After retiring from 36 years of working at the Tulsa Zoo, zoologist, photographer, and lecturer, Hugh S. Davis and wife Zelta dedicated themselves to educating people about nature. They first built an ark with its cute wooden animals, the Alligator Ranch and Nature’s Acres with its live alligators, snake pit and prairie dog village. Tired of dodging snake bites and alligator attacks, Hugh, at age 60, began doodling pictures of a “fish” to enhance his grandchildren and neighbors swimming experiences in their spring-feed pond.

With the help of Hugh’s welder neighbor Harold Thomas, the fish became a 20-foot-tall and 80-foot-long whale. Harold created the iron armature and Hugh hand-mixed and applied concrete one five-gallon bucket at a time. They spend two-years building the whale. In 1972, on their 34th Wedding Anniversary, Hugh presented the Blue Whale as a present to Zelta. After the whale's completion, the park became more popular than ever and one of the popular attractions along Route 66.

Years passed, and by the Davis’s 50th wedding anniversary, age caught up with them. The whale, despite its popularity, closed to the public in 1988, becoming an overgrown swamp. Its blue skin faded and peeled. But it did not remain forgotten. Restoration efforts began in 1997, involving family members, Hampton Inn employees, and the Catoosa Chamber of Commerce. By the early 2000s, local officials and fans of the Mother Road partnered with the city of Catoosa for property maintenance. In 2020, the city purchased the 14-acre property from the Davis family, transforming it into a city park. In June 2025, the city broke ground for a new visitor’s center.

The Blue Whale has been featured in numerous national and international ads and popular culture media.

Sources: Annalise Flynn (2023) spacesarchives.com; Cityofcatoosa.org: Narrative adapted from “The History of the Blue Whale” panel on site written by Davis’s daughter Dee Dee Belt and Hugh & Zelta Davis - Blue Whale Early History

Photos courtesy of SPACES–Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments and John Michael Kohler Arts Center