Old Town to Old Town No. 2 - Crossing America
5. Coleman Theatre
‘When it opened in 1929, it was the most elaborate theater between Dallas and Kansas City.’ This was the description of the Coleman Theater. It made me wonder how little effort was put into making the things around it. And that it provoked such thought was quite interesting in of itself. Also, it was particularly interesting that it was an 85-year-old theater. There may have been plenty of theater facilities in Korea 85 years ago, but the important question is whether they still exist. When the Kukdo Theater in Seoul was demolished a dozen years ago, it felt like the era of theaters with architectural beauty was over. Even if it was the same movie, I would always go to the Gukdo Theater, which has marble and a spiral staircase. Some groups of the cultural world tried to prevent demolition, but it was in vain. There is no wonderful Hanok-style theater in Seoul that is hundreds of years old. For a theater that is 85 years old, especially if it is still alive, it is appealing enough to me.
The Coleman Theater was small and Spanish-style. Spanish style also means that it includes Arabic styles. This is because southern Spain was under Arab rule for a long time. The entire building is beige. The entrance eaves were dark green. The decorative carvings along the lines of the building were elaborate. Just like the explanation, it seemed like a lot of effort was put into it. Judging from the pictures hanging at the entrance, the real work put into it was inside the theater, but it was closed on the day we went.
Feeling disappointed that I couldn't see the theater, I looked into a corner of the building that looked like a tourist office, and a world map on the wall of the office caught my eye. There were red flag-shaped pins in various places on the world map. What does this mean? When I looked closely, I saw that it was the country of the foreign tourists who visited the area or Coleman Theater. There were about two dozen countries, including Japan. But there was no Korea.
“Why, there is Japan, but there is no Korea,” Sumi shouted.
It really was. I was thinking, “Oh, this can't be,” then Sumi continued.
"Koreans just go where everyone else goes. If they come to a place like this and put a pin on it, then it’s truly Korea in the world. It may not seem like it, but Japanese people are traveling to places like this. Don't get disappointed at the fact that Japanese culture is more widely known than Korean, instead of just going to LA or New York all the time, you should come to places like this. I want to show that Koreans really know how to enjoy traveling. We have to put a pin in there."
It was a legitimate reason to be upset. One red pin on an old theater in a remote village? It may not seem like a big deal, but if you think about it reversely, even though it is not a big deal, there is no Korea. We were burning with a sense of duty to stick a pin in Korea as well, but the door was locked. What do we do?
After giving it some thought, we wrote something on a piece of paper and stuck it on the office door before heading off:
"Hi, we came here while you were closed for the holiday. Could you please add a pin on the board for us? We're from Hyde Park, NY, and Seoul, South Korea. THANK YOU! Sumi & Jingoogk
www.sketchtripamerica.blogspot.com."
'I'm an on-time 66 traveler from Korea and I've been visiting the Coleman Theater and putting a pin on our map, but I'm not sick of the door being late. You guys are plugging it in instead. please.'
You can see photos of the interior of the Coleman on the website below.
http://www.colemantheatre.org/
6. Ribbon Road
Ribbon Road was a road with really nothing to see but a funny anecdote. It was given a pretty name, Ribbon Road, because of the shape of the narrow, one-lane road, but it was actually a story about Oklahoma State trying to reduce its budget. Road construction by pouring concrete is an expensive project, and in the 1920s when Route 66 was being built, some people seemed to have considered the construction of a two-lane road a waste of budget. However, it was impossible not to build the first road connecting east and west, so the best solution the state of Oklahoma came up with was to reduce the cost by half by making certain sections of the quiet outskirts of the city a one-lane road instead of two lanes. It is said that in a time when only one car passed by, there were people who boasted that two cars would never meet at the same time. Over the next 80 years, skyscrapers were built in Oklahoma City, and eight-lane highways were built, but some sections still remained one-lane and the road came to be called the Ribbon Road.
