Howdy all. I've been busily researching, to no avail, the Delmar Gardens park attractions. Does anyone have a direction I should take? http://www.dougloudenback.com/downtown/vintage/delmarwheeler2.htm has loads of information about the park and general vibe, but I'm curious about actual rides and their respective names.

I think that Doug has about as much information as you will find. I checked the archives from the Oklahoman at the time it opened and found nothing about what you want. Also the name was actually Delmar Garden instead of Delmar Gardens.

Did they have a space tower, a monorail, giant slide, or static display of airplanes? Sorry, I am way out of line. DG is another one of those facets of OKC history that fascinates me as well. As ljbab has written, you probably have the bulk of the reference material covered. I just checked another book that I have (Johnson's Historic Photographs of Oklahoma City), looking at the photos of DG to see if I can detect any glimpse of the rides. No such luck. Keep looking; for what it's worth, I will also.

the library's digital collections have sanborn insurance maps... here's some info from 1904 & 1906 (click the detail image for full size):

http://www.magnvs.de/pics/DelmarGardenLocation1904.jpg

http://www.magnvs.de/pics/DelmarGardenLocation1906.jpg

http://www.magnvs.de/pics/DelmarGarden.jpg (http://www.magnvs.de/pics/DelmarGarden.jpg)

hope that helps! -M

I found it interesting that one article in the Oklahoma described a ride with "gravity coasting". It doesn't give a name for the ride. Most of the information seems to focus more on things like vaudeville shows and theatrical productions.

I found it interesting that one article in the Oklahoma described a ride with "gravity coasting". It doesn't give a name for the ride. Most of the information seems to focus more on things like vaudeville shows and theatrical productions.

basically an unpowered roller coaster... well... powered by the force of gravity anyway. you can see it in several of the pictures in doug's blog. i'm pretty sure it's the ride labeled "scenic r'y" in the bottom center of the graphic. -M

basically an unpowered roller coaster... well... powered by the force of gravity anyway. you can see it in several of the pictures in doug's blog. i'm pretty sure it's the ride labeled "scenic r'y" in the bottom center of the graphic. -M

Yes, I saw that in his graphics. I suspect that was the basis for most coasters of that era. It was probably somewhat similar to this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TceKQS1iCE

Nice work, gentlemen!