Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 1,023,988 residents. The city serves as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Tulsa County Tulsa County is located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Oklahoma County. Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa, the secon ...

, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma, with urban development extending into

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) *Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated community ...

, and Wagoner counties. Tulsa was settled between 1828 and 1836 by the Lochapoka Band of

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

Native American tribe and most of Tulsa is still part of the territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Historically, a robust energy sector fueled Tulsa's economy; however, today the city has diversified and leading sectors include finance, aviation, telecommunications and technology. Two institutions of higher education within the city have sports teams at the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

level:

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, evangelist Oral Roberts. Sitting on a campus, ORU offers over 70 undergraduate degree programs ...

and the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

. As well, the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

has a secondary campus at the Tulsa Schusterman Center, and

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

has a secondary campus located in downtown Tulsa. For most of the 20th century, the city held the nickname "

Oil Capital of the World The title of "Oil Capital of the World" is often used to refer to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Houston, Texas, the current center of the oil industry, more frequently uses the sobriquet “ The Energy Capital of the World.” History In mid-19th century, ...

" and played a major role as one of the most important hubs for the

American oil industry Petroleum has been a major industry in the United States since shortly after the oil discovery in the Oil Creek area of Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. The industry includes exploration, production, processing (refining), transportati ...

. It is situated on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

between the

Osage Hills The Osage Hills is a hilly area in Oklahoma, commonly known as ''The Osage''. The name refers to the broad rolling hills and rolling tallgrass prairie and Cross Timbers encompassing Osage County and surrounding areas, including portions of May ...

and the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state known as " Green Country". Considered the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma, Tulsa houses two art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation's largest concentrations of

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

architecture.

History

Meadow Gold Neon Sign Route 66 Tulsa Oklahoma

The area where Tulsa now exists is considered

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

, on the land of the Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Wahzhazhe Ma zha (Osage), Muscogee (Creek), and Caddo tribes, among others, before it was first formally settled by the Lochapoka and Creek tribes in 1836. They established a small settlement under the

Creek Council Oak Tree The Creek Council Oak Tree is a historic landmark which represents the founding of the modern city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States by the Lochapoka

at the present-day intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and 18th Street. This area and this tree reminded Chief Tukabahchi and his small group of the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

survivors of the bend in the river and their previous Creek Council Oak Tree back in the Tallassee, Alabama area. They named their new settlement ''Tallasi'', meaning "old town" in the Creek language, which later became "Tulsa". The area around Tulsa was also settled by members of the other so-called " Five Civilized Tribes" who had been relocated to Oklahoma from the Southern United States. Most of modern Tulsa is located in the Creek Nation, with parts located in the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

and

Osage Nation The Osage Nation ( ) ( Osage: 𐓁𐒻 𐓂𐒼𐒰𐓇𐒼𐒰͘ ('), "People of the Middle Waters") is a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Great Plains. The tribe developed in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 700 BC along ...

s. Although Oklahoma was not yet a state during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the Tulsa area saw its share of fighting. The Battle of Chusto-Talasah took place on the north side of Tulsa and several battles and skirmishes took place in nearby counties. After the War, the tribes signed Reconstruction treaties with the federal government that in some cases required substantial land concessions. In the years after the Civil War and around the turn of the century, the area along the Arkansas River that is now Tulsa was periodically home to or visited by a series of colorful outlaws, including the legendary Wild Bunch, the Dalton Gang, and Little Britches. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that much of eastern Oklahoma, including much of Tulsa, falls in the category of Indian Country, reshaping much of the legal jurisdiction in the region. The Muscogee (Creek),

, Chickasaw,

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

, and Seminole tribal communities welcomed the decision as a long-fought for victory.

Incorporation and "Oil Capital" prosperity

Around August 1, 1882, the town was almost centered at a location just north of the current Whittier Square, when a construction crew laying out the line of the

St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

chose that spot for a sidetrack. However, an area merchant persuaded them to move the site further west into the Muscogee Nation, which had friendlier laws for white business owners. On January 18, 1898, Tulsa was officially incorporated and elected Edward Calkins as the city's first mayor. Tulsa was still a micro town near the banks of the

in 1901 when its first oil well, named Sue Bland No. 1, was established. Much of the oil was discovered on land whose mineral rights were owned by members of the

under a system of headrights. By 1905, the discovery of the grand

Glenn Pool Oil Reserve The discovery of the Glenn Pool Oil Reserve in 1905 brought the first major oil pipelines into Oklahoma, and instigated the first large scale oil boom in the state. Located near what was—at the time—the small town of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the res ...

(located approximately 15 miles south of downtown Tulsa and site of the present-day town of Glenpool) prompted a rush of entrepreneurs to the area's growing number of oil fields; Tulsa's population swelled to over 140,000 between 1901 and 1930. Unlike the early settlers of Northeastern Oklahoma, who most frequently migrated from the South and Texas, many of these new oil-driven settlers came to Tulsa from the commercial centers of the East Coast and lower Midwest. This migration distinguished the city's demographics from neighboring communities (Tulsa has larger and more prominent Catholic and Jewish populations than most Oklahoma cities) and is reflected in the designs of early Tulsa's upscale neighborhoods. Tulsa OK Map 1920

Known as the "

" for most of the 20th century, the city's success in the energy industry prompted construction booms in the popular

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style of the time. Profits from the oil industry continued through the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, helping the city's economy fare better than most in the United States during the 1930s. In 1923, Harwelden was built by oil baron E. P. Harwell and his wife Mary and is an example of prosperity in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1920s.

1921 race massacre

In the early 20th century, Tulsa was home to the " Black Wall Street", one of the most prosperous Black communities in the United States at the time. Located in the

Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth C ...

neighborhood, it was the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre, said to be "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history", in which mobs of White Tulsans killed Black Tulsans, looted and robbed the Black community, and burned down homes and businesses. Sixteen hours of massacring on May 31 and June 1, 1921, ended only when National Guardsmen were brought in by the governor. An official report later claimed that 23 Black and 16 White citizens were killed, but other estimates suggest as many as 300 people died, most of them Black. Over 800 people were admitted to local hospitals with injuries, and an estimated 1,000 Black people were left homeless as 35 city blocks, composed of 1,256 residences, were destroyed by fire. Property damage was estimated at . Efforts to obtain reparations for survivors of the violence have been unsuccessful, but the events were re-examined by the city and state in the early 21st century, acknowledging the terrible actions that had taken place.

20th century

In 1925, Tulsa businessman

Cyrus Avery Cyrus Stevens Avery (1871–1963) was a businessperson, oilman, and highway commissioner. He created the U.S. Route 66 while being a member of the federal board appointed to create the Federal Highway System, then pushed for the establishment of ...

, known as the "Father of

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

," began his campaign to create a road linking

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

by establishing the

U.S. Highway 66 Association The U.S. Highway 66 Association was organized in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1927. Its purpose was to get U.S. Highway 66 paved from end to end and to promote tourism on the highway. The organization was similar to many that existed before the creation of ...

in Tulsa, earning the city the nickname the "Birthplace of Route 66". Once completed, U.S. Route 66 took an important role in Tulsa's development as the city served as a popular rest stop for travelers, who were greeted by Route 66 icons such as the Meadow Gold Sign and the

Blue Whale of Catoosa The Blue Whale of Catoosa is a waterfront structure, just east of the American town of Catoosa, Oklahoma, and it has become one of the most recognizable attractions on old Route 66. Creation Hugh Davis built the Blue Whale in the early 1970s ...

. During this period,

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

and his group,

The Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

, began their long performing stint at a small ballroom in downtown Tulsa. In 1935, Cain's Ballroom became the base for the group, which is largely credited for creating Western Swing music. The venue continued to attract famous musicians through its history, and is still in operation today. For the rest of the mid-20th century, the city had a master plan to construct parks, churches, museums, rose gardens, improved infrastructure, and increased national advertising. The Spavinaw Dam, built during this era to accommodate the city's water needs, was considered one of the largest public works projects of the era. A national recession greatly affected the city's economy in 1982, as areas of Texas and Oklahoma heavily dependent on oil suffered the freefall in gas prices due to a glut, and a mass exodus of oil industries. Tulsa, heavily dependent on the oil industry, was one of the hardest-hit cities by the fall of oil prices. By 1992, the state's economy had fully recovered, but leaders worked to expand into sectors unrelated to oil and energy.

21st century

In 2003, the "

Vision 2025 Vision 2025 was a series of four propositions to increase Tulsa County's sales tax rate by $0.01 in order to fund capital improvements and provide economic development incentives. Two prior proposals, in 1997 and 2000, were rejected by Tulsa Count ...

" program was approved by voters, to enhance and revitalize Tulsa's infrastructure and tourism industry. The keystone project of the initiative, the

BOK Center The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,199-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar even ...

, was designed to be a home for the city's minor league hockey and arena football teams, as well as a venue for major concerts and conventions. The multi-purpose arena, designed by famed architect Cesar Pelli, broke ground in 2005 and was opened on August 30, 2008. In July 2020 the Supreme Court ruled in ''

McGirt v. Oklahoma ''McGirt v. Oklahoma'', 591 U.S. ___ (2020), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case which ruled that, as pertaining to the Major Crimes Act, much of the eastern portion of the state of Oklahoma remains as Native American lands of the pr ...

'' that as it pertains to criminal law much of eastern Oklahoma, including Tulsa, remains as Native American lands. Specifically, prosecution of crimes by Native Americans on these lands falls into the jurisdiction of the

tribal court Tribal sovereignty in the United States is the concept of the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States. Originally, the U.S. federal government recognized American Indian trib ...

s and federal judiciary under the Major Crimes Act, rather than Oklahoma's courts.

Geography

Tulsa is located in the northeastern corner of

between the edge of the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

and the foot of the Ozarks in a generally forested region of rolling hills. The city touches the eastern extent of the

Cross Timbers The term Cross Timbers, also known as Ecoregion 29, Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains, is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas. Made up of a mix of prairie ...

, an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and prairie transitioning from the drier plains of the west to the wetter forests of the east. With a wetter climate than points westward, Tulsa serves as a gateway to " Green Country", a popular and official designation for northeast Oklahoma that stems from the region's green vegetation and relatively large number of hills and lakes compared to central and western areas of Oklahoma, which lie largely in the drier

region of the Central United States. Located near the western edge of the

U.S. Interior Highlands The U.S. Interior Highlands is a mountainous region in the Central United States spanning northern and western Arkansas, southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and extreme southeastern Kansas. The name is designated by the United States Geologica ...

