tulsa – Page 6 – Maduko World Headquarters

Bad River Development Idea No. 24

Everyone agrees that Riverside Drive is one of Tulsa’s most unique and beautifual assets.

Why then are so many people dead set on screwing it up? Over the years I have heard some of the silliest ideas pitched as “river development” along the Arkansas. Skyscrapers on a sand bar, a miniature Branson next to a refinery, sailboats beside the Pedestrian Bridge, a shopping center with no shopping… oh, wait, that one actually happened.

Proposed Tulsa Harbour — photo courtesy Hammerhead Bicycles

Then today I came across a new kooky idea: build an amusement park on Turkey Mountain! Yeah, the lovely urban wilderness where people love to run and ride bicycles would become (drum roll, please): Tulsa Harbour.

It must be classy because they put a U in harbor. And this isn’t just some Photoshop ha-ha. Here’s a rather disturbing post I found on the Turkey Mountain events calendar– Avid Hiker writes:

Just a note to all of you that enjoy Turkey Mtn – this small bit of “urban wilderness” that we are so blessed with in Tulsa: I ran into a group of developers in the parking lot today. They are wanting to develop the lower SE corner of Turkey Mtn. from 71st to the south end of the trails into an amusement park similar to Frontier City with hotels. It would take up 140 acres. It would be called Tulsa Harbour. You can verify this with Jeannie Cue, District 2 City Councilor, and Nick Lombardi, Stan Frisbie Real Estate.

This isn’t just a bad idea. It’s a terrible idea. I’m all for development and better utilizing our riverfront’s natural resources- but screwing it up to do so seems a little short-sighted.

Holiday Hills Landing

Any Tulsan worth their Quittin’ Time knows Urbana at 61st used to be a runway.

Tulsa Commercial Airport — Courtesy Abandoned & Little Known Airfields

The air field was called Tulsa Commercial. But did you know that runway is not the only remnant of this airport?

East 58th Place is built on top of the crosswind runway. The original concrete is still intact and markings are visible in certain places. Presumably the developers of the Holiday Hills subdivision didn’t feel the need to break up all that nice concrete.

Another nifty fact: what used to be the office/restaurant is a private home today. It has a huge kitchen and two bathrooms side by side!

More info and historic photos are available here…

Tulsa Commercial Airport from Abandoned & Little Known Air Fields

Save Sixty Years

As you enter Oklahoma on I-44 in the northeastern corner of our state you pass a sign. It’s an official highways sign, but it’s really an advertisement. It’s an advertisement for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority touting the benefits of traveling the Will Rogers Turnpike. It shows an I-44 marker and says something like “save two hours, follow this sign.”

Many years ago I imagined a similar sign that should be posted along that same stretch of highway. I sketched it on a long-forgotten paper device known as a “sketchbook.” I recently created the digital version you see here.

I was prompted to share this after reading a Tulsa World article about a new task force dedicated to helping Tulsa promote its Route 66 history. I wrote a short article about the topic for our Two Wheel Oklahoma blog:

Task Force Promotes Route 66 in Tulsa

Oklahoma has more miles of Route 66 than any other state and Tulsa has lagged in her efforts to market this rich history. I hope this endeavor gains traction.

Highlights from Tulsa’s Holiday Parade

No matter what you call it, everybody loves a parade.

Here are some highlights from the 2011 Parade of Lights that traveled through downtown Tulsa this evening. The zany snowman sponsored by Fab Lab Tulsa stole the show with its snappy soundtrack and authentically smoking corn cob pipe.

And a couple more photos….

I snapped these with my Pole Saw Picture Taker using a Sony A33 with an infrared remote. Worked great until the camera battery died. D’oh!

Oklahoma’s Largest Earthquake

We’re watching Saturday Night Live and it sounds like a helicopter is flying over. But the “helicopter” keeps getting louder and louder. Then we notice the TV is shaking around and the sofa is vibrating.

Turns out a 5.6 magnitude quake was happening about 60 miles away. Pretty scary.

That might not sound scary to a West Coaster, but after 30 seconds or so we were getting a little tense. I’m not planning on chasing down any more earthquakes.