Saturday, June 25, 2005


Northland Shopping Center
36th St. North & Hartford



Built in the late-50s / early-60s by I.A. "Jake" Jacobson, the developer of Ranch Acres and other retail centers in Tulsa, Northland Shopping Center was the first full-line open air shopping center in North Tulsa. It had a full complement of stores, including Dillard's and JC Penney's until right around 1980.

A Tulsan who shopped there during his childhood years says "There was a Firestone car repair on the corner out front. A Western Auto behind the Froug's, a Borden's cafeteria, a Texaco across the street, a Brown Dunkin on the other side of Hartford, TG&Y on the west end and a grocery store on the east end. The Froug's caved in one day after a heavy downpour, and later closed. The place was as classy as Southland up until the late 60s, and looked similar in design.....Many other stores that I just can't remember (I was just a kid)."

Another person remembers "Downtown Tulsa was the ideal Christmas shopping spot until the late sixties but do you remember Northland? It was the one of the first, one of the three largest shopping centers in the U.S. (world?). They always had big promotions and it was such an awesome place to shop at Christmas. The end for Northland came with the opening of Southland and South Roads."

As more and more North Tulsans headed south for their shopping, so did the fortunes of Northland. After becoming severly blighted, it closed around 1990. Sometime in the mid-90's, it was revived as a home for a community outreach center, then in April 2003 the following announcement was made by the Tulsa Metro Chamber:

Northland Renovation Planned
Neighbor for Neighbor announced plans for a $3.2 million project to renovate the former Northland Shopping Center for its new offices, retail and a school. The plan calls for extensive renovation of the outside structure and remodeling of space to accommodate the new tenants. Ground was broken on April 29th (2003) and the facility will be renamed Northland.

I took these pics (well, except the satellite shot) on May 5th, 2003, a few days after ground-breaking and have not revisited this site since they started renovation. I will do my best to follow up soon, and see what progress they have made.

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Comments:
There was a Crown drug store at Northland, a peacocks jewelers, BillsT records, W.T. Grant, Woolworth, several shoe stores, a beauty shop Humpty Dumpty grocery store. Just to the East on 36th street was the Northland Bowling Alley.
# posted by Anonymous Linda : 7/29/2005 4:41 PM
 
I stand corrected on the TG&Y on the west end, I have been told it was the Woolworths. Also, the roof caving in on Frougs was from the snowstorm of 68. Seems like their was a bank on the north side with a drive thru. Northland Bowl was owned by the same family that owned Rose Bowl, and presently operates the new alley in Owasso. Rumour has it that when the Frougs wing of Northland was taken down, it was scooped over the basement, and is some sort of time capsule, sealed only with the present day parking lot.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 7/29/2005 8:23 PM
 
My first job was at Frougs in Northland. About that time, the late '60s and early '70s, the Frougs decided to make the Northland store one where "seconds" and returns were sent to be sold. A bargain basement was even stocked. Things started going down hill then.

I worked in hosiery, cosmetics, jewelry and the girls department. My mother was the head of the boys deparment and Boy Scouts.

The roof did not cave in during a snow storm in '68. I don't remember the exact year, but it was at least 1970. There was a heavy rainstorm one night, and the flat topped roof couldn't drain fast enough. Fortunately, it was after hours and no one was there when the roof broke. We spent weeks sorting through clothing and things that could be saved. The Froug's location was then moved to several vacant stores in the main section.

I have fond memories of that first job, the people, the manager, and the other stores. I spent a lot of my $1.65/hour paycheck at Bill's T Records and Peacock's Jewelers. It was a fun place to work with great people to work with.

I would be interested in talking to others who worked there from 1968 to 1972. scarlett_rnw@yahoo.com
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 8/10/2005 5:13 PM
 
My mom used to get her hair done every Saturday at a beauty shop on the back side of the shopping center. I remember her giving me change and walking down to the TG&Y store to buy a comic book or toy. When she was getting a "perm" I would go down to Frougs and just look around. It was a nice shopping center and nice part of town. Mostly young families who were just starting out and buying a home for the first time. Those were the good old days :)
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 8/20/2005 1:22 PM
 
I looked up the newspaper archives and found that Froug's collapsed September 6, 1971, at about 2:45 a.m. after two days of heavy rain (over 7 inches). The flat roof (40,000 square feet) either couldn't drain fast enough or the drains were clogged, causing the roof to collapse and blow out the side walls. At first it was reported that there was a gas explosion, but that was later disproved. All of the merchandise was salvaged and sent bought by a salvager who sold it in another state.
Froug's paid salaries to its 100 employees for the three months that they were closed, but they also put them to work in other stores around town. Think any company would do that now?
RAE
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 8/31/2005 4:57 PM
 
