Mid-Century OKC and Thereabouts, Part 1

Awhile back, Squadder Mike Brown found some vintage negatives at an estate sale, and he very kindly loaned them to me for scanning.  Although they aren’t all architecture related, I thought you might enjoy a slice of Oklahoma life from the 50’s and early 60’s.  Thanks, Mike, for sharing your great find!

Downtown OKC around 1964:

Almost everything in the bottom portion of the photo is gone now, except for the diagonally shaped building near the railroad underpass and the gas station (bottom left in photo), which now looks like this (minus Christmas decorations for most of the year):

Located at 300 Park Avenue, the elegant Oklahoma City Federal Savings and Loan building was also home to B.C. Clark Jewelers for many years.

Alas, all of the buildings in these photos, including this relatively young example of post-war design, were demolished as part of Urban Renewal, and the Downtown Library now occupies the site.

Here are a couple of goodies from the newly-built Lake Hefner Golf Club, where you could play a round of golf on the Perry Maxwell-designed course for a whopping $1 when these shots were taken in the mid-50s’:

I love this one of a gaggle of girls, with handy head scarves in place, cruising around in Mom’s convertible with what looks like Harding High School in the background.

One of them probably lives in this charming cottage with her two blissfully wedded parents, her bratty younger brother, and her perfectly coiffed collie named Spot:

And, here’s a mid-century boater wearing his best nautical attire (and looking more than a little like the Skipper on “Gilligan’s Island”) getting ready for a day on the lake:

In this photo, our mystery photographer captured a packed Frankoma Pottery showroom building during its 60’s heyday.

And, finally, here’s a mystery building I’m hoping someone in the Mod Squad will be able to identify:

I’m thinking it might be the Lake Murray Lodge or the Sportsman’s Club, but I’m not sure.  What are your thoughts?

 

Next week, Mike’s negatives will take us to the still-much-missed YMCA building downtown, St. Luke’s as it looked near completion, and Norman High School in full 50’s color.  Stay tuned.