I thought about it as we drove along the crumbling one-lane road. If I were a person from a time when only one car could pass in an hour, would I have determined that building two-lane roads was a waste of money or as a preparation for tomorrow? A perceptive person would have drawn a two-lane road, but given the circumstances at the time, such insight did not seem to be easily obtained. For about ten minutes while we were passing through Ribbon Road, we did not encounter any cars coming from the opposite direction. It was as predicted by the person who decided on the one lane 80 years ago. It was fortunate. If two cars had been encountered on this road, a true spectacle would have occurred where the drivers of both cars would stick their heads out and have a discussion about whether or not each other's car would touch or not on this semi-unpaved road. The cows on the side of the road would have eagerly watched the show. Ribbon Road was a road full of lessons(?) where you could experience with your whole body what the world was like created by people who could not see the future.
7. All Husbands' Grave (Catoosa, Blue Whale)
Although it was the first day of September, the summer heat did not go away. When I got out of the car and looked around for a while, my whole body was drenched in sweat, and I got back into the car with a sticky body. When the sweat cooled down, after driving some, I got out again at the next place. I repeated this six times, and it started to get tiresome to stop somewhere. Katoosa's Blue Whale always appeared on the internet and in guides, but no matter how much I tried to look at it favorably, I didn't know why there was so much interest in a whale that was as good as a local children's playground, so I just wanted to pass it by. Still, the reason I stopped at Blue Whale was because the shape of the whale was so childish that it was noticeable even on the road going at 50 mph. Why is this whale so popular in an era where everyone has been to at least a few large theme parks? I felt like I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't check.
On a small pond, there was a blue whale with its mouth wide open. The inside of the whale's stomach was unsightly, made of steel bars and PVC. Still, there was everything there, so it seemed like it would be fun to run around inside the whale, dive, and go down a slide. There was also a lifeguard station. The sighting ends there. After quickly finishing the sightseeing, we were about to leave when a middle-aged female ranger approached us and started talking to us. "Where are you coming from?" She said that there were quite a few people swimming when it was hot and asked if we would like to look at some old photos in the management office. I didn't really feel like it, but it seemed rude not to oblige, so I just planned to quickly scan inside and head out. When we followed her inside, however, there were not just a few photos, there were A LOT of them. At first, I skipped it half-heartedly, but after looking at a few pages, I saw that the photos contained interesting stories. Summarizing the ranger's explanation and photos, it was like this.
In the early 1970s, a man named Hugh Davis created a whale in this pond as a surprise wedding anniversary gift for his wife, Zelta, who collected whale figurines. At first, it was a family-only place, but as many locals came to visit, Hugh bought tons of sand, built a sandy beach and picnic area, hired lifeguards, and opened it as a public swimming pool. Eventually, it became a popular place for both residents and Route 66 travelers passing through to enjoy playing in water.
The ranger said, pointing to one of the faded photos. “This is the husband.” Sumi wanted to take a closer look, so I quickly closed the photo album and said, ‘He's the one who makes all husbands tired, so don’t bother remembering it for a long time.’ I joked with concern and opened the photo album again. Decades of images of Hugh, his children, and the local people passed by one by one, and the reasons why people love Blue Whale were clearly captured. If I hadn't stopped by the management office, I would have left without knowing what Blue Whale really means.
For fun, Sumi asked me to pose as I was bitten by a whale. I did what Sumi wanted. Hugh made a whale for his wife, Zelta, and I willingly became whale food for Sumi. That was the only way to survive.
Before leaving, I looked back at Blue Whale. If I was driving through hot Oklahoma and had a quick swim in a local pond that appeared out of nowhere and then drove off again, it seemed like there would be no other oasis in the desert. I definitely recommend that wives go, but I recommend that husbands never go. If you are still together, please take care of yourselves.