, northeastern Oklahoma is the most topographically diverse part of the state, containing seven of Oklahoma's 11 eco-regions and more than half of its state parks. The region encompasses 30 lakes or reservoirs and borders the neighboring states of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. The geographic coordinates of the city of Tulsa are (36.131294, −95.937332), with an elevation of above sea level.

Topography

The city developed on both sides of the prominent

, which flows in a wide, sandy-bottomed channel. Its flow through the Tulsa area is controlled by upstream flood control reservoirs, but its width and depth can vary widely throughout the year, such as during periods of high rainfall or severe drought. A low-water dam was built to maintain a full channel at all times in the area adjacent to downtown Tulsa. This portion of the river was known as Zink Lake. However, the City of Tulsa allowed the dam to deteriorate and it no longer functions to retain the lake for which it was designed. Heavily wooded and with abundant parks and water areas, the city has several prominent hills, such as "Shadow Mountain" and " Turkey Mountain", which create varied terrain, especially in its southern portions. While its central and northern sections are generally flat to gently undulating, the

extension into the northwestern part of the city further varies the landscape. Holmes Peak, north of the city, is the tallest point in the Tulsa Metro area at 1,360 ft (415 m) According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (2.24%) is water.

Cityscape

Architecture

A building boom in Tulsa in the early 20th century coincided with the rise of art deco architecture in the United States. Most commonly in the zigzag and

streamline Streamline may refer to: Business * Streamline Air, American regional airline * Adobe Streamline, a discontinued line tracing program made by Adobe Systems * Streamline Cars, the company responsible for making the Burney car Engineering ...

styles, the city's art deco is dotted throughout its older neighborhoods, primarily in downtown and midtown. A collection of large art deco structures such as the

Mid-Continent Tower The Mid-Continent Tower is a 36-story skyscraper located at 401 South Boston Avenue in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. At 156 meters (513 ft) in height, it is the fourth-tallest building in Tulsa and fifth-tallest in Oklahoma. Faced with bright w ...

, the

Boston Avenue Methodist Church The Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, located in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, and completed in 1929, is considered to be one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical Art Deco architecture in the United States, and has been placed on the Nationa ...

, Will Rogers High School, and the

Philtower The Philtower Building is a historic building located at 427 South Boston Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Description and history Completed in 1928, it was designed by Edward Buehler Delk and financed by renowned oilman and dedicated philanthropist W ...

, have attracted events promoting the preservation and architectural interest. In addition, the city's early prosperity funded the construction of many elegant Craftsmen, Georgian, storybook, Tudor, Greek Revival, Italianate, Spanish revival, and colonial revival homes (many of which can be found in Tulsa's uptown and Midtown neighborhoods). Noted architects and firms working in Tulsa during this period include Charles Dilbeck,

John Duncan Forsyth John Duncan Forsyth (1886 or 1887–1963) was a Scottish-American architect who became prominent in Oklahoma. Based in Tulsa and working in a variety of styles, he was connected with a number of significant buildings around the state. Biogr ...

, and

Nelle Peters Nelle Elizabeth Nichols Peters, usually known as Nelle Peters, (1884–1974) was one of Kansas City's most prolific architects, designing a wide range of buildings there. Biography Born Elizabeth Nichols in a sod house in Niagara, North Dakota, ...

. Growth in the twentieth century gave the city a larger base of contemporary architectural styles, including several buildings by famed Tulsa architects Bruce Goff and Adah Robinson. The

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

was very influential in Tulsa: Barry Byrne designed Tulsa's Christ the King Church and, in 1927,

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

's midtown Tulsa residential project Westhope was completed. In particular, the middle of the 20th century brought a wealth of modern architecture to Tulsa. Tulsa's Mies-trained modernist

Robert Lawton Jones Robert "Bob" Lawton Jones (1925-2018) was an American architect and academic recognized for his contributions to modernist architecture. Background and Career Bob Jones was born in McAlester, Oklahoma on May 12, 1925 and remained there through gr ...

designed many buildings in the region, including the Tulsa International Airport. Other noted modernists working in Tulsa include the pioneering Texas architect O'Neil Ford and

Joseph R. Koberling Jr. Joseph R. Koberling Jr. (27 May 1900 – 8 June 1990) was a Hungarian-American architect. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he emigrated to the United States, first to San Francisco, then, in 1917, to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he was a student of noted art ...

, who had also been active during the art deco period. South, East, and Midtown Tulsa are home to a number of the ranch and Mid-Century Modern homes that reflect Tulsa's prosperous post-war period. The

BOK Tower BOK Tower (named for the Bank of Oklahoma; formerly known as One Williams Center) is a skyscraper in Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. At 203 m (667 ft) in height, the 52-story tower was the tallest building in Oklahoma until surpassed by Devo ...

, built during this period, is the second tallest building in Oklahoma and the surrounding states of Missouri,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, and Kansas. Tulsa also has the third-, and fourth-tallest buildings in the state, including the Cityplex Tower, which is located in South Tulsa across from Oral Roberts University, far from downtown. One of the area's unique architectural complexes, Oral Roberts University, is built in a Post-Modern Futuristic style, incorporating bright gold structures with sharp, jetting edges and clear geometric shapes. The

, Tulsa's new arena, incorporates many of the city's most prominent themes, including Native American, art deco, and contemporary architectural styles. Intended to be an architectural icon, the building was designed by

César Pelli César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine-American architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur a ...

, the architect of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.

Neighborhoods

Downtown Tulsa is an area of approximately surrounded by an inner-dispersal loop created by Interstate 244, Highway 64, and Highway 75. The area serves as Tulsa's financial and business district, and is the focus of a large initiative to draw tourism, which includes plans to capitalize on the area's historic architecture. Much of Tulsa's convention space is located in downtown, such as the

Tulsa Performing Arts Center The Tulsa Performing Arts Center, or Tulsa PAC, is a performing arts venue in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It houses four main theatres, a studio space, an art gallery Tulsa Convention Center The Cox Business Convention Center (formerly the Tulsa Assembly Center, Tulsa Convention Center, and Maxwell Convention Center) is a 310,625 square foot convention center located in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Cox Business Convention Center (C ...

, and the

. Prominent downtown sub-districts include the Blue Dome District, the Brady Arts district, the "Oil Capital Historic District", the Greenwood Historical District,

Owen Park Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

Historical Neighborhood, and the site of ONEOK Field, a baseball stadium for the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

opened in 2010. Tulsa, Oklahoma

The city's historical residential core lies in an area known as Midtown, containing upscale neighborhoods built in the early 20th century with architecture ranging from art deco to

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

. The University of Tulsa, the

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

neighborhood,

Philbrook Museum Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wi ...

, and the upscale shopping districts of

Utica Square Utica Square is an upscale outdoor shopping center located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Cynthia Dees"Utica Square Bucks Downturn in Market" ''Tulsa World'', July 18, 1990. The mall is anchored by a branch of the Saks Fifth Avenue chain (which opened at Utica ...

, Cherry Street, and Brookside are located in this region. A large portion of the city's southern half has developed since the 1970s, containing low-density housing and retail developments. This region, marked by secluded homes and suburban neighborhoods, contains one of the state's largest shopping malls,

Woodland Hills Mall Woodland Hills Mall is a 1+ million square foot, super regional shopping mall located at 7021 S. Memorial Drive in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It was originally developed by Homart Development Company, and opened in August 1976. Woodland Hills ...

, as well as

Southern Hills Country Club Southern Hills Country Club is a private golf and country club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. History The club was established in 1935 from land donated by multimillionaire oilman Waite Phillips (Frank Phillips, Waite's brother, was the namesake and fo ...

, and Oral Roberts University. East of Highway 169 and north of 61st street, a diverse racial makeup marks the eastern portions of the city, with large

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

and

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

communities and much of the city's manufacturing industry. Areas of Tulsa west of the Arkansas River are called

West Tulsa West Tulsa is a local name given to an area situated in the west section of the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma which includes various communities to the west and south of the Arkansas River. As development between Sand Springs and Tulsa continued in the ...

and are marked by large parks, wilderness reserves, and large oil refineries. The northern tier of the city is home to OSU-Tulsa, Gilcrease Museum,

Tulsa Air and Space Museum The Tulsa Air and Space Museum (TASM) is an ''aerospace museum'' in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in the northwest corner of the Tulsa International Airport property. It has of historical exhibits, hands-on activities, and vintage ...

, and the nation's third-largest municipal park, Mohawk Park.

=Walkability

= In 2016, Walk Score ranked Tulsa the 34th "most walkable" out of 141 U.S. cities with a population greater than 200,000.

=Bicycling

= Tulsa has a number of cycling trails, and has installed protected bike lanes in parts of the downtown area. Additional efforts to expand this infrastructure have been included as part of the city's "GoPlan".

Climate

Tulsa has a

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

climate of the humid subtropical variety ( Köppen ''Cfa'') with a yearly average temperature of and average precipitation of just under per year. Average monthly precipitation is lowest from December to February, and peaks dramatically in May, which averages of rainfall. Early June can still be wet, but late June through the end of August is frequently dry. On average, Tulsa experiences a secondary rainfall peak in September and early October. As is typical of temperate zones, weather patterns vary by season with occasional extremes in temperature and rainfall. Lightning over Tulsa cropped

Primarily in the spring and early summer months, the city is subjected to severe thunderstorms containing large

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

, damaging winds, and, occasionally, tornadoes, providing the area with a disproportionate share of its annual rainfall. Severe weather is not limited to this season, however. For instance, on December 5, 1975, and on December 24, 1982, Tulsa experienced tornadoes. Due to its potential for major flooding events, the city has developed one of the most extensive flood control systems in the nation. A comprehensive flood management plan was developed in 1984 following a severe flood caused by a stalled weather front that dropped of rain overnight, killing 14, injuring 288, and destroying 7,000 buildings totaling in damage. In the early 1990s and again in 2000, the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

honored Tulsa as leading the nation in flood plain management. Triple-digit temperatures (≥38 °C) are observed on average 11 days per year, sometimes exceeding from July to early September, usually accompanied by high humidity brought in by southerly winds; The highest recorded temperature was on August 10, 1936. Lack of air circulation due to heat and humidity during the summer months leads to higher concentrations of

ozone Ozone (), or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lo ...

