April 24th National Arbor Day: The Trees of RNA

In the 1920's the front yard of a home was considered a public space and received the most landscaping attention. In RNA many homes had trees, in pairs in the front of the home. Some of these original 'twins' survive and now tower over their homes. In contrast, back yards were considered a work or service area with clothes lines, garbage cans, perhaps a kitchen garden but were not typical for retreat or recreation.

One a beautiful, blustery day in October 2019, my dad and I drove around the neighborhood, taking note of some most common species, their size and possible age. My dad, Sand Mueller, is a retired horticulturist, trees are his passion.

Some of the most senior trees that we encountered included: Pecan (Native and Paper Shell), Box Elder, Red Oak, Sycamore, River Birch, American Elm and Magnolias.

Left: Mr. Paul Trees planting a pecan tree in the mid 1930's. Read more about the Trees and their large Tudor Revival HERE. Right: In the foreground see the pecan tree some 80+ years after planting.

Cottonwood in Gary Park. About 98 feet tall. Trunk is 120 feet in circumference.

Note the root formations protruding near the base of the tree. Approximately 150 years old.

Huge Red Oak- 63 Feet tall, 9 feet in circumference.

Note how these trees are positioned in front of the house, commonly seen of trees planted in the late 1920's and '30's.

Shimmering leaves of twin sycamores. About 100 feet tall, 10 feet in circumference. Likely planted around 1930.

Magnificent Magnolia near Fourteenth and Gary Avenue.

~75 Feet tall, 12 Feet in circumference

Massive American Elm.

Seventy feet tall, 10.5 feet in circumference, likely planted in the 1920's or 30's.

Beautiful River Birch

Take some time to slow down and enjoy the trees!

References:

https://golmn.com/2011/03/03/a-look-back-in-time-landscaping-trends-from-the-1920s-50s/

Comments

O.U.R. Streetcar: The Trolley that Ran Through Renaissance

1911 Tulsa Postcard Courtesy of Tulsa Historical Society. Used with Permission. Tulsa’s transportation system has evolved from horse-drawn wagons and buggies to streetcars, jitneys, automobiles, electric bicycles, and scooters. (“Jitney” was slang for a five cent piece. Small buses that carried people for 5 cents a ride became known as jitneys.) From 1905 through 1935 an electric double rail trolley system wound through the city carrying hundreds of Tulsans to work, shopping, recreation and back home again. This is a short history of the Tulsa streetcar system, including one line that ran through present day Renaissance. Before the introduction of the trolley in 1905, horse-drawn vehicles were the primary mode of transportation. Tulsa's horses were well accustomed to the unpaved, dusty, and sometimes mud-filled roads. Hitching posts in front of homes and businesses were common at the time. In November 1905, Tulsa Mayor C. L. Reeder...

One Family- One House- One Hundred Years

Part I: Rosemont Heights Rosemont Heights was one of the earliest divisions or ‘additions’ of land that was graded, platted with lots for sale in what is now as the Renaissance Neighborhood. It was platted in 1911. Originally Muscogee Creek land, it was allotted to Mary Jane Perryman in the early 1900's. Mary Jane would have been about 17 years old in 1911. She had married young and by 1911 she and her first husband, John Robert Harkness, already had three children. It would be very interesting to know how much she was paid for the property when purchased by a Mr. John P. Given. According to her niece, Wavel Ashbaugh, interviewed in 2015 by Voices of Oklahoma, Native people were often taken advantage of with complex land contracts and white settlers"...didn't pay very much for it...". The present-day boundaries of Rosemont Heights are Delaware Avenue to South Florence Avenue and Thirteenth Street to Fifte...

Grocery stores in the neighborhood

As information is gathered on the small local grocers that dotted our neighborhood this post will be updated over time. These are the known groceries over time in and near the neighborhood. The ad below from 1928 helped me identify some of the neighborhood groceries, including the flat roofed store fronts that are still standing in the neighborhood on Atlanta Avenue and Delaware Place. Tulsa World 1928 1137 S Atlanta Avenue: Graham Market Owned by Harrison "Harry" Canfield Graham was a Tulsa grocery operator for 18 years. In 1930, Graham and his wife, Cora, and four of their six children lived in the neighborhood at 1336 S. Gary Place. Their home was a craftsman bungalow with a stately red brick front porch. Following his death in 1938 he was interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa. Cora lived until 1975. She was 99 years old. Tulsa Tribune December 1938 Tulsa Tribune 1934 ad that mentions Graham Market Google Maps ...

The Renaissance Neighborhood History Project

Search This Blog