My last article, "15 Things You Know If You Are A Norman Kid," listed all the things every kid who grew up in Norman, OK, was familiar with. With several thousand shares, interest in the article exceeded my expectations; no way in heck did I think it would take off as well as it did! And I got a whole lot more than shares; I received a lot of information about Norman in regards to what it used to be in the past. Within a day, the comments about old locations of city landmarks, stores, and businesses rushed in almost at once.
What I found to be so amazing was all of the walks of life the people who had either lived in Norman in the past or currently still reside in the city. From Military Officers and Engineers to teachers, and businessmen. The years they gave in their comments varied as well; some said they had lived in town during the 80s, some even all the way back to the 1930s. Each person had something different to tell me about the town and what it used to be. When I started to read through all of the comments I told some of them to my dad, who has lived in Norman since 1969. Like those who wrote the comments, he could relate to the comments of the current and past Normanites. From both the comments I received through the article, as well as what my dad told me through our conversations, I learned quite a bit more about our town, or in this case, what our town used to be.
Here are some really awesome things I learned about Norman in the past:
1. The Sooner Theater used to be a very popular movie theater.
A lot of people mentioned that they saw a lot of really famous movies inside the Sooner Theatre when it functioned just as a movie theater, rather than a live- theater building. I did an article about the Sooner Theatre a few months ago, so I was familiar with how it was a movie theater but didn't understand just how popular it was. Turns out it was a pretty hoppin' place back in the day, especially during the 1950s.
2. The Hollywood Movie Theater was actually on McGee Street, Not right off the highway.
Nowadays, the Hollywood Movie Theater sits right next to the highway and has been since 1996, but it used to be closer to where Classic Fifties is now, across the street from the Hollywood Shopping Center. After some rooting around online, I came across a picture of it! Pretty sure this building has been home to a lot of other things since it was a theater.
3. A lot of stores used to be in The Hollywood Shopping Center.
My dad, as well as a lot of people who lived in Norman in the olden days, talked about how Hollywood Shopping Center was a really busy place to be, including TG&Y. There was a TG&Y store in that Shopping Center. There was also one on Main Street, as well as Anthony's, which was a clothing store, many people also mentioned Power's, which was another store prior to the 1970s. I did some research and found a picture of the TG&Y store in Hollywood center, and a picture of what Anthony's looked like, or at least the store in Southwest OKC.
4. Norman had a Drive-In! Actually Two!
Are you jealous? I think a lot of us wish that Norman still had a drive-in theater. Apparently, it had two! My dad, as well as those who commented explained that one of the drive-ins was called "El Rancho Drive-In" and it was out on highway nine, which hardly existed! After digging around online I found out that it opened in Norman prior to 1955, but was demolished after it was closed. Sad day!
5. There was a popular place to study at 3 a.m. that was not IHOP, it was called Girlie Pancake House.
Girlie Pancake House was on Lindsey Street and it was a big place for late night studying, just like IHOP is now for a lot of us at OU! After some research, I found that Girlie Pancake House and all of its locations went bankrupt in 1987, but it was very popular and did very well prior to the closing of the locations. I could not find a picture of the restaurant itself, but I found a picture of an advertisement! Girlie Pancake House was on Lindsey Street and it was a big place for late night studying, just like IHOP is now for a lot of us at OU! After some research, I found that Girlie Pancake House and all of its locations went bankrupt in 1987, but it was very popular and did very well prior to the closing of the locations. I could not find a picture of the restaurant itself, but I found a picture of an advertisement!
6. The land where the YMCA is used to be called "North Base" and it was a really popular place in the summers.
Lots of people mentioned that other than the pool inside the YMCA, there was an outdoor pool on the same land where the YMCA is located. We all know it is a small airport, but it used to be a big naval base. A lot of people mentioned that it was a very hot place to hang out in the summers. I could not find any pictures of the pool, but here is a picture of the old airplane hanger on the property!
7. That Boomer Sign on campus was actually the sign for The Boomer Movie Theater, and there was a movie theater in Stubbeman Village.
If you look at Norman as a whole, a lot of what Norman had was movie theaters. The sign on Campus Corner was a sign for The Boomer Movie Theater, and the building where we know Papa John's is across from the dorms had a movie theater inside, along with a really cheap place to eat called Pinocchio's where, from what my parents have told me, you could get the world's best Chef Salads and Breadsticks; (at some point I ate them when I was a kid, but I sadly cannot remember). I found a picture of the Boomer Theater,
8. Lastly, I forgot a major Norman Land Mark that we all know about.
Yes, if you have lived in Norman you know it! It is the grandest, biggest, pile of dirt ever. It is Mount Williams! Mount Williams was demolished in 2006, but it really was something special to Normanites. My dad told me how it was used during WWII! I found the picture up above after looking around online; for everyone who lives in Norman now, is it crazy to think about how much stuff is over here now? This is where Super Target, Metro Shoe, and that whole street of restaurants are!
I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson of Norman and what our town used to look like. We really do live in one of the best towns ever!
