had to go to tulsa once for work...

[Federal Route Sixty-Nine]

Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.

What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned?

[NE2]

Los Angeles. lOl

[Roadsguy]

Does Centralia count? (I haven't been there but I just wanted to say that.)

[bugo]

Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.

What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned?

You must not have driven on US 169.

[empirestate]

Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.

What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned?

At 3pm that sounds about right. I actually found a lot more to do in Tulsa after 7pm or so than during business hours. Between lunch hour and the evening it's eerily quiet.

Oh, and in answer to your question, Florence, SC. Also, Abilene, TX.

[Alps]

Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.

What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned?

Speaking of "aban..." there's a very short leash on users who repeat past offensive behaviors. Sorry, no more midwest-bashing for you.

[Scott5114]

I actually had this very feeling driving through Indianapolis on I-70. It was probably around noon or so.

[bugo]

Entire city seemed completely abandoned and asleep. This was like 3pm on a Thursday.

What other cities have you been to that feel abandoned?

Speaking of "aban..." there's a very short leash on users who repeat past offensive behaviors. Sorry, no more midwest-bashing for you.

Oh, come on.  He's funny.  I live in the Midwest, and I'm not the least bit offended by what he says.

[NE2]

Speaking of "alan..." there's a very short leash on goats who both repeat and don't repeat past offensive behaviors. Sorry, no more sheep-bashing for you.

[kphoger]

I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.

[bugo]

Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me.  He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa.  I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.

[empirestate]

I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.

I think I've been to that same restaurant...

[kphoger]

I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.

I think I've been to that same restaurant...

Can't find it on a Google search.  With any luck, that's because it's gone.  It looked like a cafeteria plucked from the 1970s, with food that reminded me of school lunch rooms.  You ordered your food at a huge window and sat in hard-seated booths.  There was only one other couple in there, and it was also their first time trying it out.  I don't know how they stayed alive (the restaurant, not the other couple), with mediocre food and no customers, plus a half-page ad in the yellow pages; as I said, maybe they didn't stay in business after all.

[empirestate]

I had to go to Tulsa once for work...
...and got to stay in a hotel room with a sick child...
...and got to experience afternoon rush hour on 169...
...and ate at a really crappy Mexican restaurant...
...and got pulled over on the Turnpike on our way back to Wichita (but escaped a ticket)...
...on Halloween.

I think I've been to that same restaurant...

Can't find it on a Google search.  With any luck, that's because it's gone.  It looked like a cafeteria plucked from the 1970s, with food that reminded me of school lunch rooms.  You ordered your food at a huge window and sat in hard-seated booths.  There was only one other couple in there, and it was also their first time trying it out.  I don't know how they stayed alive (the restaurant, not the other couple), with mediocre food and no customers, plus a half-page ad in the yellow pages; as I said, maybe they didn't stay in business after all.

This was mine:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mexicali-border-cafe-tulsa

Perhaps "crappy" is a strong word, but I do remember it being very, very bland. The Yelp consensus is probably pretty accurate. I remember El Guapo being better, although honestly I don't think I had a full meal there, only drinks and apps, maybe.

On the other hand, there's a pretty awesome coffee shop in that neighborhood called the Gypsy. The Blue Dome Diner is quite a smashing place for breakfast, and I also spent some above-average quality time at Arnie's Bar and, to a lesser extent, MacNellie's. (The manager at Arnie's gave me a hand-written free drink coupon the first time I was in town, and on my next visit more than a year later, they still honored it!) Finally, I remember having a very satisfying meal at an Italian restaurant that I'm reasonably certain was Tucci's.

[kphoger]

Mine was in a less-than-nice neighborhood somewhere on the east side of the city.  Mlyeh.

[kphoger]

Back on topic, Denver used to seem fairly empty until they started revitalizing it in the 1990s.  Downtown Aurora, Illinois, often feels like a ghost city, but the traffic starts to choke you as you approach Route 59.

[empirestate]

Also back on topic, but keeping with the digression about hidden gems, Terre Haute, IN is pretty abandon-y, but then there's M. Mogger's, a damn fine eat-and-drinkery.

In my home state, let's not forget Rome, NY, of which roadgeek emeritus William Least Heat-Moon wrote this: "The place looked as if it had died of heart rot - from the inside out." And I don't know of any hidden gems there.

Right next door, of course, you have Utica, also in very rough-looking shape. But there you have the Stanley Theatre, a performing arts roadhouse that recently underwent a $20 million renovation which, in my view as an industry participant, is nothing short of miraculous. It went from being one of the most dreaded itinerary stops in the country to one of the best.

Anyway...sorry for all my unsolicited boosterism of all these downtrodden cities. I don't feel any particular responsibility to defend them, but I guess it's only fair to point out that some of the best finds are where you least expect them. "Seeing beyond the road", as it were. :-)

[rickmastfan67]

Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me.  He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa.  I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.

He's already been re-banned by Steve, so he will not even see you calling him out.

[bugo]

That's no fun.  I was planning on trolling him and having a bit of a laugh over it.  This forum takes itself WAY too seriously.  Some of the mods need to smoke a bowl and drink a six pack and let the forum moderate itself.  When I was a mod, I didn't overmoderate it.

[Scott5114]

Hey, man, if you want MTR, you know where to find it.

[bugo]

I never said I wanted MTR.  You're using a strawman.  I just think this forum is way overmoderated.  I'm a member of many forums, and this one is by far the most moderated.  Let us have a little breathing room.  Let us have some fun.  If the hobby becomes no longer enjoyable, then why do it?

[hbelkins]

Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me.  He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa.  I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.

He's already been re-banned by Steve, so he will not even see you calling him out.

I'm sure it wasn't the infamous Calrog, but it must have been someone "inspired" by him.

[Scott5114]

I never said I wanted MTR.  You're using a strawman.  I just think this forum is way overmoderated.  I'm a member of many forums, and this one is by far the most moderated.  Let us have a little breathing room.  Let us have some fun.  If the hobby becomes no longer enjoyable, then why do it?

And you're quite free to think what you like.

Whoever this "Federal Route Sixty Nine" is, I think he's trolling me.  He's posted about Tulsa twice, and as far as I know I'm the most prominent member of this forum who lives in Tulsa.  I have some ideas of who he is, but I'm not ready to call him out on it yet.

He's already been re-banned by Steve, so he will not even see you calling him out.

I'm sure it wasn't the infamous Calrog, but it must have been someone "inspired" by him.

It was blawp.

[empirestate]

And here I was thinking this had turned into a nice heartwarming little thread about down-and-out cities and the little ways in which they continue to impress. 

OK, I guess that was pretty much just me...

[bugo]

Tulsa is down and out?