Question: What Texas town is home to an abandoned concrete oil reservoir that was once transformed into a water park?
Answer: Monahans. Without an efficient means to transport or store crude during the oil boom of the 1920s, Shell Oil Company constructed a 179,500-square-foot reservoir with a tar paper roof in just 90 days. Designed to store five million barrels of oil, the reservoir leaked profusely when it was filled with one million barrels, and Shell abandoned it in 1930.
In 1958, local residents Wayne and Amalie Long filled the tank with water and hired professional water skiers to put on a show. Melody Park only lasted one day, however, due to the unresolved issue of leaks. Today, the reservoir is the main attraction of the Million Barrel Museum, and a portion of it has been transformed into a 400-seat amphitheater.
