My Old Stomping Grounds

[mr.jaynes]

Coming back to the area (and it's wonderful to be back), I've noticed my old stomping grounds (namely the East side) just ain't the same.

While my alma mater East Central is more or less the way I'd left it, the shopping center at 21st and 129th and 21st and Garnett seems to have either evolved or is evolving or has totally transformed itself altogether, one or the other. For instance, a church is now using the former Plaza 3 theatre, and the shops in that particular center there are different than they used to be. Eastland Mall seems not to be a mall anymore; I have not gone in yet, but I do remember when it was bustling with activity and it was hard to find a good parking spot. It's as if that part of town has become economically depressed more over the years. What can be done to bring it back to its former prosperity?

[TheArtist]

Ummm no, I wouldn't try to go into the Eastgate Metroplex expecting to buy something. You may have security escort you out.



As for what to do to help that area, and yes it is economically depressed. I think what they are doing is the perfect thing. Turn the abandoned malls and shopping strips into nice offices where people go to work. You may then find that some retail and restaurants actually begin to return. Plus having good companies in the area will keep that area looking nicer and help turn the image around.

[mr.jaynes]

Perhaps it's nostalgia for my teen years (and I don't think anybody really forgets them), but I would like to see that entire area revitalized in many ways.

[mspivey]

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Boy, I can see it several different ways. It's hard to be sympathetic to the big media companies, but..........

If a carpenter builds an apartment building, he gets paid for his labor. He doesn't get part of the rent from now on. Why is a TV show different? Just because the actors have gotten a chunk of the action, is everyone entitled?

I don't know what these guys are making, so it's hard to judge.

In the end, this is America. The Media companies have the right to pay a certain price for the work. If the writers don't think it is enough, they can join together and strike.

I'd say turn off the TVs. Good riddance.

[waterboy]

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Whoops, wrong thread Spivey. But anyway...Do you feel the same way about life insurance commissions? Agent receives part of every payment you make. The creatives are not paid much up front because every work is a gamble, so they take a smaller upfront with the promise of a percentage if it succeeds. Pretty common actually among that industry and others as well. The entertainment corporations are trying to get new revenues without cutting in their partners, yet they don't want to pay anymore upfront either. So who are the greedy ones?

[TheArtist]

WOW, talk about hijacking a thread lol.

Consider it un-hijacked.

- Moderator

[Kashmir]

I grew up over there too...my husband did as well and it makes us sad.  I still go over there quite a bit, as I can't stay away from Coney Island. When I lived in east BA, I used to still patronize Eastland Mall and Target.

When I visited my Grandfather last week (who lives in Wagon Wheel) I was struck by how cute and well-kept many of the older homes in there still were..almost "Brooksideish" style.  Front porches, big trees.  
What made the difference?  Why does one area thrive and one area wither? If there had been streetside shops in front of that neighborhood like Brookside (Between Admiral and 11th on Garnett?) would it have flourished?  Was there ever development like that in the 50-60's in that area?  
My dad grew up in that neighborhood and said it was lots of families starting out and working in the aviation industry and it was a convenient place to live. He delivered papers over there as a kid and walked all over the place!  Anyone else who grew up there?

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by Kashmir

I grew up over there too...my husband did as well and it makes us sad.  I still go over there quite a bit, as I can't stay away from Coney Island. When I lived in east BA, I used to still patronize Eastland Mall and Target.

When I visited my Grandfather last week (who lives in Wagon Wheel) I was struck by how cute and well-kept many of the older homes in there still were..almost "Brooksideish" style.  Front porches, big trees.  
What made the difference?  Why does one area thrive and one area wither? If there had been streetside shops in front of that neighborhood like Brookside (Between Admiral and 11th on Garnett?) would it have flourished?  Was there ever development like that in the 50-60's in that area?  
My dad grew up in that neighborhood and said it was lots of families starting out and working in the aviation industry and it was a convenient place to live. He delivered papers over there as a kid and walked all over the place!  Anyone else who grew up there?

Because I went to East Central, that was more or less my playground, and so I feel that all these years later, it is still a beloved concern.

[USRufnex]

Yeah, spent my childhood in that area and moved back last year... I think the area already is revitalized, in a way I never would have guessed after growing up there...

I'll post more details when I have the time...

[Kashmir]

Mr Jaynes, did you ever go to Summer "Movie Camp" at Eastland Theater...for like $2.50 you got popcorn, drink, candy and a movie.  My mom would drop off my brother and a bunch of neighbor kids and I would have to watch them....LAME![!]

There are still some great places to eat over there, and I also remember going to that El Chico for birthdays.  I actually went to Union but lived on the east boundary, where Union, BA and Tulsa meet within 1 square mile.

