Southside OKC Memories....anyone?

[Prunepicker]

... but since i was born in '77, most of my fond memories are from the early to mid
80's... but here goes...

I would never believe that someone born in '77 would have any memories...

[Generals64]

the place doesn't look like much, but bella vista serves up some pretty good homestyle italian. i usually get their chicken parmesan. i need to try their pizza sometime.



sure am... but since i was born in '77, most of my fond memories are from the early to mid 80's... but here goes.

of course the tg&y on 74th & penn is up there. before the current days of the big box retailer, that place was huge without comparison. two things stick out the most for me. one, the ramps between the various sections of the store... loved to run up and down those. two, for whatever reason i remember the model car section... seems to me that it was against the back wall somewhere... to a little kid it seemed like it went from floor to ceiling.

in that same strip, there was crystal's. went to & had several birthday parties there... don't seem to remember the infamous moose head everyone is talking about though!

there's a private school over on 64th & shields... used to be a church. was the first place i ever went.

i remember when nino's used to be something special and would actually be packed. that's where we usually ate tex-mex. they had this podium that they used for years that had this carved mexican dude with a sombrero. the coolest thing, though, was that next to the cash register was this mint dispenser that had a 'slot machine' arm.

as good as nino's was, cocina de mino over on 29th & stiles(?) was the place to go... i think that was the first tex-mex restaurant i went to that served queso and flour tortillas... at the time that felt like first class.

another big change is all the neighborhood movie theatres we used to have... southpark on 44th & may. almonte on 59th & may. reding on 36th & western. park twin on 59th and western. the movie theatre in the south shields mall before it turned into a dollar movies... there used to be so many places to go.

speaking of having more choices... how about all the grocery stores we used to have? ted's. rudy's. buchanan's. several iga's. walnut creek shopping center had a grocery. 74th & shields had a grocery. wasn't there a grocery where tg&y was in southern hills? 74th & walker had a grocery... it was a couple things prior, but i remember that one first as mccartney's... instead of lugging your groceries out to your car yourself, you'd take a numbered card, drive up to a special covered lane out front and your groceries would slide out on this conveyer belt where an employee would take your number and put your groceries in the trunk... nothing like that these days...

speaking of service... i remember the gulf station on 74th and western... there's a pawn shop there now... that gas station used to be full service. this old guy would pump the gas for you. he tended this rose bush on the property and would cut off a rose for each of his lady customers, my mom included... again nothing like that these days...

that's probably enough nostalgia out of me! -M

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Whoa Buddy:......you are officially inducted to the Southside Memory Gang. Next meeting is at Coit's...Soonergirl26 posted the date.....It doesn't matter how young you are ( check out Prunepicker) you are a southsider. Had forgotten all about McCartney's and their fancy Grocery delivery system.
There used to be a Station on 74th and Walker....Guy was shot there....more later on.

[Generals64]

I would never believe that someone born in '77 would have any memories...

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Right:....however, that's like you and I remembering yesterday....When was that???
Hey, how are you and the Pneumonia kid doing? I'm sure the Prunette is ready for you to go somewhere.....

[Prunepicker]

Right... however, that's like you and I remembering yesterday... When was that?

Hey, how are you and the Pneumonia kid doing? I'm sure the Prunette is ready for
you to go somewhere...

Yesterday was a couple of daze ago... but mmm was born in '77. He hasn't been
alive long enough to have a memory... or to lose it...

I'm doing much better, however, Prunette and I had to go back to the doctor and
get more antibiotics.

Prunette is always ready for me to go somewhere... but not with soonergirl26...
and I'm not so sure about you...

[Prunepicker]

Whoa Buddy... you are officially inducted to the Southside Memory Gang. Next
meeting is at Coit's... Soonergirl26 posted the date... It doesn't matter how young
you are (check out Prunepicker) you are a southsider.

... but he was born in '77... I have callouses older than that... there goes the
neighborhood...

[Rickster]

Hey Generals64, I've been in Hattiesburg. Stopped there driving back from Georgia back in '98. Had a steak at one of the nationalized steak restaurants, can't remember which one though.

Where is this Italian place you mentioned earlier?

[grantgeneral78]

Man 77 was a good year! it was the year I got my first new truck and I was pimping that dood up and down 59th getting tickets and......oh never mind I might reveal 2 much.
LOL

[MonkeyBiz6903]

Think that was Pete Johnston, Gulf station at 74 and western. He was a nice fella.

[Martin]

yeah, yeah... pick on the younger guy... now you boys better not forget to take your geritol. :P

remembered a couple more 80's places... olive garden on 74th used to be a place called joe kelly's... had a water wheel out front, hooked to the building. also, where outback steakhouse is used to be a place called timeout for burgers... great place to hang out.

-M

[Generals64]

Hey Generals64, I've been in Hattiesburg. Stopped there driving back from Georgia back in '98. Had a steak at one of the nationalized steak restaurants, can't remember which one though.

Where is this Italian place you mentioned earlier?

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North on SW 59/Western on the West side...Next to Capitol Hill Florist...Bella Vista

[grantgeneral78]

yeah, yeah... pick on the younger guy... now you boys better not forget to take your geritol. :P

remembered a couple more 80's places... olive garden on 74th used to be a place called joe kelly's... had a water wheel out front, hooked to the building. also, where outback steakhouse is used to be a place called timeout for burgers... great place to hang out.