, prompting the city to release "Ozone Alerts", encouraging all parties to do their part in complying with the Clean Air Act and

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

standards. The autumn season is usually short, consisting of pleasant, sunny days followed by cool nights. Winter temperatures, while generally mild, dip below on 3 nights, and occasionally below , the most recent such occurrence being a reading on February 16, 2021. The 1981–2010 seasonal snowfall average is . The record for the highest seasonal snowfall is 26.1 inches (66.3 cm) set in the winter of 2010–2011. Only three winters on record have officially recorded trace amounts or no snowfall, the most recent being 1910–11. The lowest recorded temperature was on January 22, 1930.

August 6, 2017 tornado

An EF2 tornado struck Tulsa early on the morning of Sunday, August 6, 2017. The funnel touched down just after 1 A.M. near 36th Street and Harvard Avenue, then travelled in an easterly direction for about six minutes. The heaviest property damage occurred along 41st Street between Yale Avenue and Sheridan Road. Two restaurants,

TGI Friday's TGI Fridays (operating in the UK as FRIDAYS) is an American restaurant chain focusing on primarily American cuisine and casual dining. The restaurant's founder said the name stood for "Thank God It's Friday", although some television commercial ...

and Whataburger, were particularly hard hit, with several people being sent to hospitals for treatment. The Whataburger was later bulldozed; it was rebuilt in 2019.

Demographics

Race and ethnicity 2010- Tulsa (5560454596)

According to the 2010 Census, Tulsa had a population of 391,906 and the racial and ethnic composition was as follows: *

White American White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...

: 62.6% (57.9% Non-Hispanic Whites) *

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

: 15.6% *

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and ''Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States C ...

(of any race): 14.1% (11.5%

, 0.4% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Guatemalan, 0.2% Spanish, 0.2% Honduran, 0.2%

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...

) * Some other race: 8.0% *

Two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many culture ...

: 5.9% * Native American: 5.3% *

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

: 2.3% (0.5% Hmong, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.3%

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, 0.2%

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, 0.2% Korean, 0.2%

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

) * Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1% Prayer Tower on the campus of Oral Roberts University

As of the 2010 census, there were 391,906 people, 163,975 households, and 95,246 families residing in the city, with a population density of There were 185,127 housing units at an average density of 982.3 per square mile (379.2/km²). Of 163,975 households, 27% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. Of all households, 34.5% are made up of only one person, and 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 people and the average family size was 3.04. In the city proper, the age distribution was 24.8% of the population under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older, while the median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males, while for every 100 females over the age of 17 there were 90.4 males. In 2011, the median income for a household in the city was $40,268 and the median income for a family was $51,977. The per capita income for the city was $26,727. About 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line. Of the city's population over the age of 25, 29.8% holds a bachelor's degree or higher, and 86.5% have a high school diploma or equivalent.

Metropolitan area

The Tulsa

Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

, or the region immediately surrounding Tulsa with strong social and economic ties to the city, occupies a large portion of the state's northeastern quadrant. It is informally known as " Green Country", a longstanding name adopted by the state's official tourism designation for all of northeastern Oklahoma (its usage concerning the Tulsa Metropolitan Area can be traced to the early part of the 20th century). The Census Bureau defines the sphere of the city's influence as the Tulsa

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

(MSA), spanning seven counties: Tulsa,

, Osage, Wagoner, Okmulgee, Pawnee, and

. The 2020 U.S. Census shows the Tulsa MSA to have 1,015,331 residents The 2020 U.S. Census shows the Tulsa-Muscogee-Bartlesville CSA to have 1,134,125 residents.

Religion

Tulsa has a large conservative following, with the majority of Tulsans being Christians. The second-largest religion in Tulsa is Islam, followed by Buddhism and Judaism. Tulsa is part of the Southern region demographers and commentators refer to as the " Bible Belt," where Protestant and, in particular,

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word ...

and other

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian traditions are very prominent. In fact, Tulsa, home to

Phillips Theological Seminary Phillips Theological Seminary is a private seminary affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was established in 1906 and was originally a part of the now defunct Phillips University. History T ...

, and RHEMA Bible Training College (in the suburb of Broken Arrow), is sometimes called the " buckle of the Bible Belt". Beyond Oral Roberts and

Kenneth E. Hagin Kenneth Erwin Hagin (August 20, 1917 – September 19, 2003) was an American preacher. He is known for pioneering the Word of Faith movement. Biography Personal life Kenneth E. Hagin was born August 20, 1917, in McKinney, Texas, the son of ...

, a number of prominent Protestant Christians have lived or studied in Tulsa, including Joel Osteen,

Carlton Pearson Carlton D'metrius Pearson (born March 19, 1953) is an American minister and gospel music artist. At one time, he was the pastor of the Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center Incorporated, later named the Higher Dimensions Family Church, which was ...

, Kenneth Copeland,

Billy Joe Daugherty Billy Joe Daugherty (April 23, 1952 – November 22, 2009) was founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center (now Victory Church) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was also the founder of Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute and Victory World ...

Smokie Norful Rev. W.R. "Smokie" Norful, Jr. is an American gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be d ...

and Billy James Hargis. Mother Grace Tucker was an Evangelical pastor who ministered to Tulsa's poor and homeless for over fifty years. Tulsa is also home to a number of vibrant

Mainline Protestant The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...

congregations. Some of these congregations were founded during the oil boom of the early twentieth century and are noted for striking architecture, such as the art deco

and First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa. The metropolitan area has at least four religious radio stations ( KCFO,

KNYD KNYD (90.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County, with a portion in we ...

, KXOJ, & KPIM), and at least two religious TV stations (

KWHB KWHB (channel 47) is a religious television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, owned and operated by the Christian Television Network (CTN). The station's studios are located on Yellowood Avenue in Broken Arrow, and its transmitter is at ...

KGEB KGEB (channel 53) is a religious television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, owned by Oral Roberts University. Its studios are contained within the Mabee Center arena on the ORU campus in south Tulsa, and its transmitter is atop the ce ...

). While the state of Oklahoma has fewer Roman Catholics than the national average, Tulsa has a higher percentage owing in large part to the influx of Eastern and Midwestern settlers during the oil boom. Tulsa's Catholic community is atypically prominent for a Southern city and includes Governor and U.S. Senator

Dewey F. Bartlett Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. (March 28, 1919 – March 1, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Cat ...

, Congressmen

James R. Jones James Robert Jones (born May 5, 1939) is an American lawyer, diplomat, Democratic politician, a retired U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico under President Bill Clinton. Jones grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, a ...

and John A. Sullivan, Governor Frank Keating, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See

Francis Rooney Laurence Francis Rooney III (born December 4, 1953) is an American politician and diplomat who was a U.S. Representative for from 2017 to 2021. A Republican, he served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 until 2008. Represe ...

, and Mayors

Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr. Dewey Follett Bartlett Jr. (born March 16, 1947) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 39th Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. An oil industry executive and political figure in Tulsa, Bartlett was the Republican nominee for mayor of ...

Robert J. LaFortune Robert J. LaFortune (born January 24, 1927) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. LaFortune was mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1970 to 1978. Early life LaFortune was born and raised in Tulsa. His parents, Joseph Aloysius L ...

Bill LaFortune William LaFortune (born August 23, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 37th Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2002 to 2006 and is currently a district judge in Tulsa County. He was elected without opposition to a four-year term in 2014 ...

and

G. T. Bynum George Theron Bynum IV (born August 28, 1977) is an American politician and lobbyist from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, Bynum is the 40th mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prior to becoming mayor, he served as a city councilo ...

. Holy Family Cathedral serves as the Cathedral for the Diocese of Tulsa. Tulsa is also home to the largest Jewish community in Oklahoma, with active Reform, Conservative and Orthodox congregations. Tulsa's Jewish community includes

George Kaiser George Bruce Kaiser (born October 30, 1943) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of BOK Financial Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As of September 2021, he is the 476th richest person in the world and was, in 2012, one of ...

and

Lynn Schusterman Lynn Schusterman (née Rothschild; born January 21, 1939) is an American billionaire philanthropist. She is the co-founder (with her late husband Charles Schusterman, Charles) and chair of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and f ...

. Tulsa's

Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art (SMMJA) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 as the Gershon & Rebecca Fenster Museum of Jewish Art. From its inception until 1998, Tulsa's Congregation B'nai Emunah Synagogue housed the museum.All Souls Unitarian Church All Souls Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world. All Souls Unitarian Church was founded in 1921 by two leading Tulsans from families with Unitarian roo ...

, reportedly the largest Unitarian Universalist congregation in the United States.Kimberly French
"The gospel of inclusion: A black Pentecostal bishop embraces Universalism, befriends a Unitarian minister, and shakes up the largest congregation in the UUA."
''UU World'', Fall 2009.
''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of September ...

'', December 26, 2003. Chùa Tam Bào (Vietnamese: "Three Jewels Temple"), Oklahoma's only Buddhist temple, was established in east Tulsa in 1993 by Vietnamese refugees. A granite statue of Quan Âm (commonly known by her Chinese name,

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

) is located in the grounds.

Economy

Energy industry's legacy and resurgence

Traditionally, Tulsa's economy has been led by the energy industry. The

United States Oil and Gas Association The United States Oil & Gas Association, formerly the Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, is a trade association which promotes the well-being of the oil and natural gas industries in the United States. Primarily, the organization focuses on the ...

, formerly the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, was founded in Tulsa on October 13, 1917, six months after the entry of the United States into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. At the time Tulsa called itself "The Oil Capital of the World". At its creation, the association worked to provide

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

to the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

forces. In the decades since its establishment, the association is recognized as a leading advocate for producers of domestic oil and gas. Over the city's history many large oil companies have been headquartered in the city, including Warren Petroleum (which merged with

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

in what was then the largest merger in the energy industry),

Skelly Oil Skelly Oil Company was a medium-sized oil company founded in 1919 by William Grove (Bill) Skelly, Chesley Coleman Herndon and Frederick A. Pielsticker in Tulsa, Oklahoma. J. Paul Getty acquired control of the company during the 1930s. It b ...

Getty Oil Getty Oil was an American oil marketing company with its origins as part of the large integrated oil company founded by J. Paul Getty. History J. Paul Getty incorporated Getty Oil in 1942. He had previously worked in the oil fields of Oklaho ...

and

CITGO Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...

