Crystal City (park)

From Wikinfo

Crystal City is the name of a shopping center in West Tulsa, Oklahoma which occupies the land where a historical amusement park was located. Crystal City is on Southwest Boulevard in Red Fork. When Southwest Boulevard was a part of Route 66, Crystal City was a popular amusement park.

Early History

The area was first used by the Park Addition Company to operate a dance hall, concessions, boat rides, and other entertainments along this important road in Tulsa. Two business men purchased the park and leased the land from the Park Addition Company, changing the name to the Electric Amusement Park Company.

By 1921, the Electric Amusement Park Company consisted of a dance hall, a merry go round, several swings, boating and swimming, a fun house, and the only miniature train in Oklahoma, enclosed in an ornamental fence with arched entrances and a large advertising sign consisting of 17 50-foot panels.

The park ran successfully until late 1925 when it ran into financial difficulties and the owners signed over their shares to the First National Bank of Sapulpa. Between 1927 and 1928, the park closed for a while as ownership changed again and park operations could resume.

In the mid-1920s, William Falkenberg established Crystal City Amusement Park next to Electric Park. He added an ever-growing number of rides, including a large wooden roller coaster named The Zingo. The Park became known for its Casa Loma dance hall and eventually absorbed its competitor.

As Route 66 grew in importance, the park once again became successful. Route 66 was the forerunner to the modern interstate system and connected Chicago and Los Angeles. Vacationers driving on Route 66 brought customers from across the nation to West Tulsa�s amusement park.

Crystal City enjoyed this success until February 1956 when the old bath house burned and the owners announced they would destroy the remaining abandoned buildings. Two months later, the Casa Loma dance hall burned. Lakeview Amusement Park saved some of the Crystal City rides and opened near Mohawk Zoo. In 1958, a group of investors financed construction of Crystal City Shopping Center.

Crystal City Shopping Center

Before Town West Shopping Center was constructed in the 1980's, Crystal City was the shopping center for West Tulsa. The primary businesses were a Safeway, MED-X drug store, TG&Y, OTASCO, Froug's and C.R. Anthony's. Crystal City is now primarily dollar-stores and discount stores.