1094 - Goo Goo Avenue

It’s hard to picture Avenue F, running through central Lawton, without railroad tracks, streetlights, and the hum of cars. But did you know that in the early 1900s, when Lawton was a baby of a town, this street was surrounded by tents, instead of buildings? It was a hub of activity, a wild, bustling street called Goo Goo Avenue, and there are a couple of interesting stories as to why this street was given that moniker.

Some say the name Goo Goo Avenue paid homage to the mud and muck covered streets. Unlike today, cars were a bit of a rarity. Instead, horses dragged wagons, the rickety wheels cutting trenches through the sludge, long before any streets in Lawton were paved. However, the nickname could have come from another more colorful story.

Goo Goo Avenue, as mentioned before, was quite a vibrant stretch in Lawton. At Lawton’s opening in August 1901, 86 tent saloons and numerous gambling dens surrounded the street, all filled with fancy women. At one saloon, Miss Flora Altman, known by locals as “The Flying Lady”, belted out the hit song “Just Because She Made Those Goo Goo Eyes” with so much passion and fervor that the melody echoed across town and could be heard by nearby church goers on Sunday mornings. Perhaps it was the goo goo eyes and not the gooey mud that led people to call it Goo Goo Avenue. In reference to the famed prohibitionist, another saloon sported a large sign proclaiming “All nations welcome but “Carrie.” And while the saloons, gambling dens, and mud are long gone, the history remains. Just imagine the stories the ground beneath you could tell.