Blue Whale of Catoosa

Hugh Davis was a Tulsa Zoo employee for nearly four decades — joining as a reptile keeper in the 1930s and rising to become the zoo's director through the 1950s and 1960s. He was nationally respected in the herpetology field and authored multiple academic papers on snake biology and reptile behavior. His wife Zelta worked alongside him at the zoo, eventually becoming the zoo's curator of reptiles and amphibians. They married in 1938 and bought the Catoosa property in 1953 as a private weekend retreat where they could keep their personal animal collection.

The property became Nature's Acres in the late 1950s — initially just a small ADA-style alligator and snake collection that they opened to the public on weekends, but eventually a working roadside zoo with a swimming hole, picnic grounds, and exhibits. By the late 1960s, Nature's Acres was attracting hundreds of visitors per weekend and the swimming hole had become the unofficial summer gathering spot for Catoosa-area families.

Hugh began construction on the Blue Whale in 1970 with the project planned as a 34th-anniversary gift for Zelta. He worked entirely by himself using welded steel pipe for the internal armature and concrete sculpted by hand over the framework. The construction took roughly two years — Hugh worked nights and weekends after his Tulsa Zoo shifts — and the whale was completed in time for their 1972 anniversary. The unveiling involved a small family celebration with their three children and grandchildren; the moment when Zelta saw the whale for the first time is preserved in a series of family photographs that are displayed at the on-site gift shop today.

From 1972 through the early 1980s, the Blue Whale was the centerpiece of Nature's Acres and one of the most popular informal swimming destinations in northeast Oklahoma. The spring-fed pond surrounding the whale was clean, cold, and large enough to accommodate dozens of swimmers simultaneously. Families paid a small admission fee ($1 or $2 per person, depending on the year) and had access to the swimming hole, the surrounding picnic grounds, and the small reptile zoo Hugh and Zelta maintained on the property.

The whale itself functioned as a giant swimming-pool feature. Kids climbed up the internal staircase to the whale's mouth, slid down the whale's tongue into the pond, and used the whale's open dorsal fin as a diving platform. The whale's tail extended over the pond and dripped water from a small fountain. Multiple generations of Catoosa, Tulsa, and Claremore residents have childhood memories of swimming at the Blue Whale, and the property became a genuine community gathering space across two decades.

Hugh closed Nature's Acres to public swimming in 1988 as he and Zelta entered their late 70s and could no longer maintain the property at full operating capacity. The swimming pond, the reptile zoo, and the surrounding picnic grounds were closed to the public; the whale itself remained but was no longer actively maintained. Hugh died in 1990; Zelta passed in 1999. The property sat largely vacant through the 1990s.

By the late 1990s the Blue Whale was in serious disrepair. The original blue paint had faded to chalk; the concrete surface had cracked extensively; weeds had overgrown the surrounding pond; and the structural integrity of the steel armature was at risk. National Route 66 preservation organizations began documenting the whale as one of the most endangered Route 66 landmarks in the country.

A community restoration effort began in 2002 under the leadership of the Davis family heirs (Hugh and Zelta's children and grandchildren) and a coalition of Catoosa-area residents and Route 66 preservation advocates. The initial restoration project — funded through community donations and a partnership with the Hampton Hotels chain (which sponsored a national Route 66 restoration grant program) — repainted the whale in its original cobalt blue color, repaired the concrete surface, and stabilized the steel armature for long-term preservation.

Ongoing maintenance continues. The whale is repainted approximately every five years by volunteers, and the family operates a small gift shop on the property that sells postcards, t-shirts, postcards, and a self-published book on the whale's history. Proceeds from the gift shop fund ongoing maintenance. The Blue Whale was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and is now formally protected as a Route 66 cultural landmark.

The property is open every day from dawn to dusk and is completely free to visit. There is no admission fee, no parking fee, and no required donation — though the small donation box at the gift shop is genuinely needed to fund ongoing maintenance and visitors are encouraged to leave a few dollars. The gift shop is typically open from 10am to 5pm, weather permitting, and is staffed by Davis family heirs or volunteers.

Visitors can walk around the whale, photograph it from every angle, climb up to the internal staircase (the original Hugh-built stairs that lead to the whale's mouth), peek out from the whale's mouth at the pond, and sit on the small picnic tables surrounding the property. Swimming in the pond is no longer permitted — partly for safety reasons, partly because the family is not licensed to operate a public swimming facility — but the pond is photogenic from the shore.

Best photography times are early morning (the sun lights the whale's face) and late afternoon golden hour (the sun lights the whale's tail and the surrounding trees). Cloudy days produce flatter but more even lighting that's good for documentary photography of the whale's details. The whale is best photographed from the southwest corner of the property where the entire 80-foot length is visible against the surrounding trees.

The Blue Whale is the only Catoosa-specific Route 66 attraction worth a dedicated stop, but combining it with other northeast Oklahoma Mother Road destinations produces a satisfying half-day or full-day itinerary. The natural plan: arrive at the Blue Whale by 10am for morning light photography (30-45 minutes), drive 15 minutes northeast to Claremore for the Will Rogers Memorial Museum and the J.M. Davis Arms Museum (2-3 hours), then return to Catoosa for an early dinner at Molly's Landing (the historic riverside steakhouse) before continuing your Route 66 day toward Tulsa or further east.

For visitors based in Tulsa, the Blue Whale is a 20-minute drive northeast via I-44 and is the standard easy day-trip destination from Tulsa. Many Tulsa residents have grown up making annual or semi-annual visits to the whale; the property functions as both a regional cultural landmark and a tourist destination.

For families, the Blue Whale is one of the most genuinely kid-friendly free attractions on Oklahoma's stretch of Route 66. The open property, the climbable whale, the photo opportunities, and the gift shop merchandise produce 45-60 minutes of engaged kid time without any admission costs. Pack a picnic and you can extend the visit to a full afternoon on the surrounding grounds.