Vintage Aerial Photos of Norman

[Boomer3791]

Is there a thread somewhere that contains old aerial photos of Norman? Specifically west of I35? If not, does anyone know where I might find images like that?

[venture]

Not sure how old you need. Google Earth goes back to 1995.

[Boomer3791]

I'm looking for photos that are 30-40 years old.

[Martin]

here's one from january '62. the cloverleaf is i-35 & main. -M

[Boomer3791]

mmm, that didn't come through.

[Pete]

mmm, that didn't come through.

I can see it.

[Boomer3791]

Must be getting blocked by my firewall. I'll look again when I get home. Thanks.

[Martin]

odd... here's a direct link, just in case: http://www.magnvs.de/pics/i35_and_main.png

-M

[LocoAko]

here's one from january '62. the cloverleaf is i-35 & main. -M

The amount of development in the last 50 years is amazing.

[ljbab728]

If you look really close you can see me on a tractor. Part of our family farm was on both sides if I35 just south of Robinson. I was 14 then and spent many hours in those fields.

[Martin]

If you look really close you can see me on a tractor. Part of our family farm was on both sides if I35 just south of Robinson. I was 14 then and spent many hours in those fields.

so... what's up with that white building just west of i-35? is that an old farmhouse? looks huge compared to other houses from the aerial. -M

[ljbab728]

so... what's up with that white building just west of i-35? is that an old farmhouse? looks huge compared to other houses from the aerial. -M

If you're talking about the building which is about half way between Robinson and Main that was a nursing home.

[Martin]

If you're talking about the building which is about half way between Robinson and Main that was a nursing home.

ok, that makes sense. thanks!

it's not quite in the picture, but i've always found warren cemetery to be a really interesting anomaly since it's now totally surrounded by brookhaven and accessible via non-descript alley. is there any interesting scoop behind the history of that place and how it came to be surrounded like that? i promise that'll be my last crazy random question... i have to admit i kind of geek out about maps and geography. -M

[ljbab728]

Sorry, I never hung out around cemeteries in the early sixties. I can't give you any info about that.

[Jim Kyle]

it's not quite in the picture, but i've always found warren cemetery to be a really interesting anomaly since it's now totally surrounded by brookhaven and accessible via non-descript alley. is there any interesting scoop behind the history of that place and how it came to be surrounded like that? i promise that'll be my last crazy random question... i have to admit i kind of geek out about maps and geography. -M

It was way out of town in the late 40s/early 50s when I was a student at OU. I commuted for one year, and used SH 74 which at the time ran out Robinson to Western and then straight up Western to OKC. There was a small sign near the top of that long hill on Robinson, pointing to the north, that said "Warren Cemetery" and I occasionally drove up there just to see what it was. At that time there was no fence, and cows meandered around the graves. I took a few photos (now lost, unfortunately) of some of the tombstones. One, in particular, struck me -- all it said was "Baby."

Several years ago I was back in the area and tried to locate the place, with no success at all!

[ljbab728]

It is located basically right in the center of the square mile surrounded by Robinson, Rock Creek Road, 24th, and 48th.

[Romulack]

Here's an image from Bing.com showing the cemetery in the middle of the Brookhaven addition.

[Tritone]

You got me interested. I, too, had seen it on maps for years, so when I was in Norman this morning I took a detour. Warren cemetery is indeed a quiet little spot in the middle of a nice addition. It's rather well kept. Some stones are over 100 years old, others within five. Some names were familiar (street names and businesses in Norman) and others not all.

Seveal years ago when I was on a three-month assignment outside of D.C. I saw a similar little cemetery in the middle of a Maryland neighborhood. I had to check it out. After all towns, buildings, cemeteries in that part of the country are a good deal older than here in Oklahoma. This was also a quiet litte spot in the midde of a neighborhood just south of Andrews AFB.

Finally, speaking of Air Force bases, you've probably heard of Kuhlman Cemetery in Tinker AFB. It's near Kuhlman Creek. And, there are Kuhlman's a few miles south in Norman. This was not a base cemetery, as I've heard some contend, but just a little family cemetery. When Tinker was set up the area was included. So, it's now on base, within the fence. Army posts ("forts," if you will) are for the most part old. Many AFBs were set up during or around WWII years and by and large just aren't as old.

Probably said more than enough. I just find cemeteries to be interesting repositories of local history.