Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Urban exploration in Oklahoma
User avatar
White Rabbit
Illuminati Expert
Illuminati Expert
Posts: 5246
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:57 pm
Location: Missouri

Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by White Rabbit »

Got some more good Tulsa info. There's a really, really large drain at the corner of 61st Street and Toledo Avenue in Tulsa, just before Saint Francis Hospital. There's a vertical square chamber jutting out of the ground with a grate on top, looks to be about eight feet deep, leading right into a huge drain.
betrumka
0-99 Poster
0-99 Poster
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 5:38 pm
Location: Oklahoma, Tulsa

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by betrumka »

This is like a return to my childhood. We used to spend entire afternoons in those tunnels. The entire neighborhood between 51st and 61st/ Harvard and Yale has drainage tunnels running underneath.

Back in the 1970s the neighborhood (especially the central part of the neighborhood, like around Carnegie School) would flood twice a year or more.

They built the tunnels to try and drain the area in heavy rains but it didn't work too well. Sometime in the 1980s the city undertook a large project there and built a huge drainage basin and flow way behind the playground at Carnegie School.

The creek that flows through there is Joe Creek and Little Joe Creek. It goes through LaFortune Park and ends somehwhere in that area between the golf course and Memorial High School.

The tunnels, if still open, would be great exploring. I know they were years ago.

Just a bit of more history of the area: That neighborhood used to be a airport. The street that runs behind the shopping center on the northwest corner of 61st and Yale was the runway for the airport. Even today if you turn down that street you notice how unusually wide and long the street is.

Turn north off of 61st Street onto Urbana Ave. and you will have before you what is unmistakenly a runway.
User avatar
White Rabbit
Illuminati Expert
Illuminati Expert
Posts: 5246
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:57 pm
Location: Missouri

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by White Rabbit »

That's some awesome information! I knew Tulsa had a lot of drains, sounds like it's even more labyrinthian than I thought, though.

And yeah, I know what you mean about the flooding. When I was there for a couple days, it rained pretty good one night, and like the section of town I was in was flooded. I mean, FLOODED.

Just for kicks, I took the company van I was using at the time and went roaring through the streets, some places a foot or more of water. It was awesome :)

That's great that you've been in the Tulsa drains, though. Are there any more particularly good ones we should know about?
User avatar
White Rabbit
Illuminati Expert
Illuminati Expert
Posts: 5246
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:57 pm
Location: Missouri

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by White Rabbit »

P.S. What the FUCK is up with those penguins in Tulsa?
User avatar
atron
Jedi Infiltrator
Jedi Infiltrator
Posts: 166
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:16 pm
Location: Springfield, Pryor OK

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by atron »

HAHA its a art fundraiser, artists paint Penguins crazy and then auction them off to businesses and rich people, and then the money goes to the tulsa zoo which is used to build a new penguin exhibit. The the company or person displays the penguin where everyone can see it. They did it with COWS a year or so back. Heres a link, and also some cool information on the Tulsa Golden Driller. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/get ... onNo==2493
User avatar
White Rabbit
Illuminati Expert
Illuminati Expert
Posts: 5246
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:57 pm
Location: Missouri

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by White Rabbit »

Man, I knew it had to be something weird like that. I had to spend a full day driving all over Tulsa once, and I think I counted like around ten of those things ALL OVER town. It was starting to freak me out :P
User avatar
ann_marie
Explore Whore
Explore Whore
Posts: 296
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:13 pm
Location: Missouri

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by ann_marie »

Sounds like the cows in Chicago. Except they weren't sold, they just stayed where they were throughout the city.
Willard
Encyclopedia Willardica
Encyclopedia Willardica
Posts: 4913
Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 12:49 pm

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by Willard »

If I go driving around Tulsa, I would like to have my friend there with me because he knows the bad parts of town to stay away from...
"Oh my God! Wal-mart's going to march on Poland!" ~ Lewis Black

"You're not the "rockstar of the forum." Paul is." ~ CrazyDrummerDude
betrumka
0-99 Poster
0-99 Poster
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 5:38 pm
Location: Oklahoma, Tulsa

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by betrumka »

Believe me. The areas that might be bad are miles away from the area we are talking about. South Tulsa, where the tunnels are, is just about as nice as it gets.

