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Reporting | Don Kramp

Managing Editor | Liz Frank

Tulsa, Okla. – Demolition began earlier this month to remove fixtures in Archer Park at East Archer Street and North Delaware Place, some of which have gone unused for more than 20 years, according to one local resident.

pool

scorched earth

Archer Park’s amenities once featured a pool that was used by area families for cooling off during hot Oklahoma summers until the pool and its associated shower facilities were closed during a string of city pool closures between 1997 and 2002. Other amenities that have been scrapped include basketball courts and their enclosure fencing.

Crews have worked diligently in the heat for more than a week, tearing down the structures and hauling them away for scrap, leaving nothing but bare earth behind.

Demolition Area

The project covers about 1 acre, which makes up nearly a fourth of Archer Park’s overall area. Curious residents have contacted the city about what they plan to do with the western quarter of the park. Strangely, calls to the City of Tulsa as well as the Tulsa Park and Recreation Department yielded no answers for the community. Emails to city officials have also gone unanswered at the time of this publication.

While Archer Park’s pool has been closed for some time, the park potentially offers another option for local area residents to get relief from summer heat: the splash pad. Though the park’s splash pad, a perennial favorite with the area’s children, isn’t included in the demolition plans, it is still currently closed because of the construction. The nearest operational splash pad, which was built in 2013, is in Kendall-Whittier park, but it is over a mile away.

Other pool location

Despite efforts in the early 2000s to shut down pools with low attendance or in disrepair, there are several remaining pools for city residents. Lacy Municipal Park has the closest pool to Archer Park, but is over three miles away, which is a challenging commute to some area residents without transportation, including children. Other than Lacy Park, there are only two other public pools north of Admiral Avenue: Berry Municipal and O’Brien Park.

The Black Wall Street Times is a news publication located in Tulsa, Okla. and Atlanta, Ga. At The BWSTimes, we focus on elevating the stories of our beloved Greenwood community, elevating the stories of...