. In addition,

ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...

was headquartered in nearby Bartlesville. Industry consolidation and increased offshore drilling threatened Tulsa's status as an oil capital, but new drilling techniques and the rise of natural gas have buoyed the growth of the city's energy sector. Today, Tulsa is again home to the headquarters of many international oil- and gas-related companies, including

Williams Companies The Williams Companies, Inc., is an American energy company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its core business is natural gas processing and transportation, with additional petroleum and electricity generation assets. A Fortune 500 company, its commo ...

ONE Gas ONE Gas, Inc. is a stand-alone, 100 percent regulated, publicly traded natural gas utility and is one of the largest natural gas utilities in the United States. ONE Gas provides natural gas distribution services to more than 2 million customers i ...

Syntroleum Syntroleum Corporation was a United States company engaged in development and commercialization of proprietary gas to liquids (GTL) and coal to liquids (CTL) processes known jointly as the Syntroleum Process. Renewable Energy Group acquired the ...

, ONEOK,

Laredo Petroleum Laredo Petroleum, Inc. is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration incorporated in Delaware with its principal operational headquarters located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Laredo Petroleum has no connection or association with Laredo Oil, ...

, Samson Resources,

Helmerich & Payne Helmerich & Payne, Inc. ( ) is an American petroleum contract drilling company engaged in oil and gas well drilling and related services for exploration and production companies headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with operations throughout the wo ...

Magellan Midstream Partners Magellan Midstream Partners is a publicly traded partnership based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It owns ammonia and petroleum pipelines in the Mid-Continent oil province. According to the United States Department of State, it owns "83 petroleum products ter ...

, and Excel Energy.

Diversification and emerging industries

Tulsa has diversified to capitalize on its status as a regional hub with substantial innovation assets. Products from Tulsa manufacturers account for about sixty percent of Oklahoma's exports, and in 2001, the city's total gross product was in the top one-third of metropolitan areas, states, and countries, with more than in total goods, growing at a rate of each year. In 2006, Forbes magazine rated Tulsa as second in the nation in income growth, and one of the best cities in the country to do business with. Usually among the lowest in the nation in terms of cost of doing business, the Tulsa Metropolitan Area in 2005 was rated among the five lowest metropolitan areas in the United States for that category. Tulsa's primary employers are small and medium-sized businesses: there are 30 companies in Tulsa that employ more than 1,000 people locally, and small businesses make up more than 80% of the city's companies. During a national recession from 2001 to 2003, the city lost 28,000 jobs. In response, a development initiative,

, promised to incite economic growth and recreate lost jobs. Projects spurred by the initiative promised urban revitalization, infrastructure improvement, tourism development, riverfront retail development, and further diversification of the economy. By 2007, employment levels had surpassed pre-recession heights and the city was in a significant economic development and investment surge. This economic improvement is also seen in Tulsa's housing trends which show an average of a 6% increase in rent in 2010. Since 2006, more than 28,000 jobs have been added to the city. The unemployment rate of Tulsa in August 2014 was 4.5%. Though the oil industry has historically dominated Tulsa's economy, efforts in economic diversification have created a base in the sectors of

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

, finance, technology, telecommunications, high tech, and manufacturing. A number of substantial financial corporations are headquartered in Tulsa, the largest being the

BOK Financial Corporation BOK Financial Corporation — pronounced as letters, "B-O-K" — is a financial services holding company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Offering a full complement of retail and commercial banking products and services across the American Midw ...

. Among these financial services firms are energy trading operations, asset management firms, investment funds, and a range of commercial banks. The national convenience store chain QuikTrip, fast-casual restaurant chain

Camille's Sidewalk Cafe Camille's Sidewalk Cafe is a restaurant franchise headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, specializing in healthful, "fast casual" cuisine. In 2003 Camille's had more than 100 locations, and as of May 2013 had 36 locations in the United States. Camille' ...

, and pizza chain

Mazzio's Mazzio's Corporation is the parent company of Mazzio's Italian Eatery and the former parent company of Zio's Italian Kitchen. In November 2007, Zio's Italian Kitchen was sold to a private company. Mazzio's specializes in pizzas, pastas, sandwich ...

are all headquartered in Tulsa, as is Southern regional BBQ restaurant

Rib Crib RibCrib is an Oklahoma-based restaurant that specializes in hickory-smoked barbecue and smoked meats in a casual, comfortable setting. The barbecue joint's signature recipe is in its slow-smoked ribs, but RibCrib also serves a complete menu of ...

. Tulsa is also home to the

Marshall Brewing Company Marshall Brewing Company is a brewery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It opened in 2008 in a facility outside downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is the first commercial brewing facility in Tulsa since World War II. The brewery produced about in 2009 and i ...

. Tulsa is also home to a burgeoning media industry, including

PennWell Endeavor Business Media is an American business-to-business media company founded by Chris Ferrell and others in December 2017. The company is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a l ...

, consumer review website ConsumerAffairs,

Stephens Media Group Stephens Media Group is an Oklahoma based radio broadcaster that owns 75 radio stations particularly in small to mid-size markets. Its flagship stations are at its headquarters in Tulsa. Stephens refers to itself as "A portfolio of People", ref ...

, ''

This Land Press This Land Press is a media and merchandising company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that produces and sells Oklahoma-themed apparel and gifts, produces a quarterly print magazine, publishes books, and operates a retail store. It was founded by Michae ...

'', Educational Development Corporation (the parent publisher of

Kane/Miller Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Inc., now Kane Miller, A Division of EDC Publishing, is a San Diego, California-based specialty children's book publisher of international titles. The company was acquired by the Educational Development Corporation i ...

), GEB America, Blooming Twig Books, and a full range of local media outlets, including ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

'' and local magazines, radio and television. Tulsa is also a hub for national construction and engineering companies including

Manhattan Construction Company The Manhattan Construction Company is an American-owned construction company founded by Laurence H. Rooney in Chandler in Oklahoma Territory in 1896. Today, the firm operates under its parent company, Manhattan Construction Group with affiliate ...

and

Flintco Flintco, LLC is a United States construction company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It specializes in commercial and institutional construction. In 2010, DiversityBusiness.com listed Flintco as the top Native American-owned company. Prior to 2013, Fl ...

. A number of the

Cherokee Nation Businesses Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC (CNB) is an American conglomerate holding company headquartered in Catoosa, Oklahoma that oversees and manages several subsidiary companies. CNB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cherokee Nation, the largest Na ...

are also headquartered or have substantial operations in Tulsa. Tulsa's aerospace industry is substantial and growing. An

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

maintenance base at Tulsa International Airport is the city's largest employer and the largest maintenance facility in the world, serving as the airline's global maintenance and engineering headquarters. American Airlines announced in February, 2020 that it will pour $550 million over seven years into its maintenance base, this being the largest single economic development investment in city history. The

Tulsa Port of Catoosa The primary facility of the Tulsa Ports, known as the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, is near the city of Catoosa, Oklahoma, Catoosa in Rogers County, Oklahoma, Rogers County, just inside the municipal fenceline of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Located ...

and the Tulsa International Airport house extensive transit-focused industrial parks. Tulsa is also home to a division of

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

, the headquarters of

Omni Air International Omni Air International, LLC. is a United States charter airline headquartered in Hangar 19 on the grounds of Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It specializes in passenger charter flights, and Aircraft Crew Maintenan ...

, and the

Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology (Spartan) is a private for-profit aviation college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was originally established to provide pilot and technicians for Spartan Aircraft Company but outlived its parent company and ...

. Tulsa is also part of the Oklahoma-South Kansas Unmanned Aerial Systems (

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

) industry cluster, a region which awarded funding by the U.S. Small Business Administration to build on its progress as a hub this emerging industry. As the second largest metropolitan area in Oklahoma and a hub for the growing

Northeastern Oklahoma Green Country, sometimes referred to as Northeast Oklahoma, is the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which lies west of the northern half of Arkansas, the southwestern corner the way of Missouri, and south of Kansas. Alternate ...

- Northwest Arkansas- Southwestern Missouri corridor, the city is also home to a number of the region's most sophisticated law, accounting, and medical practices. Its location in the center of the nation also makes it a hub for logistics businesses; the

Tulsa International Airport Tulsa International Airport is a civil-military airport five miles (8 km) northeast of downtown Tulsa, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named Tulsa Municipal Airport when the city acquired it in 1929;Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

recently announced plans to build a more than 600,000-square-foot fulfillment center near Tulsa International Airport. The company will invest an estimated $130 million for this state-of-the-art facility, which will employ around 1,500 people with an annual payroll of roughly $50 million.

Culture

Tulsa culture is influenced by the nearby Southwest,

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, and

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

cultural regions, as well as a historical Native American presence. These influences are expressed in the city's museums, cultural centers, performing arts venues, ethnic festivals, park systems, zoos, wildlife preserves, and large and growing collections of public sculptures, monuments, and artwork.

Museums, archives and visual culture

Tulsa is home to several museums. Located in the former villa of oil pioneer

Waite Phillips Waite Phillips (January 19, 1883 – January 27, 1964) was an American petroleum businessman who created a fully integrated operation that combined petroleum producing, refining and marketing. With headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he also develo ...

in Midtown Tulsa, the Philbrook Museum of Art is considered one of the top 50

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

museums in the United States and is one of only five to offer a combination of a historic home, formal gardens, and an art collection. The museum's expansive collection includes work by a diverse group of artists including

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

Domenico di Pace Beccafumi Domenico di Pace Beccafumi (1486May 18, 1551) was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter active predominantly in Siena. He is considered one of the last undiluted representatives of the Sienese school of painting. Biography Domenico was born ...

, Willem de Kooning,

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

and Georgia O'Keeffe. Philbrook also maintains a satellite campus in downtown Tulsa. In the

of Northwest Tulsa, the Gilcrease Museum holds the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West. The museum includes the extensive collection of Native American oilman and famed art collector

Thomas Gilcrease William Thomas Gilcrease (February 8, 1890 – May 6, 1962) was an American oilman, art collector, and philanthropist. During his lifetime, Gilcrease collected more than 10,000 artworks, 250,000 Native American artifacts and 100,000 rare book ...

with numerous works by

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United State ...

, Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt and

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

among the many displayed. On the west bank of the Arkansas River in the suburb of Jenks, the

Oklahoma Aquarium __NOTOC__ The Oklahoma Aquarium is public aquarium built in 2002 and opened on May 28, 2003, in Jenks, a southern suburb of Tulsa. Exhibit The Oklahoma Aquarium is home to the world's largest exhibit of bull sharks which you can explore in ...

is the state's only freestanding aquarium, containing over 200 exhibits, including a shark tank. In addition, the city hosts a number of galleries, experimental art-spaces, smaller museums, and display spaces located throughout the city (clustered mostly in downtown, Brookside, and the Pearl District). Living Arts of Tulsa, in downtown Tulsa, is among the organizations dedicated to promoting and sustaining an active arts scene in the city.

Cultural and historical archives

Opened in April 2013, the

Woody Guthrie Center The Woody Guthrie Center is a public museum and archive located in Tulsa, Oklahoma that is dedicated to the life and legacy of American folk musician and singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie. The Center also contains the archives of folk singer, songw ...

in the Tulsa Arts District is Tulsa's newest museum and archive. In addition to interactive state-of-the-art museum displays, the

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

Center also houses the Woody Guthrie Archives, containing thousands of Guthrie's personal items, sheet music, manuscripts, books, photos, periodicals, and other items associated with the iconic Oklahoma native. The archives of Guthrie protégé, singer-songwriter

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

will also be displayed in Tulsa when a new facility designed to showcase

The Bob Dylan Archive The Bob Dylan Archive is a collection of documents and objects relating to American singer Bob Dylan. It was announced on March 2, 2016 that the archive had been acquired by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) and The University of Tulsa (TU) ...

is completed. The Church Studio is a recording studio and tourist attraction with an archive of more than 5,000 pieces. Constructed in 1915, the church was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

due to the late musician

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

, who turned the old church into a recording studio and office to Shelter Records in 1972. With remnants of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

and artifacts relevant to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

in Oklahoma, the

Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art (SMMJA) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was founded in 1966 as the Gershon & Rebecca Fenster Museum of Jewish Art. From its inception until 1998, Tulsa's Congregation B'nai Emunah Synagogue housed the museum.Judaica in the Southwestern and South-Central United States. Other museums, such as the Tulsa Historical Society, the

Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium The Tulsa Air and Space Museum (TASM) is an ''aerospace museum'' in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in the northwest corner of the Tulsa International Airport property. It has of historical exhibits, hands-on activities, and vintage ...

, the

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization that honors jazz, blues and gospel music, gospel musicians in the state of Oklahoma. Housed in the former Union Depot (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Tulsa Union Depot, wh ...

, and the Tulsa Geosciences Center, document histories of the region, while the

Greenwood Cultural Center Greenwood is a historic freedom colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States during the early 20th century, it was popularly known as America's "Black Wall Street". It ...

preserves the culture of the city's African American heritage, housing a collection of artifacts and photography that document the history of the Black Wall Street before the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.

Public art

Since 1969, public displays of artwork in Tulsa have been funded by one percent of its annual city budget. Each year, a sculpture from a local artist is installed along the Arkansas River trail system, while other sculptures stand at local parks, such as an enlarged version of

Cyrus Dallin Cyrus Edwin Dallin (November 22, 1861 – November 14, 1944) was an American sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans. He created more than 260 works, including the ''Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere'' in Boston, Massac ...

's Appeal to the Great Spirit sculpture at

Woodward Park Woodward Park may refer to: *Woodward Park (Fresno) *Woodward Park (Tulsa) Woodward Park is a public park, botanical garden, and arboretum located between 21st Street and 24th Street east of South Peoria Avenue and west of South Rockford Street ...

. At the entrance to Oral Roberts University stands a large statue of praying hands, which, at high, is the largest bronze sculpture in the world. As a testament to the city's oil heritage, the

Golden Driller The ''Golden Driller'' is a , statue of an oil worker, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The structure is a steel frame covered with concrete and plaster. It is the sixth-tallest statue in the United States and has been located in front of the Tulsa Expo Cent ...

guards the front entrance to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds. Tulsa has a number of exhibits related to

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

, including The Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, located next to the east entrance of the historic

11th Street Bridge The 11th Street Bridge was completed in December 1915 to carry vehicles across the Arkansas River at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Used from 1916 to 1972, it was also a part of U.S. Route 66. Functionally, it has been replaced by the I-244 bridges across the ...

. The Plaza contains a giant sculpture weighing and costing $1.178 million called "East Meets West" of the Avery family riding west in a Model T Ford meeting an eastbound horse-drawn carriage.Barber, Brian (May 18, 2008)
"Cyrus Avery plaza's construction nearly finished"
''Tulsa World''. Accessed July 6, 2015. In 2020, Avery Plaza Southwest is scheduled to open, at the west end of the bridge, and should include replicas of three neon signs from Tulsa-area Route 66 motels from the era, being the Will Rogers Motor Court. Tulsa Auto Court, and the Oil Capital Motel. Tulsa has also installed "Route 66 Rising," a sculpture on the road's eastern approach to town at East Admiral Place and Mingo Road. In addition, Tulsa has constructed twenty-nine historical markers scattered along the route of the highway through Tulsa, containing tourist-oriented stories, historical photos, and a map showing the location of historical sites and the other markers. The markers are mostly along the highway's post-1932 alignment down 11th Street, with some along the road's 1926 path down Admiral Place. Golden Driller

The largest augmented reality mural in the world, "The Majestic", a work which adorns two sides of the Main Park Plaza at 410 S. Main downtown, was completed in October 2021. The $230,000 project was created by Los Angeles-based artists Ryan "Yanoe" Sarfati and Eric "Zoueh" Skotnes. The mural becomes animated when viewed through a smartphone camera.

Performing arts, film and cultural venues

Tulsa contains several permanent dance, theater, and concert groups, including the

Tulsa Ballet Tulsa Ballet is a professional American ballet company located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and ...

, the

Tulsa Opera Tulsa Opera is an American opera company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Originally an amateur performance group named the Tulsa Opera Club (established 1948), the company was incorporated as a professional organization in 1953. Performances for the c ...

, the

Tulsa Symphony Orchestra The Tulsa Symphony is a professional orchestra based in Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It i ...

Light Opera Oklahoma LOOK Musical Theatre (LOOK) was a professional musical theatre company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The organization, governed by an elected board of directors, followed a repertory model in presenting a summer festival program of musicals and comic o ...

, Signature Symphony at TCC, the

Tulsa Youth Symphony The Tulsa Youth Symphony Orchestra (TYS) is an Oklahoma nonprofit arts organization founded in 1963 to provide advanced orchestral training and performance experience for young musicians in Northeastern Oklahoma. As of 2016, more than 200 students ...

, the

Heller Theatre The Heller Theatre in Tulsa, Oklahoma is the largest community theatre in Oklahoma. It was founded in October 1981 by Ken Spence with the partnership of Theatre Tulsa and has since produced more than one hundred shows including two dozen world prem ...

American Theatre Company American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, which is a member of the Theatre Communications Group and Oklahoma's oldest resident professional theatre, and

Theatre Tulsa Theatre Tulsa, Inc. is a community theatre company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.Theatre Tulsa the longest running community theatre west of the Mississippi and seventh in the nation, has had a prosperous but sometimes difficult history. The theatre has s ...

, the oldest continuously operating community theatre company west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Tulsa also houses the Tulsa Spotlight Theater at

Riverside Studio The Riverside Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, also known as Tulsa Spotlight Club or Spotlight Theatre, was built in 1928. It was designed by architect Bruce Goff in International Style. It was built as a house with a studio wing for ...

, which shows the longest-running play in America (

The Drunkard ''The Drunkard; or, The Fallen Saved'' is an American temperance play first performed on February 12, 1844.

) every Saturday night. Many of the world's best choreographers have worked with Tulsa Ballet including: Leonide Massine, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Paul Taylor (choreographer), Paul Taylor, Kurt Jooss, Nacho Duato (ten works), Val Caniparoli who is its resident choreographer (with seven works and four world premieres), Stanton Welch, Young Soon Hue, Ma Cong, Twyla Tharp and many others. In April 2008, Tulsa Ballet completed an ambitious $17.3 million integrated campaign, which was celebrated at the opening of the brand new Studio K; an on-site, three hundred-seat performance space dedicated to the creation of new works. Tulsa's music scene is also famous for the eponymous "Tulsa Sound" which blends rockabilly, country, rock 'n' roll, and blues and has inspired local artists like J.J. Cale and

as well as international superstars like Eric Clapton. A number of concert venues, dance halls, and bars gave rise to the Tulsa Sound but Cain's Ballroom might be the best known. Cain's is considered the birthplace of Western Swing, housed the performance headquarters of

and the Texas Playboys during the 1930s. The centerpiece of the downtown Brady Arts District, the Brady Theater, is the largest of the city's five operating performing arts venues that are listed on the

. Its design features extensive contributions by American architect Bruce Goff. The Pearl District features The Church Studio. Large performing arts complexes include the

Tulsa Performing Arts Center The Tulsa Performing Arts Center, or Tulsa PAC, is a performing arts venue in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It houses four main theatres, a studio space, an art gallery

Outdoor attractions

The city's zoo, the Tulsa Zoo, was voted "America's Favorite Zoo" in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios in connection with a national promotion of its ''Zoo Tycoon 2'' computer game. The zoo encompasses a total of with over 2,600 animals representing 400 species. The zoo is located in Mohawk Park (the third largest municipal park in the United States) which also contains the Oxley Nature Center. Tulsa River Parks Fountains

The Tulsa State Fair, operating in late September and early October, attracts over one million people during its 10-day run. A number of other cultural heritage festivals are held in the city throughout the year, including the Intertribal Indian Club Powwow of Champions in August; Scotfest, India Fest, Greek Festival, and Festival Viva Mexico in September; ShalomFest in October; Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival in November; and the Asian-American Festival in May. The annual Mayfest arts and crafts festival held downtown was estimated to have drawn more than 365,000 people in its four-day run in 2012. On a smaller scale, the city hosts block parties during a citywide "Block Party Day" each year, with festivals varying in size throughout city neighborhoods. Tulsa has one major amusement park attraction, Safari Joe's H2O Water Park (formerly Big Splash Water Park), featuring multi-story water slides, large wave pools, and a reptile exhibit. Until 2006, the city also hosted Bell's Amusement Park, which closed after Tulsa County officials declined to renew its lease agreement.