North Tulsa is unfortunately where most of the crime in Tulsa takes place.

If you're coming from Springfield you would come into Tulsa on I-44. Take the Yale Ave. exit in Tulsa. Come south on Yale to 61st street. Turn right on 61st street and the nieghborhood on your right hand side is the neighborhood we are talking about.

Not exactly a high crime area...
cooldog1
0-99 Poster
0-99 Poster
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2005 11:53 pm

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by cooldog1 »

This is sort of off topic but in the 70's I used to baby sit a little girl that lived in the neighborhood behind St. Francis Hospital and if you went up the hill there were bike paths and a springfed pond and an old abandoned house foundation w/a free standing wind mill. Bluff area and heard there were caves up there but never explored any. You would walk over a rock bridge going up to the house foundation. All the neighborhood kids and parents knew of the place but I never knew what it was called. Tons of people would walk and ride up there. I think they are using some of it for the Senior Citizen housing named Montreau at Warren Woods. Too bad as it was a magical place right in the middle of a residental and business area but when you were there you felt like you were out in the middle of no where. Loved it! Is any of that still up there? I later went up there with my boyfriend and he proposed to me on that old rock bridge in the summer of 1975. I have been by it many times, I think it is off Yale Avenue and on 68th Street that goes by the William Bldg. You go to end of 68th street and it dead ends and goes left. At that dead end, we would park and walk in there. It had tons of walking and exploring you could do. Anyone know what it was called and what became of it? Kinda scared to walk in there now since it says posted keep out. Thanks for any info for sentimental reasons.
DTulsa
0-99 Poster
0-99 Poster
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 4:54 am

Re: RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by DTulsa »

Willard wrote:If I go driving around Tulsa, I would like to have my friend there with me because he knows the bad parts of town to stay away from...
the "bad" parts of tulsa are generally not that bad. i ride bikes and walk downtown at night and have never had a problem nor have i seen any. that's not to say nothing at all happens, but i've seen the same things that happen downtown happen in other "good" parts of tulsa.

i have seen one fight in downtown tulsa. it was behind a liquor store, probably between some homeless homies or something. but i've never ever been acosted or approached or anything.

it's just like anywhere else, use your head. don't go up to strangers and start talking crazy, and you should be fine.
User avatar
youthsonic
Urban Perversion
Urban Perversion
Posts: 336
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:18 am
Location: KCMO
Contact:

Re: RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by youthsonic »

ann_marie wrote:Sounds like the cows in Chicago. Except they weren't sold, they just stayed where they were throughout the city.
Kansas City has stuff like that... a few years ago it was cows. Last year I think it was teddy bears, and this year it's bunny rabbits... I do think KC sells them though. They also sell smaller versions of certain ones that will fit on your shelf , as well as books on the whole thing.
Last edited by youthsonic on Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
"fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity"
User avatar
ann_marie
Explore Whore
Explore Whore
Posts: 296
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:13 pm
Location: Missouri

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by ann_marie »

Where was I that I saw a decorated horse on the street???? Shit, I can't remember. Somewhere here in Missouri, but I can't remember where. :?
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Willard
Encyclopedia Willardica
Encyclopedia Willardica
Posts: 4913
Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 12:49 pm

RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by Willard »

I saw a toilet with flowers growing out of it sitting in someones front yard once. It was Missouri Hwy 7 going north from Cuba, Mo.
"Oh my God! Wal-mart's going to march on Poland!" ~ Lewis Black

"You're not the "rockstar of the forum." Paul is." ~ CrazyDrummerDude
User avatar
ann_marie
Explore Whore
Explore Whore
Posts: 296
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:13 pm
Location: Missouri

Re: RE: Drain near St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa

Post by ann_marie »

Willard wrote:I saw a toilet with flowers growing out of it sitting in someones front yard once. It was Missouri Hwy 7 going north from Cuba, Mo.
White Trash doesn't even describe that :shock: There needs to be a new word evented to describe the persons yard that was in.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Post Reply