Sunday, April 18, 2010

Owen Park: Tulsa's Oldest

Owen Park

Sometimes it feels like my son and I go to the same parks day after day, week in and week out. We tend to wimp out and frequent the ones nearest our house, even though there are literally hundreds of parks in the area to explore.

So, late last week, we hit Sonic for milkshakes and then hit the trail for Owen Park, Tulsa's first and oldest.

Owen Park

Owen Park is situated right in the shadow of downtown Tulsa, just north of I-244, just east of the Owen Park neighborhood, at 560 N. Maybelle. The Owen Park neighborhood, by the way, is where any Tulsa young professional who is any Tulsa young professional is trying to buy a house right now. It's where the cool kids want to be.

Owen Park is also home to Tulsa's oldest house still in existence. See?

Owen Park

Cool, right?

Back in its day, which was in the teens and twenties, Owen Park was to the middle and upper class what Woodward Park has been for those same socioeconomic slices of society since suburban living caught on in the midwest. It was where the moneyed went to promenade, and it was the place to see and be seen enjoying the outdoors - which to rich people meant, fountains and cultivated gardens.

While Woodward Park has definitely cornered the market on the cultivated garden front, Owen Park still has the fountain. Plus, there's more to do for kids at Owen Park than there is at Woodward.

Owen Park

All you'll find for the kiddos at Woodward is a swing set or two and lots of azalea plants to bludgeon with sticks (not that I know any children who would do this). At Owen, there's a big toy, a huge duck pond and a grotto that's perfect for climbing. I hear that soon there will be a splash pad at Owen Park, too.

Owen Park

That's great news for us. We love a good splash pad.

Owen Park

We love a good bridge, too.

Owen Park

Of course, duck ponds are fascinating, too.

Owen Park

Not for me, though. Personally, I'm afraid of ducks and geese. They're waddling, slightly evolved, blood-thirsty velociraptors, as far as I'm concerned. A goose tried to bite my finger off once. After that, it hissed at me.

It was an evil goose.

Owen Park

Look at them. Plotting. Planning. Conniving.

Owen Park

Look at its beady eyes. It's beady, evil eyes.

My son, on the other hand, feels goodwill toward waterfowl.

Owen Park

That is, if trying to feed them sticks could be considered evidence of feelings of goodwill.

Owen Park

Here's how my son is rewarded by these degenerate beings for his peaceable attitude:

Owen Park

I'm sorry you all had to see that...that depraved scene of...depravity. But you must know the truth. Plus, if I had to pretend to ignore it for 20 minutes while my son pointed and laughed and screamed with wonder and joy as the white duck took liberties with the black duck five freaking times, then the least you all could do is share my pain.

And then I come home and tell my husband what we had seen, only to enter into an education on how male ducks often take female ducks against their wills, and that "the dude ducks rape other dude ducks' wife ducks, like, all the time. It's just something they do."

And now you know why I love my husband. Because he says things like "wife ducks" when he has to explain something biological or scientific to his wife, the one who boasts an antique typewriter collection and can poach and egg real pretty-like.

Thank goodness for all of that, because I don't think I could have handled the jargon behind what we saw that the duck pond that day.

Owen Park

Yes, baby. We can still play by the water, but do come away from those nasty, naughty dude ducks.

Nasty.

Owen Park

Owen Park

Owen Park

Look! A romantic grotto-ish.

Owen Park

Owen Park

Oh, son. We've really got to get you into some longer pants. If you'd gain some weight around your middle, we could do that, no problem.

This kid, he takes after his dad in this way. I've certainly never had a problem filling out a pair of jeans, not even in my Osh Kosh days.

Le sigh.

Owen Park

Owen Park

Wanna see what my son looks like when he serenades his mommy, whom he loves so very, very much that he can't help but express it with an original song?

Owen Park

Owen Park

Just kidding. He's not singing to me. He's trying to put a dead, crusty leaf in my hair.

Owen Park

Look what else we found at Owen Park.

Owen Park

Another one of my favorite Tulsa school buildings, right up there with Will Rogers High School, an art deco relic, and East Central High, a Route 66 gem. It's Roosevelt Elementary School.

Owen Park

Roosevelt is what I imagine when I picture what an urban school should look like. Not that I would know anything about what an urban school should look like - I graduated with about 80 other kids from a small country school (at least, it was when I went there) out in west Tulsa. But I always wanted to go to a school that had more than one floor. I had dreams about flirting with boys passing in the stairwell and staring out of a second-story window at the playground below during math class.