Music

Western Swing, a musical genre with roots in country music, was made popular at Tulsa's Cain's Ballroom. The Tulsa Sound, a variation of country, blues, rockabilly, blues rock, swamp rock and rock 'n' roll, was started and largely developed by local musicians J. J. Cale and

in the 1960s and 1970s. Musicians from Tulsa or who started their musical careers in Tulsa include Elvin Bishop, Jim Keltner, David Gates, Dwight Twilley, Jesse Ed Davis, Garth Brooks, The Gap Band, St. Vincent (musician), St. Vincent, Clyde Stacy, Flash Terry, Hanson (band), Hanson, Gus Hardin, Jeff Carson, Billy Reynolds Eustis and the Tri-Lads, Marvin&Johnny, Ronnie Dunn, Jamie Oldaker,

(Texas), David Cook (singer), David Cook, Broncho (band), Broncho, Jacob Sartorius, Tyson Meade, John Moreland, John Calvin Abney, The Damn Quails(folk group), Kristin Chenoweth(actress), JD McPherson, and Wilderado. The heart of the Tulsa sound, Tulsa Sound can be found at The Church Studios, The Church Studio. AleXa a representative from Tulsa won American Song Contest

Cuisine

Tulsa restaurants and food trucks offer a number of cuisines, but several cuisines are particularly prominent in its culinary landscape because of its distinctive history.

BBQ

Tulsa is known nationally for its barbecue offerings; its barbecue reflects its midpoint location "between pig country and cow country," that is, in the transition zone between the South and the West. The city's barbecue is also helped by its geography; the wood used in barbecuing is abundant in Northeastern Oklahoma (including pecan, oak, hickory, mesquite and maple). The region's ethnic diversity is felt, too: its BBQ traditions bear the influences of white, African-American and American Indian foodways. Tulsa is also home to the nationally acclaimed premium smoker manufacturer Hasty-Bake Company. Some Tulsa based barbecue joints have expanded even beyond the state's borders, including Leon's Smoke Shack,

and Billy Sims Barbecue. The prize-winning Oklahoma Joe's was founded by Oklahoman Joe Davidson, who mastered his craft at Tulsa's T-Town BBQ Cook-Off. Oklahoma barbecue is also unique in its emphasis on hickory-smoked baloney, nicknamed "Oklahoma tenderloin," and its fried okra.

Lebanese steakhouses

Lebanese steakhouses were once numerous in the region stretching from Bristow, Oklahoma to Tulsa, but now mostly exist in the Tulsa region. These restaurants were founded by Syrian Americans, Syrian and Lebanese Americans, Lebanese families who immigrated to Oklahoma before statehood. Traditionally, many of these restaurants had live entertainment (including performers like Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots) and featured Mediterranean dishes like tabbouleh, rice pilaf and hummus alongside local favorites like smoked BBQ Bologna sausage, bologna.

Chili and Coney Island hot dogs

Oklahomans have been consuming chili since well before statehood, owing to the influence of Mexican-American culture on the state. In 1910, iconic Tulsa restaurant Ike's Chili Parlor opened and Ivan "Ike" Johnson is purported to have acquired his recipe from a Hispanic-Texan named Alex Garcia. Greek immigrants to Tulsa who came by way of Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and Michigan brought with them the tradition of Coney Island hot dog, Coney Island-style hot dogs with chili on a bun. Today, a related group of Greek-American families operate Coney restaurants around the city, including Coney I-Lander which opened in 1926 and was described by food writers Jane and Michael Stern as perfectly delivering "the cheap-eats ecstasy that is the Coney's soul". Many of these restaurants sell Greek food, either year round or at Tulsa's annual Greek Holiday, sponsored by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (which dates to 1925).

Southern "homestyle" food

By and large, Tulsa's traditional cuisine reflects the influence of Southern foodways, particularly "upland South and... Texas where many of Oklahoma's nineteenth-century population originated." The prominence of certain foods reflects the agricultural heritage of the surrounding regions. For instance, at the suggestion of experts at what is now

, peanuts became a major crop in now eastern Oklahoma as a means for lessening the reliance on cotton cultivation. Chicken-fried steak is part of the state meal of Oklahoma and is the signature dish at a number of Tulsa restaurants.

Wild onion dinner

The wild onion dinner is a festive gathering that originated with the Southeastern tribes which call Eastern Oklahoma home. The meals often feature wild onion, pork, frybread, corn bread, Pokeweed, Poke salad and a unique dish known as grape biscuits. The Tulsa Indian Women's Club has been holding annual Wild Onion Dinners since at least 1932.

Baking and confectionery

Tulsa is home to the Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show, a premier sugar craft competition hosted by Tulsa-based Food Network personality Kerry Vincent. Tulsa is also home to the nationally renowned Pancho Anaya Mexican bakery, recognized by Food & Wine as one of America's 100 best bakeries. Tulsa is home to several national dessert companies: Daylight Donuts was founded in Tulsa and remains headquartered there, as is the Bama Pie Company.

Breweries

Brewing in Tulsa dates back to at least the late 1930s with the Ahrens Brewing Company and their Ranger Beer line. The Ahrens Brewing Company opened in May 1938. Tulsa's craft beer scene has boomed since legislation passed allowing for microbreweries to serve the public directly (Tulsa's first microbrewery in the post-World War II era was

in 2008).

Sports

Tulsa supports a wide array of sports at the professional and collegiate levels. The city hosts two NCAA Division I colleges and multiple professional minor league sports teams in baseball, football, hockey, and soccer. In addition, Tulsa once had a WNBA team, the Tulsa Shock women's professional basketball team.

Professional sports

Tulsa's Double-A (baseball), Class AA Texas League baseball team is called the

; famous former Drillers include Sammy Sosa, Matt Holliday, and Iván Rodríguez. In 2008, Tulsa funded $39.2 million to build a new ballpark in the Greenwood District near downtown for the Drillers. The ground breaking was held on December 19, 2008. ONEOK bought the naming rights for for the next 25 years. The first game at ONEOK Field was held on April 8, 2010. Country music star Tim McGraw threw out the first pitch. The 19,199-seat

is the centerpiece of the Vision 2025 projects and was completed in August 2008; the BOK Center was in the top ten among indoor arenas worldwide in ticket sales for the first quarter of 2009 when it was the home for the city's Tulsa Shock Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA, Tulsa Talons, Tulsa Talons arena football, and Tulsa Oilers, Tulsa Oilers ice hockey teams; as of 2022, the Oilers are the sole remaining tenant.

College sports

Two Tulsa universities compete at the NCAA Division I level: the

Golden Hurricane, and the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles. The University of Tulsa's Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball, men's basketball program has reached the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, Sweet Sixteen three times, made an appearance in the Elite Eight in 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 2000, won the National Invitation Tournament, NIT championship in 1981 National Invitation Tournament, 1981 and 2001 National Invitation Tournament, 2001, and won the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in 2008 College Basketball Invitational, 2008. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane football, Tulsa football team has played in 16 bowl games, including the Sugar Bowl (twice) and the Orange Bowl. Oral Roberts University's Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball, men's basketball team reached the Elite Eight in 1974 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1974, the Sweet Sixteen in 2021 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 2021, and won the The Summit League, Mid-Continent Conference title three straight years, from 2005 to 2007. The University of Tulsa also boasts one of the nation's top tennis facilities, the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, which hosted the 2004 and 2008 NCAA tennis championships. The Golden Hurricane Tennis program has a string of success, including men's Missouri Valley championships in 1995 and 1996, men's Conference USA championships in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 and women's Conference USA championships in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. In 2007, Tulsa's top-ranked player Arnau Brugués-Davi ranked as high as #1 in the nation and a four time All-American, advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles competition at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, improving on his 2006 round of sixteen appearances.

Golf

Tulsa is home to the famous

, which is one of only two courses that have hosted seven Men's major golf championships, men's major championships: three U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Opens and four PGA Championships, the most recent in 2022. The course has held five amateur championships and from 2001 to 2008 the LPGA had a regular tour stop, latterly known as the SemGroup Championship at Cedar Ridge Country Club. Tulsa also hosts two golf courses designed by famed golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast: the Oaks Country Club and Tulsa Country Club. The Tom Fazio-designed Golf Club of Oklahoma is located just outside of Tulsa.

Professional soccer

Tulsa is home to FC Tulsa, which competes in the USL Championship. From 1978 to 1984, the city hosted the Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), Tulsa Roughnecks, who played in the now-defunct North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League and won that league's championship in 1983.

Professional football

In 1984, the city hosted the Oklahoma Outlaws of the now-defunct United States Football League for a single season.

High school sports

At the secondary level, the Tulsa area is home to several high school athletic programs that are frequently ranked among the best nationally, particularly in football (e.g. Bixby High School, Broken Arrow High School, Owasso High School, Union High School, Booker T. Washington, and Jenks High School).

Running, biking and trails

The city's running and cycling communities support events such as the Tulsa Tough cycling race, the Hurtland cyclocross, the Route 66 Marathon, and the Tulsa Run, which features over 8000 participants annually. Another popular gambling draw, horse racing events are housed by the Fair Meadows Race Track and Will Rogers Downs in nearby Claremore, Oklahoma, Claremore. Tulsa Tough, Saint Francis Tulsa Tough Ride and Race is a three-day cycling festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It features both non-competitive riding through scenic areas around the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and professional level races. It is held each year on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the second weekend in June. Just as popular as the biking itself is the weekend-long festivities at Crybaby Hill, for it is held in the Riverview District. The Blue Dome, Blue Dome District hosts its race on the first night and takes riders down East 2nd Street by Arnie's Bar, the Dilly Diner, and El Guapo's Mexican Cantina. The race has participants riding at fast speeds through crowded streets lined with cheering spectators, live music, and several vendors. Events include the Men's Cat 3, Women's Pro 1/2, Men's 1/2 and Men's Pro 1. OklahomaSooners-TulsaGoldenHurricane-2009-GJKinne-Throw

OklahomaSooners-TulsaGoldenHurricane-2009-GJKinne-Throw

Motorsports

In motorsports, Tulsa annually hosts the Chili Bowl (race), Chili Bowl indoor race at the Tulsa Expo Center. The race was initially sponsored by the Chili Bowl food company of Bob Berryhill. The race has since accommodated "over two hundred race rigs, bleachers for thousands of people and an ever-growing trade show".

Parks

, the city of Tulsa manages 134 parks spread over .

