Previous OKC Monorail Plans

[ljbab728]

Steve seems to be in a nostalgia mood recently.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/543...0PAST%20FUTURE

[Tritone]

Yesterday we drove around in the fairgrounds. The remaining section of the monorail is gone; Bing Maps still shows it in case anyone wants to know where it was (just west of the tower and between Made in Oklahoma and the old Opubco building). Anyone know where it went? [Yes, I'm too lazy to carefully re-read the article.]

[ljbab728]

Yesterday we drove around in the fairgrounds. The remaining section of the monorail is gone; Bing Maps still shows it in case anyone wants to know where it was (just west of the tower and between Made in Oklahoma and the old Opubco building). Anyone know where it went? [Yes, I'm too lazy to carefully re-read the article.]

[mkjeeves]

Yesterday we drove around in the fairgrounds. The remaining section of the monorail is gone; Bing Maps still shows it in case anyone wants to know where it was (just west of the tower and between Made in Oklahoma and the old Opubco building). Anyone know where it went? [Yes, I'm too lazy to carefully re-read the article.]

Steve seems to think that last section is still there. The only thing he mentions in the article about the fairgrounds is in this first paragraph:

Several years have passed since the monorail that once took visitors for a ride around State Fair Park was dismantled for good, with just a single track and car left up as a reminder of a system that was once promoted as the answer to the country’s transportation logjam.

[ljbab728]

Steve seems to think that last section is still there. The only thing he mentions in the article about the fairgrounds is in this first paragraph:

Steve is correct according to Google maps That is located on the NW side of the Arrows to Atoms tower.

[mkjeeves]

Steve is correct according to Google maps That is located on the NW side of the Arrows to Atoms tower.

Guess we'll have to go see for ourselves, since Tritone just posted:

Yesterday we drove around in the fairgrounds. The remaining section of the monorail is gone;

I know the section. Been there, have taken photos of it. Do also wonder what happened to it if they took it down like he says.

[Pete]

[shawnw]

Last time I was there that last section was up. Sucks if it was removed. I mean why? It was an interesting static display....

[Tritone]

It's gone! Seeing is believing. Now I know I'm an old-fashioned guy, not believing that new is always better. Misguided as I am I don't believe that we need to mimic the cutting edge modern look like every other city. The grandstand is gone. The monorail is gone. The B-52, B-47, C-47, Blue Goose, all gone. The lights from the New York Worlds Fair are gone. The ballpark is gone. All gone. Mark my words, the space tower, or needle, or whatever the official name is, will be gone. After all, ridership has dropped off the last few years. (Yes, I know it hasn't operated; I'm being obnoxious.) I'm just a hick, rube, unenlightened hayseed that misses what the fairgrounds used to be. Even the midway is changed. Where are the ride operators with the slicked back hair and the cigs rolled up in the t-shirt sleeve? There, I feel better now. Thanks for listening (reading?).

[Bullbear]

You use to be able to always count on it raining during the fair and the monorail breaking down and the riders having to be rescrued.

[shawnw]

They should have sent that last monorail segment to the railway museum also. I know not exactly a perfect fit, but better than throwing it out. Maybe we need... gasp... another museum... the OKC Transit Museum...

[Pete]

I haven't been to the fair in ages and I know next time I go I'll feel great remorse for all the things that have been removed.

And now with the construction of the new Expo Building, the midway will be in a new location as well.

About the only thing that remains is the arena (which holds a lot of nostalgia for me) and a few of the buildings, which probably aren't going anywhere.

[Bullbear]

it looks and feels nothing like it use to.. for me.. which means I am just getting old.
there use to be several iconic things about the fair and they just disappear one after another. I don't live far from the fairgrounds in crestwood and driving by on a regular day just doesn't look the way it did. but anywho

[Pete]

Urban Pioneer just took this... The last vestiges of the monorail are definitely a goner:

[Urban Pioneer]

One of my guys here at the studio was intrigued by the discussion and called the Oklahoma State Fair after our visit to the site today. The VP of Marketing and Promotions called him back and stated that the remaining monorail car was damaged during the May storm. They considered it a safety concern as several tree limbs apparently fell and compromised it. A demolition company was hired and the train, rail, and suspension columns were scrapped.

[Urban Pioneer]

Other notes- The other three trains were auctioned off to a dentist, a grandpa for his grand kids, and Grant Humphreys. I actually remember seeing a pic of one of the cars in the old downtown air park hanger.

[shawnw]

Interesting about Humphreys. Hope it's preserved for posterity.

[ctchandler]

You use to be able to always count on it raining during the fair and the monorail breaking down and the riders having to be rescrued.

Bullbear,
Not to be crude, but did you mean "Rescrewed", or "Rescued"?
C. T.
p.s. Sent with a smile!

[mugofbeer]

Very sad. I grew up near there and spent a lot of time even when the fair was not going on. No baseball anymore, no stock car noise on weekens summer nights, no monorails, no grandstand, no military planes, no planetarium, no Arrows to Atoms ride. Now its just a bunch of buildi gs and parking lots. It might as well be a warehouse district. It just doesn't seem to have a "fun" feel to it anymore.

[Tritone]

I'd forgotten about the planetarium. At fair time I could see the searchlights sweeping the night sky from my folks' house. We went see them and of course they were the old-school left overs from WW II. I remarked that I wish I had one of those. Pop answered that I couldn't afford to run one. All gone. All gone.

[Just the facts]

Take lots if photos of the gateway arch and arrows to atoms. They are one hailstone dent away from being "damaged in a storm".

[zookeeper]

Take lots if photos of the gateway arch and arrows to atoms. They are one hailstone dent away from being "damaged in a storm".

I was thinking the same thing. I don't remember seeing anything in the news about the dismantling or "storm damage." Not that it couldn't have happened, but how convenient for those who want all vestiges of the "old fair" erased from the landscape.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City's Fair Park Transformation

Goodbye to the fair park we once knew...

The OKC Fairgrounds is being transformed into a mass conglomerate configuration of exhibit halls, barns & equine facilities to accommodate livestock, equestrian and rodeo events.

Home to more equine events than any other city in the world, Oklahoma City is the venue of choice for more than a dozen top national and world championship horse shows, attracting riders from across the nation - and world - each year.

Equine organizations around the world are noticing the state-of-the-art, 21st century complex at State Fair Park. The complex will feature nine barns, VIP RV parking, exercise areas and a conference and meetings facility.

Greater Oklahoma City Chamber - Horse Show Capital

[Tritone]

Damaged in the storm...how convenient, indeed. That's what I thought when I read that the monorail was "damaged in the storm."

[OKCRT]

Damaged in the storm...how convenient, indeed. That's what I thought when I read that the monorail was "damaged in the storm."

What a shame. Just sad to see everything go in the name of progress.