History

Mayo Meadow Neighborhood: A Brief History

This history of the neighborhood is a work in progress. The Mayo Meadow Neighborhood Association (MMNA) is always looking for more recollections about our corner of the world. If you have memories or photos of the neighborhood or the shopping center you would like to include in our history, contact a member of the MMNA Board of Directors.

The Mayo Meadow Neighborhood is located in mid-town Tulsa between Pittsburg and Yale Avenues, and 21st Street to the Broken Arrow Expressway.

The parcel of land on which the addition sits was initially given to the Muscogee Creek nation of the United States of America on August 11, 1852. This land allotment was given to the Muscogee people as part of the resettlement of the tribe in the government's role to remove the Indian people from their lands in the eastern part of the country.

On December 22, 1902, one hundred and twenty acres of Indian restricted land was allotted to Rueben Partridge, a Muscogee Creek Indian. Mr. Partridge requested that the restriction on the land be removed by the Department of the Interior, which was granted on July 18, 1907. On June 24, 1908 Mr. Partridge sold his first parcel of land from the original allotment of one-hundred twenty acres. In 1911 Panther Creek Oil Company purchased the oil and gas leases on the original tracts of land. In the I930's land near 21st and Yale was mined for coal.

In 1921, the tract of land on which the addition sits was purchased by the Mayo Brothers, Cass Alien and John D. and their wives, for $30,000. During the 1940s the land was leased as pasture. During the early 1950's the land along 21st Street was used as parking for the fairgrounds and used by golfers as a place to practice their swing. On September 30, 1952, three developers purchased the land with a mortgage provided by Mayo, Incorporated. The three developers were Waldo A. Voorhees, Walter R, Kelly and Otis E. Nidiffer and their wives.

Fairgrounds c. 1951. Notice the unfinished neighborhood on the right.
Photo courtesy: Tulsa Historical Society

In 1955, a 62,000 square foot shopping center was opened on the southwest corner of 21st and Yale, developed by Otis Nidiffer. It was designed by John Duncan Forsythe, who was also the architect for the Marland Mansion in Ponca City and the clubhouse at Southern Hills and a number of historic homes around the city. It was described by the Tulsa World in an article about the opening as "a contemporary design with a California look, similar to those in the Wilshire Boulevard area of Los Angeles."

Mayo Meadow Shopping Center

Mayo Meadow Shopping center was a vibrant place, with many retail stores. A Humpty-Dumpty Grocery store was the original anchor tenant. Gene's Mayo Meadow Barbershop was also an original tenant. A Cities Service Station was located on the corner in a perfectly manicured landscape. Many visitors came to the shopping center to visit the 75 foot Christmas tree that once illuminated the center with more than 3,000 white bulbs.

Mayo Meadow Shopping Center, aerial view

Mayo Meadow Shopping Center became an icon in the Tulsa area, and was always closely tied to the neighborhood. In the fall of 2005, the Mayo Meadow Shopping Center was demolished for construction of a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery. A group of neighbors from MMNA, wanting to preserve some neighborhood history, retrieved some the original pink flagstones from the old building. The stones were used to create two neighborhood entry gates.

Current Mayo Meadow Entry Gate

What is now the Mayo Meadow neighborhood sits south and west of the shopping center. Houses built in the neighborhood range anywhere from 1,200 to 1,800 square feet in size with three bedrooms and usually one bathroom, and good sized yards. This young neighborhood grew quickly into a family-oriented community. Several neighbors still live in the original homes they bought in the 1950's.

At the south end of the Mayo Meadow Neighborhood was farm land owned by Frank Glenn. The Katy Railroad cut off the extreme south of this section and today the same railroad runs parallel with the Broken Arrow Expressway. In 1953, some of the land was purchased to build the first permanent structure of Memorial Baptist Church, the only church in the boundaries of the neighborhood. In 1955, the Church purchased two and one half acres of land between Vandalia and Toledo Streets, facing 29th Street, for recreation and parking purposes.

While not located within the boundaries of the Mayo Meadow Neighborhood, the Tulsa State Fair has always been associated with the neighborhood. The Tulsa County Free Fair began in 1903 at the Western Association baseball park at Archer and Boston. In 1923, thanks to a land donation from M.E. Crosbie, the fair was moved to a portion of the present Expo Square between 15th and 21st Streets. Passage of a major bond issue of $500,000 provided for the construction of the Pavilion in 1931. The fair board acquired land adjacent to the gift acreage in later years, and the "state fair" was born.

Fairgrounds, circa 1926.
Photo courtesy: Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society

Funded by a 1966 $3.5 million bond issue, the 446,400 square foot Exposition Center was completed and became home to the International Petroleum Exposition (IPE) until 1980. The Golden Driller was added as a symbol of the IPE in 1966. Weighing 43,500 pounds and standing 76 feet tall, the Golden Driller looks over the neighborhood.

Long-time MMNA residents have shared these memories ...

"Pittsburg Ave stopped at 27th. Neighborhood children who went to Eisenhower had to go under the railroad tracks through a small path until Pittsburg was opened up on to 31st. The area between Pittsburg and 31st was the site for victory gardens during WWII. The neighborhood had not very many trees - mostly homes with kids." Anne Spitzmiller resident since 1959.

Cy Engle who moved to the area in September 1960, remembers these Mayo Meadow shops: Argie Lewis Flowers; Huey's Shoes; Turnage Optical; Ming Palace; Jack and Jill's Children's Shop; Froug's; Reliable Shoe Shop; Bud's Grocery; Anthony's and Mid America Bank.

"Mayo Meadow was a prestigious area with good schools" remembers Ray Corgill, who moved to the neighborhood in 1962.

Bev and John Edward moved to the neighborhood in 1969 and remember neighbors gathered in their yards to watch the fireworks at Bell's on the 4th of July. They remember lots of kids. "There were 12 kids under 18 in 4 homes around us."

"One of the most memorable events in the neighborhood was when Willie -Nelson came to the Fairgrounds! What a mess that was with all the traffic    — and drunks! That was what brought 'no parking' street signs for events." Richard and Daisy Wolfenbarger, residents since 1973.

Donald D. Mayse is a second generation Mayo Meadow resident. He moved into the neighborhood with mother and stepfather in 1973 and still leaves there. He remembers these stores at the shopping center: TG&Y; Cox's Dept. Store; Humpty Dumpty Food Store.