was a private casino in the beginning, of course it's been under various operators since.

Steve
02-26-2011, 07:52 PM
FYI, Pody Poe died a couple of years ago. As you can imagine, with me being an OKC history buff, I was thrilled to meet him and talk extensively about his younger days. Jack and I did a feature on Pody a couple years ago at www.okchistory.com - http://www.okchistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=241:pody-poe-and-the-qcasinoq-in-nichols-hills&catid=41:people&Itemid=78

Noah Vail
02-27-2011, 06:29 AM
FYI, Pody Poe died a couple of years ago. As you can imagine, with me being an OKC history buff, I was thrilled to meet him and talk extensively about his younger days. Jack and I did a feature on Pody a couple years ago at www.okchistory.com - http://www.okchistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=241:pody-poe-and-the-qcasinoq-in-nichols-hills&catid=41:people&Itemid=78

Very interesting...I remember Pody as a compulsive gambler who couldn't stop gambling if he wanted to.

Anyone that thinks the life of a big time bookie-gambler is glamorous is mistaken. I had a good friend that was one of Pody's competitors and ran a overly successful bookie operation out of his home in OKC. He was married to all the TV feeds and Vegas hook ups and eventually died of cirrhoses on the liver owing the IRS a million or so....

And Micky Mantle, a childhood hero of mine that I once leased a car to....a common drunk that associated with many dubious characters.

Noah Vail
02-27-2011, 12:07 PM
While my memory has a few drug induced flaws, my memory of going to Pody's home was first of all, it wasn't a Nichols Hills home like we usually think of such...Seems like it was on a cul de sac with limited parking, so I'd hate to be a neighbor....the inside was a add-on affair with a large gaming type room as an addition........anyway, he was one of a kind especially in his field.

Noah Vail
02-27-2011, 12:15 PM
Anyone remember the time when Oklahoma was a dry state? Howard Edmondson was elected governor and was determined to make Oklahoma a semi-honest state....there was already plenty of alcohol, it was just illegal due to Okie prohibition.

His pit bull raider was Joe Cannon and some other dude....I've been in joints when the state boys would raid them...they would lock the doors and start checking ID's and looking for alcohol...I was 17-18 at the time but looked older so I never got arrested but many people did....hell they even raided places like the Petroleum Club and I think the OKC Golf & Country Club.....they put enough heat on that when the question came up for vote only the churches opposed it.....and that wasn't enough.

PennyQuilts
02-27-2011, 07:48 PM
As someone who lived in Mustang for many years, I definitely remember the Canadian Club at County Line Road and Highway 152. It would have a completely full parking lot after 2AM. You may not remember that after it closed it later became a fairly decent restaurant which I used to go to occasionally before it finally closed for good. It's where Fireworks City is located today.

Yeah, Husband is a Mustang boy and talks about the place - before and after it took the dive. I am not sure how much he knows by experience and how much by reputation.

SoonerQueen
02-27-2011, 09:56 PM
I remember the Apartment Key Club at 10th and N Villa. Used to have a lot of fun there back in the day.

ljbab728
02-27-2011, 10:32 PM
Another place I mentioned in another thread that no one else seemed to remember was a place on the north side of SW 29th street west of May. It was called something like Louie's 29 Club. It also had a back room where various illegal things happened but was a basically a beer joint and restaurant in the front area with pool tables and shuffleboard tables.

ctchandler
02-28-2011, 08:29 AM
Another place I mentioned in another thread that no one else seemed to remember was a place on the north side of SW 29th street west of May. It was called something like Louie's 29 Club. It also had a back room where various illegal things happened but was a basically a beer joint and restaurant in the front area with pool tables and shuffleboard tables.

How about LOUIE'S 29 CLUB/PHONE 6-0001/2929 S.W. 29TH ST.? I do remember it and there a couple of short notes about them if you do a google search. That's where I found the address and phone number.
C. T.

OKCRT
02-28-2011, 11:01 AM
Wasn't that Louie's a biker hangout?

jstaylor62
02-28-2011, 11:09 AM
How about LOUIE'S 29 CLUB/PHONE 6-0001/2929 S.W. 29TH ST.? I do remember it and there a couple of short notes about them if you do a google search. That's where I found the address and phone number.
C. T.

Thats a new Louie's on the southside of 29th across from the Pawn Shop. The old Louies was on the NW corner of 29th and May. It got torn down to make room for the MacDonalds expansion and KFC.

jstaylor62
02-28-2011, 11:14 AM
You write that as if it's a good thing. Try losing a very close family member (as I have) to a drunk driver screaming through a stop sign. Should the cops have stopped him a mile back before this happened and just poured out his booze and let him go? You're a piece of work, Vail.

The point is, that is when the police actually knew who you were. More than likely they lived in the neighborhood themselves and knew the families of the people they stopped. They were able to get better results by handling things with the family instead of the courts.

soonergeezer
08-10-2014, 06:55 PM
I don't know if this qualifies as a night spot, but there was a bar at 50th and Macarthur, southwest corner where Blockbuster was for a while(I think it's gone now too). A guy named Ed Strawn owned the place. He pictured himself as an attempt at being a mobster, he wasn't. I hung out there for a while and got crossways of a few of the regulars and ended up in the alley with my brother and one of his friends fighting about 5 of the regulars. Fortunately 3 of the regulars were loaded and not doing a lot to help win the fight. I had figured we were going to be outnumbered so I slipped a pool ball into my pocket. I cracked a couple of the drunks on the head and the fight was pretty much over, my brother was a Viet Nam era green beret and was pretty capable in a fight. For some reason I can't remember the name of the bar, maybe Eds', not sure. But that was my last trip there. There was also a place on N May on the curve just north of Wilshire, west side of the road, at one time it was called the Speakeasy. I hung out there a while about the only thing memorable was a guy named Crazy Horse hung out there and he was always getting into it with someone. I think at one time this place was called the Crazy Horse, not positive, but maybe. m There was also 2 other small bars in that area called the Wilshire Club, and the Bandolero. I never became a regular, but did go there occasionally. Anyone else hang out at any of these places?