, a tract located in midtown Tulsa, doubles as a botanical garden, featuring the Tulsa Municipal Rose Garden, with more than 6,000 rose plants in 250 varieties, and the Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus Teaching Gardens, which demonstrate the latest and most successful techniques for growing vegetables, annuals, perennials, woody plants and groundcovers. Some Tulsa-area parks are run by Tulsa County Parks. These include the LaFortune Park in Midtown Tulsa, and the Chandler Park. Some parks are under the Tulsa River Parks Authority. These include a series of linear parks that run adjacent to the Arkansas River for about from downtown to the Jenks bridge. Since 2007 a significant portion of the River Parks area has been renovated with new trails, landscaping, and playground equipment. The River Parks Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area on the west side of the Arkansas River in south Tulsa is a area that contains over of dirt trails available for hiking, trail running, mountain biking and horseback riding. In addition, after years of planning, generous donations and input from the community, of central Tulsa was transformed into Gathering Place, a $465 million park that opened September 8, 2018. The project is spearheaded and largely funded by the

Family Foundation. With a $100 million endowment for maintenance and family programming from the George Kaiser Family Foundation alone, it one of the largest and most ambitious public parks ever created with private funds. The main attractions are the Chapman Adventure Playground, the Williams Lodge, a boathouse, splash playground, great lawn, outdoor sports courts, a skate park, a wetland pond and garden, and numerous trails among other locations. Tulsa's Gathering Place was named the Best New Attraction in the Nation in 2018 through the ''USA Today'' Readers’ Choice awards. Groundbreaking on the anchor project for phase two, Discovery Lab, occurred in February 2020. The $47 million, Discovery Lab is a hands-on museum also featuring classrooms, a café, grand plaza, and 300-seat amphitheater; it opened on January 24, 2022.

Government

A mayor-council government has been in place in Tulsa since 1989, when the city converted from a city commission government deemed wasteful and less efficient. Since the change, Tulsa mayors have been given more power in accordance with a Mayor–council government#Strong-mayor form, strong mayoral system and have greater control of a more consolidated array of governmental branches. Plurality voting system, Plurality voting is used to elect mayors, who serve a term in office of four years. The present mayor of Tulsa is Republican

, who won the 2016 mayoral election and took office on December 5, 2016. Another Tulsa political figure, Jim Inhofe, who now represents Oklahoma in the United States Senate, served as the mayor of Tulsa early in his political career. A city councilor from each of the city's nine council districts is elected every two years, each serving a term of two years. Councilors are elected from their own respective districts based on a plurality voting system, and serve on the Tulsa City Council. As a whole, the council acts as the legislative body of the city government, which aims to pass laws, approve the city budget, and manage efficiency in the city government. In accordance with the mayor-council form of government, the Tulsa City Council and the office of the Mayor coordinate in city government operations. A third body of the government, the city auditor, is elected independently of the city council and mayor to ensure that the auditor can act in an objective manner. The auditor is elected for a term of two years. Phil Wood, a Democrat, held the position for 21 years before being defeated by Republican Preston Doerflinger in the 2009 election. The city serves as the seat of county government for Tulsa County, and lies mostly within Oklahoma's 1st congressional district, with its far northwestern areas in southern Osage County in Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district. Municipal and state laws are enforced in Tulsa by the Tulsa Police Department, an organization of 781 officers .

Crime rate

Tulsa experienced elevated levels of gang violence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Crack Cocaine, crack cocaine flooded neighborhoods in North Tulsa. Tulsa gang problems became noticeable after an outbreak of gang-related crime between 1980 and 1983, which was traced to the Crips, a local gang which had been founded by two brothers whose family had recently moved to Oklahoma from Compton, California, Compton. In 1986, gang graffiti started to show up on walls and drive-by shootings started occurring on late nights. In 1990 the city hit a record of 60 homicides, the highest since the 1981 peak. North Tulsa has the highest crime rate in the city, with public housing projects being the most heavily affected areas. On June 1, 2022, a Warren Clinic shooting, mass shooting occurred in a medical center, killing at least 4 people, including the perpetrator.

Education

K–12 education

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) established the Presbyterian Mission Day School, a one-story building at what would become the intersection of 4th Street and Boston Avenue in 1884. A second story was soon added to accommodate the number of children who were to attend. This school operated until 1889.Tulsa Preservation Commission Website. "Tulsa History – Education.(1880–1941)". Retrieved December 28, 2010

/ref> When Tulsa incorporated in 1899, it took over the school, which became the first public school. James M. Hall and three other men bought the property with their own funds and held the title until the city could reimburse them. Tulsa built its first two public schools in 1905. The construction of more schools began accelerating in 1906. In December 1907, control of the public schools passed from the city government to the Tulsa Board of Education. Tulsa High School opened in 1906 on the same block formerly occupied by the Presbyterian mission school, which had been razed. The new school was a three-story cream colored brick building with a dome. The school was accredited by the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges in 1913. It proved too small by 1916, when Tulsa voters approved a bond issue to construct a new high school at Sixth Street and Cincinnati Avenue, which was renamed Central High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Central High School. The north half of this facility opened in 1917, while the south half opened in 1922. The building remained in this service until 1976, when it was replaced by a new building on West Edison Street. The old building was taken over by the Public Service Company of Oklahoma. There are three primary public school districts in the city of Tulsa. Tulsa Public Schools, with nine high schools and over 41,000 students, is the second-largest school district in Oklahoma and includes Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Booker T. Washington High School, a magnet school judged to be the 65th best high school in the United States by ''Newsweek'' magazine in 2008. Each with one upper high school, Jenks Public Schools, Union Public Schools and Broken Arrow Public Schools are the city's three other primary districts, covering the southern and far eastern portions of the city near the towns of Jenks and Broken Arrow. In 2006, there were more than 90,000 students attending Tulsa County's public schools. A variety of independent and sectarian schools exist in Tulsa, also. Most, but not all, of the private schools have religious affiliations with various Christian, Jewish or Muslim denominations. The Catholic Diocese of Tulsa supports a system of parochial and diocesan schools, including Bishop Kelley High School, administered by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, LaSallians (French Christian Brothers). Another Catholic high school, Cascia Hall Preparatory School, is administered by Augustinians. Holland Hall School is independent but historically affiliated with the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal Church. Riverfield Country Day School is non-sectarian.

Public libraries

The largest library system in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, the Tulsa City-County Library, contains over volumes in 25 library facilities. The library is active in the community, holding events and programs at most branches, including free computer classes, children's storytimes, business and job assistance, and scholarly databases with information on a variety of topics. The University of Tulsa#Campus, McFarlin Library at the University of Tulsa is a federal depository library program, federal depository library holding over three million items. Founded in 1930, the library is known for its collection of Native American works and the original works of Irish author James Joyce. The Tulsa City-County Library and the University of Tulsa's Law Library are also federal depository libraries, making Tulsa the only city in Oklahoma with more than two federal depository libraries. The Tulsa City County Library's Downtown branch was massively renovated and opened to the public on Saturday, October 1, 2016.

Higher education

The first institute of higher education was established in Tulsa when Kendall College, a Presbyterian school, moved from Muskogee, Oklahoma, Muskogee to Tulsa in 1907. In 1920, the school merged with a proposed McFarlin College to become the

(abbreviated as TU). The McFarlin Library of TU was named for the principal donor of the proposed college, oilman Robert M. McFarlin. Learning Resource Center - Graduate Center on the campus of Oral Roberts University

Learning Resource Center - Graduate Center on the campus of Oral Roberts University

Tulsa has 15 institutions of higher education, including two private universities: the University of Tulsa, a school founded in 1894, and

, a school founded by evangelist Oral Roberts in 1963. The

has an enrollment of 4,192 undergraduate and graduate students and is ranked 83rd among national doctoral universities in ''U.S. News & World Report'' 2009 edition of America's Best Colleges and among the best 123 Western Colleges by the ''Princeton Review'' in 2007, which also ranks it in the top ten schools nationally for quality of life, overall happiness of students, and relationship with the community. In addition to doctoral and masters programs, TU is home to the University of Tulsa College of Law and the Collins College of Business. TU also manages the famous Gilcrease Museum in northwest Tulsa and hosts the Alexandre Hogue Gallery on its main campus. Oral Roberts University, a charismatic Christian institution with an enrollment of 5,109 undergraduate and graduate students, was rated in 2007 by the Princeton Review one of the 123 best in the Western United States and among the West's top 50 Master's Universities by ''U.S. News & World Report'' in 2005. Both of the state's flagship research universities have campuses in Tulsa: * Oklahoma State University System, Oklahoma State University houses three campuses in the city, the Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences, OSU Center for Health Sciences, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Oklahoma State University - Tulsa, OSU – Tulsa, accommodating upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses. OSU-Tulsa has an advanced materials research facility and is home to the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers. * The

operates what is known as the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center, offering bachelors, master's, and doctoral degree programs in conjunction with the main campus in Norman and the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. The OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center also houses the OU School of Community Medicine, the first medical school of its kind in the United States. Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma, is the Tulsa area's original public, undergraduate-focused, four-year university. Tulsa Community College (TCC), the largest community college in Oklahoma, operates four campuses spread across the area as well as a conference center in Midtown, and has a partnership allowing students to complete four-year bachelor's degrees through OU-Tulsa, OSU-Tulsa, LU-Tulsa and NSU-Broken Arrow. Tulsa also has a Tulsa branch of Langston University, the only historically black colleges and universities, historically black college or university in the state, founded in 1897. Tulsa previously had a branch campus of St. Gregory's University, a Catholic university with its main campus in Shawnee, Oklahoma; however, that school went into bankruptcy in 2017. The Spartan School of Aeronautics enrolls 1,500 students at its flight programs near Tulsa International Airport and the city's vocational education is headed by Tulsa Technology Center, the oldest and largest vocational technology institution in the state. Among trade schools located in Tulsa are Community Care College (including branches Oklahoma Technical College and Clary Sage College), Holberton School Tulsa, and Tulsa Technology Center, Tulsa Tech.