Rumour has it that the Northland Western Auto was originally located a mile north in a building just west of Suburban Acres shopping center. When Otasco opened up on the east end of Suburban Acres, they relocated to just west of Frougs at Northland. Also Brown Dunkin was a later addition to the east of Northland, but only after a couple of years (late 60s) they had problems with looters. The mass exodus of middle class families from north Tulsa sealed the fate for Northland, Suburban Acres, & McLain Villiage Shopping centers
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11/08/2005 7:06 PM
 
John Dunkin told me they were shop lifted out of business. John did not want to be in the dept. store business. They took Dillard's offer. On March 29, 1969 Tulsa received 16 inches or heavy wet snow. Electricity was knocked out in places all overtown. Brookside was down a week m/l. My house at 35th & StLouis was down 4/5 days. Thank God for Coleman fishing lanterns and floor furnaces. jjp
# posted by Anonymous Jerry Porterfield : 1/21/2006 7:28 AM
 
I don't remember the name of it, but there was a really great toy and gift store at Northland that I used to drive from Brookside to shop at. Anyone remember?
# posted by Anonymous Gayle : 9/01/2006 4:15 PM
 
That toy store might have been on the back side of Northland near the hill. Once I remember a small "carnival" almost underneath that marquee that still stands to this day. Pony rides, petting zoo, clowns, ect. What a nice place back then. Fond memories of the Tastee Freeze at 46th and Cincinatti too. That entire area was as safe as Mayberry back then.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 10/22/2006 3:39 PM
 
I remember the roof caving in at
frougs was not from a snow storm in 1968. on the night in question there was a heavy rain storm. the roof on the building was too flat for the amount of rain that fell that night the night was between may and september and somewear between 1970 and 1972
the exact date is the night in those 3 years that the Batman and Robin movie was rebroadcast
I grewup at 4908 Morth Elwood
we moved when I was 9 I am 43
(dob 8-13-1963) A former coworker
of mine who grew up a mile and a half N.E. from me told me a couple of years ago that the cave in didn't happen at night but happened
at 6am
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 7/10/2007 8:09 AM
 
Northland was going by the wayside by 1975,76,77 the reason for the downfall of Northland was
white flight, reverse raceism, and theivery/crime
bluntly put the only reason tulsa didn't have a second race riot sometime between 1965 and 1973 is that the white people of north tulsa gave up, caved in, moved away, let the blacks get away with crime/murder and reverse raceism/descrimination
the white people of north tulsa
had had enough by the late 60's and just let the blacks have/take/steal the rest of north tulsa; north of 28th street
north.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 7/10/2007 9:14 AM
 
Northland looks like a abandonded and rotting throughback to the 60's and early 70's thats frozen in time
guess it's true what they say
you can never go back home
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 7/10/2007 9:42 AM
 
I remember when American State Bank opened up in Northland....sometime in the early 70's. Dewey Bartlett was the dedication speaker, and it was the first black owned bank to be chartered in Tulsa, if I recall. My company furnished the checks and forms for the bank.
# posted by Anonymous Mike Neal : 9/23/2007 12:19 PM
 
I grew up on the corner of 46th and North Hartford. My parents bought the little house there on the corner in 1953. I well remember Suburban Acres, Louisa May Alcott Elementary, and Fairhill Baptist Church which was right across the street where I was baptized. My brother and sister attended Monroe Jr. High and graduated from McLain. When Northland was built, that whole end of town was ecstatic! It was a real treat to get to go to Northland and eat. I think it was Borden's. I still have my first ring that my dad bought me at Peacock Jewelers. North Tulsa was beautiful and well cared for in those days. We were part of the 'white flight' that moved to east Tulsa in 1964 when my parents felt it was becoming unsafe to raise a family there. Very sad.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 9/24/2007 7:16 AM
 
Iwell remember Northland as I worked in the Dr.'s office at the West end of Surburban Acres. All our patients were wonderful families, proud to be new homeowners & took care of their property. This was 1958-60. The Optometrist, Dr. Rader, always took the office girls to Bordens on Fridays, they always served fish, & I loved their Trout. I also shopped at a ladies store there at Northland too, & could buy a complete outfit for $6.00! Gas was about 25 cents a gal. & my Henry J. could be filled up for about $2.00. Of course my wages were $25.00 a week,this was gross. Well, thanks for the memories about a part of town that is now slums.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 9/27/2007 12:48 PM
 
I recently used my White's Metal Detector on our family's North Knoxville property. Among the more interesting things recovered was a "Santa's Lucky Coin" from Brown Dunkin. On one side is the verbiage above plus "Visit Toyland at Home Store". On the reverse is an image of Santa with his right hand extended upward and the words "Merry Christmas". Bob Harris
# posted by Blogger Bob : 6/14/2008 5:51 PM
 
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