ljbab728
08-10-2014, 09:19 PM
Uh, no. It sounds like you have led a much more adventurous life than I ever wanted to. :wink:

bluedogok
08-10-2014, 09:40 PM
In the mid-90's The Wilshire Club was a popular dive bar spot for my age (30 at the time) crowd. It was an "interesting" place.

ksearls
08-10-2014, 10:16 PM
I don't know if this qualifies as a night spot, but there was a bar at 50th and Macarthur, southwest corner where Blockbuster was for a while(I think it's gone now too). A guy named Ed Strawn owned the place. He pictured himself as an attempt at being a mobster, he wasn't. I hung out there for a while and got crossways of a few of the regulars and ended up in the alley with my brother and one of his friends fighting about 5 of the regulars. Fortunately 3 of the regulars were loaded and not doing a lot to help win the fight. I had figured we were going to be outnumbered so I slipped a pool ball into my pocket. I cracked a couple of the drunks on the head and the fight was pretty much over, my brother was a Viet Nam era green beret and was pretty capable in a fight. For some reason I can't remember the name of the bar, maybe Eds', not sure. But that was my last trip there.

Mr. Ed's Flame Club.

Urbanized
08-11-2014, 06:52 AM
The Wilshire Club is still kicking. At least it was last time I checked.

soonergeezer
08-12-2014, 03:02 AM
Glad your memory is better than mine.

soonergeezer
08-12-2014, 03:05 AM
The Wilshire Club is still kicking. At least it was last time I checked.

That surprising, it has been around at least since the mid 60s.

bluedogok
08-12-2014, 09:01 PM
I would imagine that Dorothy is no longer around there.

soonergeezer
08-12-2014, 10:24 PM
In the mid-90's The Wilshire Club was a popular dive bar spot for my age (30 at the time) crowd. It was an "interesting" place.

Just remembered, there was a bar maid at the Wilshire club, her name was Dorothy, really really liked young guys. It seems like she may have quit the Wilshire club and moved to the Bandolero.

soonergeezer
08-12-2014, 10:27 PM
I would imagine that Dorothy is no longer around there.

She would be about 900 by now.

Lynne
02-06-2015, 11:29 AM
What an awesome topic. I remember the old Canadian Club so well. My other foray here was getting opinions and info on the 1980 Guest House murders and your kindness and info was overwhelming. The book is coming along nicely and I am now in touch with Raymond's son who is just a doll. Ray and I were together for six years if memory serves but I wasn't present nor did I have any info about his murder as we parted ways in 76, four years before his death.
Now knowing who Ray was and his business you can probably surmise my means of income and it sure wasn't drugs.
Anyway at the end of an evening it was great to know there was a place with music and dancing and smoky back rooms where the creatures of the night could meet without fear of raids or arrest .Maybe not so much when you left the bar unless you knew when the police changed shifts and everybody was gone for the early morning. 'Getting between the ditches ' was a safe passage back to The City. Things were very different then and police operated as they pleased. If you knew who was who you could survive to fight another day. And we always did. Call it one of the tools of our trade. lol.
So much more to tell.But this will have to do for now. See you soon.
Lynne

Oh, one more thing. In the 60's there was a gay bar/club west of Edmond. It was another all- nighter. Does anyone remember that? I think it was called the Continental Club.
Lynne

Lynne
02-06-2015, 11:54 AM
Where was the Wilshire and when did it operate? Sound familiar but my memories go back to the late 60;s and 70's.

RadicalModerate
02-06-2015, 02:33 PM
The Wilshire Club is still there. It's just west of May on Wilshire. North side of the street. Not sure that they even have a sign.

bluedogok
02-06-2015, 08:06 PM
The Wilshire Club is still there. It's just west of May on Wilshire. North side of the street. Not sure that they even have a sign.
If I remember correctly there is an alley like drive next to the old liquor store that goes back to the parking lot and entry.

Lynne
02-07-2015, 10:51 PM
Uh, no. It sounds like you have led a much more adventurous life than I ever wanted to. :wink:



WAIT'LL YA GET A LOAD OF ME. . .SAYS THE GIRL IN HER BEST jOKER/BATMAN VOICE.lolol

RadicalModerate
02-08-2015, 09:34 PM
For Lynne (off the record . . . yet for the book, without any "cackling" so 2 speek--that's Batman Code fer whatever without all caps) . . . Have you investigated the "after-hours triumvirate" consisting, in part, of The Nook, The Crutch and Maurice's Club (way off in "The County" . . . on North Sooner . . . =)? Are you familiar with "Luster's Motel?"? How about the "Jesus is Lord Salvage Yard?" (over on 10th street . . . not far from the EPA mandated cleanup site). Ironically, the spot to which I refer is near some railroad tracks . . . where the whistles blow whether you want them to or not.

That stuff lend texture to the story.
Like frozen hashbrowns in Organic Mushroom Soup.
Sorry . . . not really good at the difference between grammar forms.
Can't tell an analogy from a simile. Dang.

Is it possible that Lynne worked the Wilshire Club back in The Day????