Coney Island-Now and Then

A tradition since 1926, the Coney Island Hot Weiner shop is the second-oldest continuously operated restaurant in Tulsa (after Ike’s Chili). Coney Island was originally located in the Tulsa World building at 311 S. Boulder. In 1946 the restaurant moved to 108 W. 4th St. and in 1995 moved to 123 W. Fourth St in the former Downtowner Motel. The restaurant moved back to 108 W. 4th Street in 2012 as the motel was slated to be torn down to make way for a parking lot (because Downtown Tulsa needs more of those!) In 2015 Coney Island will find a new home in the Brady District.

When I photographed the former Downtowner Motel in 2008 it was rundown and neglected. It would have been nice if someone had been able to save this example of mid century architecture and return it to its former glory as a motel. Part of the reason I started Forgotten Tulsa was to document locations just like this-places that now just exist in pictures and in memories.