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 dwtaylor999
  
Location: Unassigned Lands, Oklahoma
Gender: Male
 |  | 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
< on 4/6/2011 5:24 AM >
|  | | | About twenty miles east of Ponca City in east-central Osage County lies the remnants of the town of Burbank, Oklahoma.
Once state highway 60 passed through the town, but it was bypassed when the highway was rebuilt. Little remains of the town except for a few homes and the remnants of it's business district. Someone passing by would never guess at the importance of the area in the distant past.
Near Burbank on May 8, 1920, the Marland Oil Company completed the Burbank
discovery well on the Bertha Hickman farm. The initial discovery produced 150
barrels of oil per day from the Burbank field and later that year the Roxana
Petroleum Company brought in another well producing 3,450 barrels per day in
the same general area. At first the wells were thought to be from separate
fields, but as drilling proceeded they were all found to be connected. The
field eventually grew to thirty-three square miles The field had its highest
production from 1920 through 1924 with twenty million to thirty-one million
barrels annually and a peak production day of 121,700 barrels on July 21, 1923.
The Burbank field gave start to many of the oil companies we know today, including Conoco (originally Marland Oil, Phillips Pertorleum, Skelly Oil, as well as Roxana, Carter Oil Company (later incorporated into Standard Oil), Gypsy (later Gulf Oil) Oil Company. Oil leases in this area were obtained through the federally controlled Osage Indian Reservation auctions, which
auctioned off 160-acre tracts and divided the proceeds equally among tribe members. Between 1912 and 1928 twenty-eight of these auctions sold a total of 700,000 acres,making the Osage the most wealthy group of people per capita on the planet.
Burbank, originally settled as an agricultural community in 1903, became an incorporated town with an establishment of a post office in 1907. Some early photos of the town circa 1905.
When oil was struck, the town boomed, though not with the runaway boom experienced in many places. Several new communities where spawned, such as Whizbang and Carter Nine, which housed many of the oil field workers and their vices. The town had it's share of excitement. From some of the documentation I found, the bank was robbed 15 times, 3 times in one day. The old bank is one of the few business buildings still remaining and is a private residence.
At it's peak, Burbank had around 2,000 people in and around the area. Several business sprang up to meet the demands of the oil field, schools and churches where built, and everything was great until the oil boom ended in the 1930's. Like many towns in the area, the bust and Great Depression caused a steady decline into obscurity.
This old hotel is a remnant of that era, and is in remarkably good condition considering the fate of the other building in the business district. Exact information on the hotel has been impossible to come by, but it was built in the early 1920's, just after the oil boom. It remained as a hotel until
the bust and was used as a boarding house/apartments until the 1950's. At that point, it appears to have been used as a private residence, at least up until 1993. The building is wooden construction with an plaster facade on three sides and a period correct "shingle" in the rear. A large celler or "storm cave" as it was called then, was in the rear of the building, presumably for
hotel residents to take shelter in the event of a tornado.
The interior of the building was very period correct, with much of the original wiring and woodwork still in place. The numbers where even still painted on the doors. Some pretty serious structural defects are beginning to show, and the roof is in need of repair, neither of which have any hope of being addressed. If it was anywhere else, it could have been a quaint bed and
breakfast.
This was the lobby, with the stairs to the second floor. There where community toilet and bath facilities on both floors with kitchen facilities at the far end of the hotel. The upper balcony could be accessed from the end of the upstairs hallway and provided a view of what had been the downtown district. The balcony has suffered some serious rot and was unsafe, i.e. fall to your death.
The downstairs kitchen and dining area.
It's ironic that this 1993 calendar is from a now abandoned place I have on my list, the Big Hill Trading Company, dating from about the same time frame as this hotel.
The first floor facilities.
Sears Catalog from 1973 and a Gideon bible and something I haven't a clue about.
Up to the second floor.
It appears to have been wired for electricity when built, but heat was originally from fireplaces with gas added later. The town was never piped for natural gas, so it was probably butane/propane. The old heating stoves in the rooms are a mixed match of various old fire traps. It's somewhat amazing the building never burned to the ground.
The upstairs kitchen. I'd bet 20 bucks the old Kelvinator still works.
The upstairs facilities and some type of shower?
Back down the stairs.
The closets where add ons and not original to the buildings. Here you can see what is probably the original wall paper.hidden inside.
I loved the transoms throughout the building. A little stiff, but everyone I tried still worked.
In case you're wondering, there was no room 13.
If the walls could talk, there would be some interesting stories. I noticed in the old concrete as I was leaving a foot print from a man and a dog, both long dead. The running joke with the locals was that they could travel from Burbank to Manhatten in 4 hours....Manhatten Kansas.
I really liked this old building, it had the feeling that everyone had just stepped out, but would be back in a bit.
Ruins, the fate of all cities. |
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Imbroglio
  
Location: DFW
Gender: Male
The glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
| |  | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 1 on 4/6/2011 7:03 AM >
| | | | That place is amazing; the period fixtures and appliances make it a major win.
Well done!
http://www.noelkernsphotography.com |
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cdevon
  
Location: west county
Gender: Male
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 2 on 4/6/2011 9:25 AM >
| | | | this is the way to document a location. very well done!
When I say I'm 'clean and sober', it means I've showered and I'm headed to the liquor store. |
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consecrated
 
