Bill Ryan, a longtime Tulsa architect who designed the distinctive Rose Bowl bowling center and other landmarks in that city, died Saturday. He was 93.
Ryan began his career in 1953 after graduating from the University of Oklahoma. He also designed East Central High School in 1964 (another Route 66 landmark in Tulsa) and many other churches, homes and commercial buildings in Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas.
He reluctantly retired from his trade at 92, according to the Tulsa World.
Ryan also served on the USS Essex during World War II, including a brush with death from a Japanese kamikaze pilot.
A memorial service is set for 3 p.m. Friday at Floral Haven Funeral Home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, with a reception to follow.
More about Ryan’s Rose Bowl creation:
The Rose Bowl! Built in 1961, it stands as an historical and architectural Route 66 landmark on 11th Street in East Tulsa. Originally designed to be a world-class bowling alley, its unique structure of two and one-half concrete domes, 34,000 square feet of space with 35 ft. high ceilings, and its bubble-gum pink color quickly still stands as a local landmark. […]
Located at 7419 East 11th Street along the Route 66 corridor in Tulsa, this unique building was constructed by a prominent Tulsa doctor, who commissioned Tulsa architect William Henry Ryan, to design the structure. The unique structure with its 2½ symmetrical concrete domes, bubble gum pink color, and soaring windows, quickly became a hotspot when it opened in 1962 as the Rose Bowl Lanes. Boasting audience seating, a game room, food counter and other traditional elements of the 10-pin heyday, it not only drew many locals but also became known for its regional bowling tournaments, drawing people from all over the country.
The Rose Bowl closed after two arson fires in 2005, and AMF slapped the facility with a non-compete clause, rendering it unable to be reopened as a bowling alley.
It eventually became the Rose Bowl Events Center in 2008.
One Hope Ministry bought the facility in 2012, adding a basketball court and artificial turf for the use of area children. And this month, 918 Flea Market began renting out the facility each Sunday.
(Image of the Rose Bowl in Tulsa in 2016 by Stu Rapley via Flickr; screen-capture image of Bill Ryan from Tulsa World video)