-M

You forgot about the most important one MMM it was HARRIGANS. man they had the best fried zuchinni and bread....I was shocked they closed

[Prunepicker]

You forgot about the most important one MMM it was HARRIGANS. man they had
the best fried zuchinni and bread... I was shocked they closed

Harrigans was excellent! Those cheese biscuits were incredible. In fact,
everything on the menu was very good.

There must have been some managerial problems. It wasn't the food. Even the
service was good and I don't remember anybody asking, "hi guys, how does
everything taste." Which I think is a stupid thing to say. They just served and
waited on us. That's the way it should be.

[Martin]

you forgot about the most important one mmm it was harrigans. man they had the best fried zuchinni and bread....i was shocked they closed

i could never forget harrigan's! guess i was just keeping things on the west end of the shopping center. i think harrigan's is one of my favorite restaurants of all time. great food. great atmosphere. the cheese bread was good... but the standout for me was their new orleans potato casserole. fortunately, i think i've got that recipe nailed down. it was kinda sad when they finally demolished the building a few months ago.

evidently, in the early 80's that general vicinity also housed this club called vixens... as a little kid, i thought it had something to do with reindeer (i mean, c'mon... little kid logic... santa's sleigh... vixen... reindeer?) and couldn't possibly understand why my parents were happy it closed down.

-M

[Prunepicker]

evidently, in the early 80's that general vicinity also housed this club called
vixens...

If the memory banks are working properly the place where vixen's was was
originally Howard Johnson's. It was also something with a circus name.

[Generals64]

Wasn't there an A&W at 89th & Western (near the Hobby Lobby store). It's now a Swadley's BBQ?

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Yes...Where have you been?.....you haven't been on her in a while...

[grantgeneral78]

If the memory banks are working properly the place where vixen's was was
originally Howard Johnson's. It was also something with a circus name.

Was it not circus time or circus circus?

[Martin]

that was before me, but i'm pretty sure that the place was called circus time...

wasn't the hojo where hooters (and before that, shoney's) is now?

-M

[grantgeneral78]

that was before me, but i'm pretty sure that the place was called circus time...

wasn't the hojo where hooters (and before that, shoney's) is now?

-M

I dont recall right off hand, there was a old fashioned pie place there somewhere but I don`t recall the name of it right now though any help guys?

[Martin]

^
hmmm... well... pioneer pies fits that description... but it's still there!

-M

[Prunepicker]

that was before me, but i'm pretty sure that the place was called circus time...
wasn't the hojo where hooters (and before that, shoney's) is now?-M

HoJo's was the first building west of the corner gas station. It opened in the
mid 60's.

[gen70]

HoJo's was the first building west of the corner gas station. It opened in the
mid 60's.

I was a customer at the first three establishments at that location.

[Martin]

hojo's was the first building west of the corner gas station. it opened in the mid 60's.

wow... can hardly imagine what the 240 corridor looked like in the mid 60's... did that hojo go in right around the same time 240 was put in? i can't imagine 240 to be any older than the mid 60's and i can't imagine hojo's predating the expressway. did the building get torn down or is hooters occupying the original hojo's building? i remember shoney's big boy occupying that space previously... any other businesses occupy it between hojo's & shoney's?

just to the west of that is old chicago. before that, it was pearl's for over a decade. the structure was built, if memory serves, for a fast food mexican concept (kinda like taco cabana) called two pesos. it didn't last too long and sat vacant for a couple of years before the group that owned pearl's renovated the building.

-M

[Generals64]

wow... can hardly imagine what the 240 corridor looked like in the mid 60's... did that hojo go in right around the same time 240 was put in? i can't imagine 240 to be any older than the mid 60's and i can't imagine hojo's predating the expressway. did the building get torn down or is hooters occupying the original hojo's building? i remember shoney's big boy occupying that space previously... any other businesses occupy it between hojo's & shoney's?

just to the west of that is old chicago. before that, it was pearl's for over a decade. the structure was built, if memory serves, for a fast food mexican concept (kinda like taco cabana) called two pesos. it didn't last too long and sat vacant for a couple of years before the group that owned pearl's renovated the building.

-M

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Anyone here remember Shaw Drug in the Mayridge Shopping Center and if so, what was the name of the original Grocery store next to it....Now, what was on the far north end next to Shaw Drug?

[Rickster]

And no one has mentioned the Jimmy Dean's that use to be in that area.

That what we call 240 came in sometime in the early to mid '60s. Wasn't called 240 then. Can't remember exactly what it was called, maybe something to do with H.E. Bailey. And if I remember correctly, back then, going from east to west, it curved to the south running into to H.E. Bailey. It didn't go north (I believe).

[Prunepicker]

wow... can hardly imagine what the 240 corridor looked like in the mid 60's...
did that hojo go in right around the same time 240 was put in? i can't imagine
240 to be any older than the mid 60's and i can't imagine hojo's predating the
expressway. did the building get torn down or is hooters occupying the original
hojo's building? i remember shoney's big boy occupying that space previously...
any other businesses occupy it between hojo's & shoney's?

just to the west of that is old chicago. before that, it was pearl's for over a
decade. the structure was built, if memory serves, for a fast food mexican
concept (kinda like taco cabana) called two pesos. it didn't last too long and sat
vacant for a couple of years before the group that owned pearl's renovated the
building.

-M

I drive by it every Sunday but don't pay much attention. I will this Sunday.

I-240 was built @1964, the same time as the Crosstown. Except for the
housing additions there wasn't much out there until the second half of the 60's.
HoJo's was @ 1966.

We moved to 63rd & S. May the summer of 1959.