Location: Connecticut
Gender: Male
Æthereal
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 3 on 4/6/2011 11:11 AM >
| | | | I enjoy your posts...
That bank is kick-ass!
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Liquorhead
Location: Sherman,Tx
Gender: Male
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 4 on 4/6/2011 11:55 AM >
| | | | Every post you make is well written, well documented, and a pleasure to view - and this one is no different. Great stuff, keep it up!
My Flickr Page |
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dwtaylor999
Location: Unassigned Lands, Oklahoma
Gender: Male
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 6 on 4/6/2011 2:03 PM >
| | | |
Ahhh, and I just assumed Bentonite was a brand name.
Thanks for the comments. There was an old church in the town I'm researching as well which has been abandoned. I'm still trying to find out a few bits of info before I post it.
[last edit 4/7/2011 12:15 AM by dwtaylor999 - edited 1 times]
Ruins, the fate of all cities. |
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urbanscrounger
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 7 on 4/6/2011 2:28 PM >
| | | | What an amazing building! Fell sorry for the decline of the town but if it had been closer to or located in a larger town it surely would have been vandalised or knocked down.
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Captain_Slow
The infamous Buttram Manfist
Location: Dallas, Tx
Gender: Male
Obviously capable of mediocre things.
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 8 on 4/6/2011 3:38 PM >
| | | | Your posts are amazing pre-class common area boredom killers. Huzzah and keep up the good work! Also, check your PMs.
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Mr_Fiend
Location: Tulsa, OK
Gender: Male
Infiltration Expert...
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 9 on 4/6/2011 5:56 PM >
| | | | Nice shots! I've driven past that place before, didnt know it was a hotel :/
https://abandonedo...bout/the-aok-team/ |
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pinkmeowcats
Location: Oklahoma, US
Gender: Female
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 10 on 4/6/2011 10:06 PM >
| | | | I love your posts! This little motel is so cool, I love the old fridge and oven. And the doors are awesome too! Reminds me a little of my house.
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Joel
RED DRAGONS!!!!
Location: Katy, TX
Gender: Male
Chilling on a wall
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 11 on 4/7/2011 2:19 AM >
| | | | Beautifully done! Thank you for a great post!
Flickr: http://www.flickr....61765601@N04/sets/ |
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RobertB
Location: Skeeterville, TX
Gender: Male
Maybe I shouldn't be using my real name...
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 12 on 4/7/2011 11:21 PM >
| | | | I spent my senior year in Hominy, and drove all over Osage County... thought I was the only one interested in these old places. Wish I'd done more exploring, back when I was young enough to get away with it. ;) Thanks for documenting some great finds that I'd forgotten all about!
J'ai toujours fait une prière à Dieu, qui est fort courte.
La voici: "Mon Dieu, rendez nos ennemis bien ridicules!"
Dieu m'a exaucé. |
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seicer
Location: New York
Gender: Male
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 13 on 4/8/2011 2:57 AM >
| | | | A nice bit of touch to the thread - some great reading and awesome photos!
Abandoned |
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The Anti-Paradigm
Location: -HTX-
Gender: Male
Against the Flow
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 14 on 4/8/2011 5:53 AM >
| | | | The law of the old towns, If a railroad didn't pass through it, or it didn't have natural resourses continually flowing, it rotted away into obscurity. Seems that once the oil boom was over, this town fell victim to that law...
I read every word of your posts. I wish I could hunt down the historical knowledge of the places that I have been. I might look for some stuff for the ghosttowns i have been to...
I love the old two button on/off switches. Very cool.
Visit my photography and
UE Photo Journal:
www.antiparadigmproductions.com |
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PorkChopExpress
Location: Pled's Pig Farm, Virginia
Gender: Male
Stand Up Philosopher
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 15 on 4/8/2011 6:25 AM >
| | | | Absolutely superb work, sir.
"Deep in the human psyche there lies the need to believe in something fantastic, something powerful, something unknown."
"Touch what you cannot solve, and return to me. I'll give you hints, and I'll give you three..." Zork Nemesis "I eat asbestos and piss PCBs." |
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pixel8d
Location: Kingston, Ok
Gender: Female
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 16 on 4/10/2011 7:23 PM >
| | | | Very Nice!
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nutekk
Location: Central NJ
Gender: Male
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 17 on 4/10/2011 9:59 PM >
| | | | awesome piece of history! thank you for sharing !!
i wish we could see more posts like this. well done!
cheers !
" Take only pictures, leave only footprints" |
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Bizz
Location: BC, Canada
Gender: Female
| | | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 18 on 4/11/2011 12:10 AM >
| | | | Awesome post. I always love reading the history of these places and your write up was great.
Do not attempt to stop with hands or genitals. |
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Raticus
Moderator
Location: Tyler
Gender: Male
Ratus exploricus abandonae
| | Re: 1920s Hotel in Burbank, OK
<Reply # 19 on 4/11/2011 3:33 PM >
| | | | Damn dude, this is the most slack, low grade, irresponsible, useless, non-informing waste of time post that I've ever seen in my life. For crying out loud man, at least make it look like you put enough effort into it to type your own words.
LOL, just kidding, thought I'd be different and yank your chain. Great job as always!
Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools speak because they have to say something. |
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