Someone should run a restaurant guide supplement dealing with the east side "authentic" Mexican restaurants with coupons and such so some $$$$$ traffic can go though the area!  ( and specify just how "authentic" please...I stick to beef, pork n' poultry LOL)[]

[RecycleMichael]

That is still a great El Chico.

Ask bartender Theresa to make you a margarita...they are the best.

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by Kashmir

Mr Jaynes, did you ever go to Summer "Movie Camp" at Eastland Theater...for like $2.50 you got popcorn, drink, candy and a movie.  My mom would drop off my brother and a bunch of neighbor kids and I would have to watch them....LAME![!]

[]

I had been to their theatre, but not for the movie camp.

Basically, we'd go over to Eastland after school and hang out in the food court or in the arcade downstairs or hook up with other classmates there, back in my high school years.

[Steve]

My old 1960's childhood stomping grounds was the area around 21st Street & Sheridan Road.  Gulf Mart, IGA Grocery, Happy House candy shop, Shopper's Fair, Boot's Drive-In, Shotgun Sam's Pizza, DX/Consumers/Mobil gas stations, Griff's Burger Bar, an original Taco Bell, Nathan Hale HS, etc.  All has changed now, for better or for worse.

My parents built a brand new house in the Leisure Lanes subdivision at 69th E Ave. and 20th Street in early 1960.  My neice and her family today live directly across the street from the house my parents built where I grew up 1960-1973.  The neighborhood today looks remarkably the same as when I lived there 45+ years ago.  Some things change, some don't, but it is comforting to me to visit my neice and see the old "hood" looking much the same as it did in 1965.

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by Steve

My old 1960's childhood stomping grounds was the area around 21st Street & Sheridan Road.  Gulf Mart, IGA Grocery, Happy House candy shop, Shopper's Fair, Boot's Drive-In, Shotgun Sam's Pizza, DX/Consumers/Mobil gas stations, Griff's Burger Bar, an original Taco Bell, Nathan Hale HS, etc.  All has changed now, for better or for worse.

My parents built a brand new house in the Leisure Lanes subdivision at 69th E Ave. and 20th Street in early 1960.  My neice and her family today live directly across the street from the house my parents built where I grew up 1960-1973.  The neighborhood today looks remarkably the same as when I lived there 45+ years ago.  Some things change, some don't, but it is comforting to me to visit my neice and see the old "hood" looking much the same as it did in 1965.

Are you by chance referring to the neighborhood at 21st and Sheridan/Yale? You are right, things have changed. Drove out that way (I drive for a limo-car service since coming back) and I saw that the shopping center at 21st and Yale has apparently given way to a Wal-Mart grocery store, Casa Bonita is gone, and the fairgrounds has undergone a slight configuration.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by mr.jaynes

quote:Originally posted by Steve

My old 1960's childhood stomping grounds was the area around 21st Street & Sheridan Road.  Gulf Mart, IGA Grocery, Happy House candy shop, Shopper's Fair, Boot's Drive-In, Shotgun Sam's Pizza, DX/Consumers/Mobil gas stations, Griff's Burger Bar, an original Taco Bell, Nathan Hale HS, etc.  All has changed now, for better or for worse.

My parents built a brand new house in the Leisure Lanes subdivision at 69th E Ave. and 20th Street in early 1960.  My neice and her family today live directly across the street from the house my parents built where I grew up 1960-1973.  The neighborhood today looks remarkably the same as when I lived there 45+ years ago.  Some things change, some don't, but it is comforting to me to visit my neice and see the old "hood" looking much the same as it did in 1965.

Are you by chance referring to the neighborhood at 21st and Sheridan/Yale? You are right, things have changed. Drove out that way (I drive for a limo-car service since coming back) and I saw that the shopping center at 21st and Yale has apparently given way to a Wal-Mart grocery store, Casa Bonita is gone, and the fairgrounds has undergone a slight configuration.

The commercial properties in the area have definately gone downhill over the past 20 years or so, but the residential neighborhoods still look remarkably well, thanks to the property owners.  My old childhood neighborhood was Leisure Lanes, from 69th to 74th E Ave., 15th St. to 21st St., directly north of Nathan Hale High.  The homes were mostly built 1960-1963 by Tulsa builders Jim Nuckolls and Ramon King.  Very well built homes for the era and they have stood the test of time. I had the opportunity to buy my old home about 3 years ago, the one my parents contracted and the house I grew up in, but declined.  I wish now that I had bought it.

Jim Nuckolls company, "Royal Homes" built my family's house in 1960 in Leisure Lanes.  Nuckolls was a major builder in the Longview Acres, Leisure Lanes, Sungate, multiple Park Plaza subdivisions in Tulsa.  He was a major homebuilder in 1960's Tulsa.  He built a quality house.