Maybe in the next life.

Owen Park

Owen Park

If you've been following the local news you might have heard that the City of Tulsa closed several of its community centers. Owen Park Recreation Center was one of those.

Owen Park

What really sucks about that is that Owen Park's community center reopened just 18 months before it was shut down again. It's calendar was chock full of family-friendly activities, ranging from pumpkin decorating parties during Halloween to run-around-like-crazy activities for the family dog during the summer.

Owen Park

I've heard whispers that there's an effort to convince the city that, for the health of the surrounding community, especially for the kids who live there whose families face economic difficulty, Owen Park's community center needs to reopen.

I'm really crossing my fingers on this one.

Owen Park

I'm convinced that the continued development of downtown depends on convincing families, especially those that live in Tulsa's moneyed far south and far north areas, that there are caboodles of ways for kids and their caregivers to have a great time there. You can build only so many bars and restaurants and clubs that cater to young professionals. Something I hear all the time is that the reason Tulsa is so great is because it's a fantastic place to raise a family. But, from what I can tell, when people say this, they're not really talking about Tulsa proper. What they mean is Broken Arrow, Bixby and Owasso - you know, those suburban towns with growth rates that have trumped Tulsa's since we were all wearing Hammer pants.

Owen Park

But, don't wait for someone to build it before you come. Veer off your beaten path every once in awhile and try something new. For Tulsa families, Owen Park would be an easy place to start. If Owen Park had a vibrant, busy community center with a calendar full of family-friendly activities, it'd not only attract families from other parts of the city who might eat or see a show while they're downtown, but it'd also contribute to the community just beyond the IDL a boatload of safe things for the kids that live there to do after school and on the weekends.

Because the best way to improve what Tulsa has to offer tomorrow is to use the heck out of what what's available to do here today.

13 comments:

Brian said...

Awesome X 10! Can't wait to go! :) :) :)

RebekahC said...

Never heard of this park before. I'll have to check it out.

Colleen said...

I live in Owen Park, it rules!

Anonymous said...

Great piece and I really enjoyed it! Lived and grew up in Owen Park. A shame about the community center. Fond memories....hate those ducks too!

Trisha said...

Love it! Even those dirty, naughty ducks can't take away from the beauty of this area.

Anonymous said...

Our family loves this park and even the crazy ducks down there. It was a sad day when the city closed the community center. My oldest daughter was going to every activity that owen had to offer and she went to summer camp last year. The staff is so great with the kids and owen gives kids so much to do after school, on weekends and during the summer. I hope the city leaders read this great story you wrote about owen and read all of the comments and re open the community center.

KariAnn Sexton said...

My husband and I have lived in Owen Park for almost five years. I agree with Colleen, "it rules."

Chelsea said...

This last weekend I took my parents to Owen Park to show them houses I liked in the neighborhood. I'm pretty sure other members of my family would die if we moved there but I just love the history and the park!

Brigid said...

When I was in high school at Central not quite a decade ago, Owen Park was where kids (some of whom were in gangs) went to fight. I'm assuming that's not true any more, or it wouldn't be gentrifying so rapidly. It is a lovely park, indeed.

Beverly Avey said...

Love Owen Park for family fun & photos...........fir fun with the kiddo, you should try Heritage Park in Sapulpa, it is a mini replica of Rt 66, buildings, oil derrick, stores etc & totally fenced off with only 1 entrance/exit & picnic tables too!

Doug said...

OK, I am a photographer and hate shooting at Woodward. EVERYONE shoots there and it has become cliche'. And I like Tulsa history. So guess where I am going today to take a look? :) Thanks for blogging about this.

Anonymous said...

Owen Park was Tulsa's first municipal park and it also has a rich history which is documented at the following link ...
http://www.cityoftulsa.org/culture--recreation/tulsa-parks/tulsa-parks-history.aspx

Owen Park is truly an asset for the City of Tulsa
which should be preserved.

Anonymous said...

As a new Owen Park transplant I have to say that my young family LOVES it there and were so sad when the community center closed. I have boys in K and 1st grade and the only downfall of the neighborhood is the quality of the schools in the area; I agree with what you are saying about Tulsa needing to concentrate on the things that families find important (schools, parks, activities) if they want to draw people downtown. We're looking forward to the new splash pad and the centennial celebration on May 15th. Great article!

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