Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Admiral Twin Rises from the Ashes

I took a ride this afternoon to check on progress in the rebuilding of the Admiral Twin Drive-In on the Admiral alignment of Route 66 here in Tulsa.  You may remember from earlier posts that it burned to the ground in September of 2010.  I don't exactly know why I feel so emotionally attached to this place, since I've never seen a movie there, but I am.  I love drive-ins, and they were a definite part of my growing up. Also, this one was the inspiration for one of my favorite books, The Flamingo Rising.

Donations were solicited last summer to rebuild, and about $30,000 were raised.  However, various building code restrictions etc. caused the start of construction to be pushed back to this December.   Now, I could see a concrete shell rising and lots of workers and construction vehicles on the scene.  In this age of drive-in theaters disappearing left and right, it's so good to see one that is about to come back to life.  Hooray, Tulsa!
 I passed this school this afternoon and had a moment of uncertainty about the quality of language arts being taught there.   LOL!  (Actually, it's a wonderful school, so this time I'm willing to give them a breack... er, break.)
 While we're on the subject of schools, here's a "Report Book" from the Afton (Indian Territory) Public Schools for 1903-1904.  There were three teachers and one principal covering all grades.  I found this among my Afton memorabilia when I was sorting old postcards earlier today.  It will go into the showcase when I go to Afton on Saturday.

3 comments:

Ken Riches said...

That is amazing that one is being rebuilt. Yay!

Mick said...

The Admiral Twin is special to me as well for 2 reasons! #1 Because as you mentioned it was the inspiration for Larry Bakers "The Flamingo Rising" (Which I just finished reading for the millionth time over Christmas Break.) #2 it is because of the book and 2001 Hallmark Movie about the fictional "Worlds Largest Drive-In" that I based my "Worlds Smallest Drive-In Movie Theater" off of at the Casablanca! It truly sparked my passion for Drive- IN Theaters. (My first home created drive-In being a 32" TV that my friends and I hauled up into a tree, to the Actual Flamingo Drive-In that we have created on the grounds of the Casablanca!) Glad to see The Admiral is going to have a chance at a new begining!

Laurel said...

Mick, I just checked out your blog for the first time. Wow, you're MY kind of blogger! I'll be following it from now on. Love the whimsey of your collections!

Laurel