8. Rock Cafe
The pride of Rock Cafe, a restaurant that opened in 1939, is its grill which has been around for over 70 years since its inception. Named Bestie, she is said to have cooked five million burgers, countless chickens, and various grilled dishes with her stocky, sexy body measuring 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, and weighing 200 pounds. This is a humorous explanation on the Rock Cafe website. She is said to have survived a fire in a restaurant once, so she is a woman who has a knack for hot things. I didn't go inside, but many Route 66 travelers recommend eating here if you pass by.
9. The Chandler Armory
I was very excited because it was said to be a castle-shaped armory building. But the sun was setting, and after wandering around for a while, we arrived and, as expected, opening hours were over. The building is Art Deco style. Now used as the Route 66 History Museum. I later found out that there wasn't much on display as an armory. Thanks to this, the regret of not being able to see it disappeared as if it had been washed away.
10. SODA POP
Donuts the size of a building, ice cream the size of a house… Whenever I see large advertising sculptures in the United States, I wonder why they make them so big. The person who told me the reason was my friend Jungdeok, who ran a donut business in Texas. In the central U.S., where the horizon is wide, outdoor sculptures are easy to find because they can be seen from a great distance once they are tall and large. It was an advertising culture related to topography.
The last stop of the day was Soda Pop. Soda Pop was famous for its large neon sign shaped like a soda bottle. But why a soda bottle? Is this even a store that only sells soda? Oh, no way. Then I wondered what kind of store it was.
What can we do to make a gas station a tourist attraction that people visit from far away? The method Soda Pop chose was to sell all kinds of soda. Soda Pop's identity was a gas station. It was no different from a regular American gas station in that it sold gas, had a convenience store, and prepared and sold simple meals. However, this place named it Soda Pop, erected a large neon sign, and sold all kinds of soda drinks. The store, which could even fit a basketball court, was filled with all kinds of soda. Upbeat music was playing, families were eating, and young people were constantly coming and going, giggling. It seemed like people would stop by here at least once for fun and see the place, and they would talk about this place at least once more. The neon giant soda bottle made it impossible not to remember this place forever. As far as I know, this is the only gas station that I'd go out of my way to take a look at.
While I was looking at the neon soda bottle, admiring the exquisite marketing techniques, two female college students approached me and asked me to take a commemorative photo of them with the neon background. I was happy to take the photo and then we took a commemorative photo together. Celebrating the magical gas station that mixes gasoline and soda properly and sells it as a culture. Some gas stations are caught mixing additives with gasoline to make a bigger profit. I hoped they would come up with something like Soda Pop instead of becoming infamous in today's news.
It was 9:20 pm by the time we visited all ten places we had planned. The weather was getting increasingly cloudy, and finding a campsite became difficult. Sumi and I went to a nearby motel, warmed up a can of beef stew in the microwave, and hurried to sleep for tomorrow. It was around the time I fell asleep that the thought of the true joy of traveling across America was ‘a trip from Old Town to Old Town’ occurred to me, and I decided to subtitle this section of my travelogue from Old Town to Old Town.
Jin Kook’s Auto Chart
Accommodation: Americas Best Value Inn. $55 + tax = Total $61.72.+ 2
While I was starting my itinerary, there were two places I wanted to see additionally but couldn't stop by. Since I couldn't stop by, of course, I don't have any pictures. So I consoled my regret with a drawing.
Golden Driller near a city called Tulsa.
Tulsa has become a large city thanks to the oil industry.
Of course, the symbol is a giant drilling for oil.
In the central U.S., you have to grow first.
I drew myself in front of the Golden Driller so you can see its size.
Round Barn. A circular-shaped barn for a farm.
A rather large farm building was made round and made of wood.
The inside looked pretty cool, but unfortunately, we couldn't stop by.
The shape of a modern grain warehouse was not much different from this warehouse.
Today's journey is depicted in this drawing.
It is literally a journey from Old Town to Old Town.
If I had to add a subtitle, it would be ‘Choose according to your taste’.
The next day's schedule started from Oklahoma City.
Jingoogk's Sketch Trip America is written originally in Korean.
