Springlake Amusement Park (Images of America: Oklahoma) [Paperback]

Douglas Loudenback (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2008

From 1924 through 1981, Springlake was Oklahoma City's premier place for fun for everyone around the state. Park enthusiast Carla Williams Noffsinger mirrors the comments of so many of the park's patrons when she says, I grew up in Moore. We spent many a happy hour at Springlake. We always heard bad stories about the Big Dipper, but that was the first ride we would hit. I remember my cousin wetting her pants once on the Tilt-A-Whirl; we laugh about that to this day. As far as my family was concerned, it was just good, clean old-fashioned fun. My cousins would come up in the summer from southeast Oklahoma, and Springlake was at the top of the list of places to go. For all its goodness, Springlake was flawed, remaining segregated longer than many other businesses during the tumultuous civil rights era. Forced to integrate by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Springlake adapted poorly instead of opening its huge pool to all swimmers and sunbathers, the pool became an aquarium. Racial tensions culminated on Easter 1971 with a small but important racially based riot from which the park never fully recovered.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Title: Arcadia's Springlake Amusement Park examines Oklahoma City fun spot

Author: Staff Writer

Publisher: Amusement Today

Date: March 2009



Arcadia Publishing's Springlake Amusement Park, one of the newest offerings in its long-running Images of America series, takes a look at one of Oklahoma's most beloved traditional amusement parks.



Listed as author of the 127-page book is Douglas Loudenback, a lawyer and self-proclaimed amateur Oklahoma City historian. Despite the overly subjective tone of the writing (e.g. the caption beneath a shot of the Orbit, one of Springlake's more unique attractions, reads "What mother in her right mind would willingly put her kid in such a ride?"), and the occasional photo mislabeled or printed backwards, this book offers six chapters detailing Springlake's history.



The book's strength lies in its collection of B&W photographs. These include aerial shots of the property as well as various views of the famous twin swimming pools and John Miller's 1926-built Big Dipper wooden roller coaster, which remained the park's marquee attraction for 55 years. There is even a mystery photo (page 30) that shows Springlake's miniature train in 1926 with bizarre, undulating wooden roller coaster-like hills, which the author mistakenly identifies as the Big Dipper.



Springlake Amusement Park also tackles the plight of many traditional amusement parks that survived into the second half of the 20th century – forced racial integration. As with other parks of that era, Springlake suffered terribly, and by the late 1960’s it had developed an unsavory reputation. Many long time guests, some refusing to accept integration, feared for their safety and chose to stay away. The book concludes with a description of the violent Easter 1971 racially-motivated riot that many feel signaled the beginning of the end for this once proud American park. Despite a strict new admissions policy and the sale to new owners in 1977, the damage was done. Springlake closed forever in 1981.



Springlake Amusement Park is available at area bookstores, independent retailers, online bookstores, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com.

Publication: News OK

Article Title: Amusement park mirrored city

Author: Pam Henry

Date: 11/2/2008



The history of Springlake Amusement Park includes a fun aspect of Oklahoma City. But "Springlake Amusement Park” (Arcadia Publishing, $19.99), a book about that history, also is serious. ENT



The amusement park opened in 1924 on land owned by Roy Staton. It grew on his 110 acres in northeast Oklahoma City. Staton opened some of his land to the Springland Dancing Pavilion in 1922. While earlier Oklahoma City amusement parks were closing, Staton built the Big Dipper roller coaster in 1926, and the park became a huge success.

Author Doug Loudenback preserved pictures to form a historical archive. Part of the story is the history of integration in the capital city. The park was opened to blacks in 1963.



On Easter Sunday night in 1971, three hours of racial violence broke out. It was the beginning of the end for Springlake. The park, under a new owner, closed in 1981.

The book’s pictures record the fun side of Springlake, now the site of the Springlake Campus of Metro Technology Centers.

About the Author

Douglas Loudenback, a lawyer, is an amateur Oklahoma City historian, and his Oklahoma City history blog is widely regarded as one of the best of its kind.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (October 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738561797
• ISBN-13: 978-0738561790
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,157,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Must read" for Baby boomers!!, October 28, 2008

By 

Roger Harris (Ada, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Springlake Amusement Park (Images of America: Oklahoma) (Paperback)

If you lived in or around Oklahoma City from the mid-30's to the mid 70's,Springlake Amusement Park was a prime destination, especially if you were a kid. This new book (more of a pictorial really) takes us from Springlake's beginnings all the way to it's rather sad end. Before this, pictures of the park were scarce and there was precious little else to be seen save the occasional memorabilia that pops up on E-Bay. The author has delved deep into public and private archives to offer up some amazing photos of all areas of this great Oklahoma City attraction. This was a magical place for two generations and the book does a great job of showcasing Springlake from both a historical perspective and a personal objective. As a kid whose father drove the train at the park, I spent many a glorious summer there. This book helps capture that bygone era and all of those fond memoroies when times were simple, and ample fun could be had from something as simple as a merry-go-round. Roger Harris-Ada, Oklahoma

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More PC than I could handle, October 15, 2009

By 

W. D. Smith "Old Okie Writer" (Central Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Springlake Amusement Park (Images of America: Oklahoma) (Paperback)

Obviously I am one of the legions that feel their favorite memories of Springlake were minimized or ignored completely but my main displeasure is the revisionist history found throughout the book. I almost completely agree with Mr. McDonald concerning the park's demise.
One minor point I would add is I recall some Black families being as much at fault as the roving Black gangs. (Note: In this case, "gangs" is used in the traditional sense as opposed to the current highly organized, drug oriented image."

Apparently inspired by then-recent progress in "equal rights" politics, some Black people felt compelled to seek their own proof... or, maybe it was revenge.
In the late '60s~early '70s, I was dating a young lady who had two sons by a previous marriage. We attempted several "family" trips to Springlake before racial tensions forced us away.
A typical happening was "line cuts." Many of the popular attractions almost always had a waiting line... sometimes a long line. White families might wait in a line for 20 minutes to an hour only to see a group of Black kids to push their way into the front of the line. In the many times I experienced or observed this activity, I almost always instinctively looked around wondering, "Where the *###* are these kid's parents?" They were easy to spot because they were the ones with a smug, superior sneer and eyes that just screamed, "Start something, I dare you!" Obviously, the kids were just tools.
So, we started for home with no further hesitation.
I honestly believe those years set desegregation back several decades and minted many new racists.
Let me be perfectly clear that a small minority of Black families were involved in this kind of demonstration. I doubt the average Black family enjoys In-Your-Face confrontations any more than white families. Most of us just wanted to avoid trouble so we quit going where trouble was likely. That left the door open to the gangs of kids who soon became very destructive until years after the park closed. The implied racism of park owners/managers may be true but, if so, I don't think it was a significant contributor to the eventual closure.
One other thing:
I also recall a day when Fats Domino was the amphitheater attraction. Fats and his band played all afternoon to a non-playing mob of mostly white kids trying to dance in the small pavilion.
Thanks, Mr. D! You truly are a great and generous person.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Childhood memories, December 6, 2008

By 

kit-kat - See all my reviews

This review is from: Springlake Amusement Park (Images of America: Oklahoma) (Paperback)

I grew up going to Springlake so this was an excellent way to go back and look at the park and remember those good times. The narrative and pictures in the book are excellent and bring back alot of memories.