Media and communications

Print

Tulsa's leading newspaper is the daily ''

'', the second-most widely circulated newspaper in Oklahoma with a Sunday circulation of 189,789. ''The Tulsa Voice'' is an Alternative newspaper, Alt-Weekly newspaper covering entertainment and cultural events. Covering primarily economic events and stocks, the ''Tulsa Business Journal'' caters to Tulsa's business sector. Other publications include the ''Oklahoma Indian Times'', the ''Tulsa Daily Commerce and Legal News'', the ''Tulsa Beacon'', ''

'', and the ''Tulsa Free Press''. The first black-owned newspaper was the ''Tulsa Star'', which ceased publication when its office burned during the Tulsa race massacre. It was succeeded by the ''Oklahoma Eagle'', which began publishing using the press salvaged from the ''Star'' office. Until 1992, the ''Tulsa Tribune'' served as a daily afternoon newspaper competing with the ''Tulsa World''. The paper was acquired by the ''Tulsa World'' that year. ''Urban Tulsa Weekly'' served as the city's alt-weekly paper from 1991 until its closure in 2013.

Television and radio

Tulsa is also served by television and radio broadcasting networks. All major U.S. television networks are represented in Tulsa through local network affiliate, affiliates in the media market, designated market area (a region covering a 22-county area serving the northeastern and east-central portions of Oklahoma, and far southeastern Kansas); these include NBC affiliate KJRH-TV (channel 2), CBS affiliate KOTV-DT (channel 6), American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate KTUL (channel 8), PBS station KOED-TV (channel 11, a Broadcast relay station#Satellite stations, satellite of the state-run Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, OETA member network), The CW, CW affiliate KQCW-DT (channel 19), Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox affiliate KOKI-TV (channel 23), MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYT-TV (channel 41), Ion Television owned-and-operated station KTPX-TV (channel 44). The market is also home to several religious stations including Trinity Broadcasting Network, TBN owned-and-operated station KDOR-TV (channel 17), religious/secular Independent station (North America), independent station

(channel 47), and Oral Roberts University-owned

(channel 53, which is distributed nationwide via satellite as GEB America). Cable television service in the area is provided by Cox Communications, which acquired Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI)'s franchise rights to the area in a $2.85 billion deal (which also included the purchase of AT&T Broadband's Louisiana cable systems, minority ownership of TCA Cable TV systems in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico, and TCI's Peak Cablevision systems in four other Oklahoma cities, and select markets in Arkansas, Utah and Nevada) in July 1999; Cox assumed control of TCI's Tulsa-area systems on March 15, 2000.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Transportation in Tulsa is aided by Tulsa Transit's bus network of 97 vehicles and two primary airports, while the Tulsa Port of Catoosa provides transportation of goods and industry through international trade routes. Though internal transportation is largely dependent on automobiles, the city was ranked in 2005 among the five least expensive metropolitan areas for average price of gas at the pump.

Highways

Tulsa has an extensive highway system that connects many cities in the region such as Joplin, Missouri on the Will Rogers Turnpike and Oklahoma City on the Turner Turnpike. Most commuters use the highway system in Tulsa to get to and from work. Highways that run through Tulsa are Interstate 44, I-44, Interstate 244, I-244, U.S. Route 412, US-412, U.S. Route 169, US-169, Oklahoma State Highway 66, OK-66, U.S. Route 64, US-64, U.S. Route 75, US-75, Oklahoma State Highway 11, OK-11, Oklahoma State Highway 51, OK-51, Creek Turnpike, and Gilcrease Expressway. In 2011, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported that Tulsa's busiest freeway was US-169 with about 121,500 vehicles daily between 51st and 61st Streets, and its second busiest freeway was OK-51 with about 104,200 vehicles between Memorial and I-44. Surrounding Downtown is the Inner Dispersal Loop (sometimes called the "I-D-L"), which connects Downtown with almost all the highways in Tulsa.

Buses

Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority, Tulsa Transit, the city's transit bus operator, runs 97 buses on 19 different routes across Tulsa and in surrounding suburbs such as Broken Arrow, Sand Springs, Oklahoma, Sand Springs and Jenks. Tulsa Transit has two stations: the Memorial Midtown Station at 7952 E. 33rd St. in Midtown Tulsa, and the Denver Avenue Station at 319 S. Denver, across from the

in Downtown Tulsa, Downtown. Most routes go through one or both of the stations, facilitating the commute to work and events in Downtown Tulsa, Downtown or Midtown. Buses stop at specific stops such as Tulsa Community College, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, CityPlex Towers, Cox Communications, the various medical facilities in Tulsa, and many shopping destinations, hotels, and schools. The bus schedules are periodically changed; votes are taken by Tulsa Transit to help decide the particulars of certain routes. Tulsa debuted its first bus rapid transit line, Aero on Peoria Avenue, in November 2019. The service has more frequent buses, upgraded stations, and faster travel times. Embraer ERJ 145 (American Eagle) at TUL

Intercity bus service is provided by both Greyhound Lines and Jefferson Lines. The station for both is at 317 S. Detroit, five blocks from Tulsa Transit's Downtown bus terminal. As to private chartered bus companies, Red Carpet Charters a/k/a Red Carpet Trailways of Tulsa, is an independent member of the Trailways Transportation System, Trailways Charter Bus Network.

Airports

Tulsa International Airport Tulsa International Airport is a civil-military airport five miles (8 km) northeast of downtown Tulsa, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named Tulsa Municipal Airport when the city acquired it in 1929; In 2007, the airport completed most of an expansion project, which included larger terminal sizes and the addition of restaurants and shops. In 2011, the airport opened the newly renovated Concourse B, complete with skylights, open gate holds, an average of 76 ways to charge a device per gate, and much more. Concourse A is under renovation. Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport, Richard L. Jones Jr. Airport, a/k/a Jones-Riverside Airport, a general aviation airport in West Tulsa, saw 335,826 takeoffs and landings in 2008, making it the busiest airport in Oklahoma and the fifth-busiest general aviation airport in the nation. Its operations contribute over to the economy annually. The Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust also manages the Okmulgee Regional Airport in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, further to the south of Tulsa.

Railways

Rail freight transport, Freight railways bisect the city in every direction; the state's chief freight rail transporter is BNSF, which operates the Cherokee Rail Yard in Tulsa, which includes a freight terminal, diesel shop and hump yard for railcar sorting. Other Class I transporters are Union Pacific Railroad, and Kansas City Southern Railway (via a short-line switch on the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad). Tulsa Union Depot served Frisco Railway, Frisco, M-K-T and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Santa Fe passenger trains until the 1960s. The Santa Fe continued at another station to 1971. There are no mass transit rail lines in Tulsa, but the prospect of passenger rail lines from Downtown Tulsa to the suburb of Broken Arrow is being studied. Long-distance passenger rail transportation today serves Tulsa only through Greyhound Lines, Greyhound bus lines, which provide bus connections to nearby cities with Amtrak stations. Port of Catoosa 2007

Beginning in February 2014, a limited number of test trips of the ''Eastern Flyer'' were run, connecting the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metros via train on Sundays. The private passenger operation by the Iowa Pacific Holdings, Iowa Pacific was at one point scheduled for regular daily operations from May 2014, but never started; Iowa Pacific Holdings, Iowa Pacific later dropped out of the process. Due to contractual provisions of its 2014 purchase from the State of Oklahoma of the “Sooner Sub” trackage running from Sapulpa, Oklahoma near Tulsa to Del City, Oklahoma near Oklahoma City, the Stillwater Central Railroad was obligated to start such a service by August 2019. On August 5, 2019, the Stillwater Central opted to instead default under the agreement and pay the contractual $2.8 million in penalties for not establishing the service. Tulsa has two static displays of antique steam railroad locomotives for free public viewing: the 1917 wood-burning Dierks Forests, Dierks Forest 207, a Baldwin Locomotive Works, Baldwin 2-6-2 Prairie-type located at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds; and the 1942 oil-burning St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, Frisco Meteor (train), Meteor St. Louis–San Francisco 4500, 4500, a Baldwin Locomotive Works, Baldwin 4-8-4 Northern-type at the Route 66 Historical Village at 3770 Southwest Blvd.

Port of Catoosa

At the head of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa is an inland port in the United States and connects barge traffic from Tulsa to the

via the Verdigris River and the

. The facility is one of the largest riverports in the United States and contributes to one of the busiest waterways in the world via its course to the Gulf of Mexico.

Medical facilities

The Children's Hospital at Saint Francis

The Saint Francis Health System owns several hospitals with a central location at Saint Francis Hospital in the southern part of the city. The facility contains 700 doctors and 918 beds, and with more than 7,000 employees, the network is the second-largest healthcare employer in the state. The health system also operates a heart hospital, which was named by General Electric in 2004 one of the most advanced heart hospitals in the nation. St. John Medical Center, located in an 11-story midtown center, employs nearly 700 doctors. Other networks, such as Hillcrest Health System, operate a number of facilities of various sizes. Beginning in 2007, the city elected to renew a five-year contract with Emergency Medical Services Authority, EMSA for ambulance service after a period spent contemplating a switch to the Tulsa Fire Department for the provision of such services.

In popular culture

* Several films starring Brat Pack actors were filmed in Tulsa in the early 1980s; among them were ''Tex (film), Tex'' (1982), ''The Outsiders (film), The Outsiders'' (1983), ''Rumble Fish'' (1983) and ''Fandango (1985 film), Fandango'' (1985). * "Tampa to Tulsa" song by The Jayhawks * Most of the HBO TV series ''Watchmen (TV series), Watchmen'' (2019) takes place in Tulsa. * "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa" song by Gene Pitney * "Tulsa Time" song by Don Williams * "Tulsa Jesus Freak" song by Lana Del Rey * ''Tulsa King'' TV series starring Sylvester Stallone (2022)

Notable people

Sister cities

In accordance with the Tulsa Global Alliance, which operates in conjunction with Sister Cities International, an organization that began under President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, Tulsa has been given nine international town twinning, sister cities in an attempt to foster cross-cultural understanding: *Ploiești, Romania *Amiens, France *Celle, Germany *Beihai, China *Kaohsiung, Taiwan *San Luis Potosí City, San Luis Potosí, Mexico *Tiberias, Israel *Utsunomiya, Japan *Zelenograd, Russia

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Vision 2025
{{Authority control Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1836 establishments in Indian Territory Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Osage County, Oklahoma Cities in Rogers County, Oklahoma Cities in Tulsa County, Oklahoma Cities in Wagoner County, Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma Inland port cities and towns of the United States Populated places established in 1836 Oklahoma populated places on the Arkansas River Tulsa metropolitan area

History

Incorporation and "Oil Capital" prosperity

1921 race massacre

20th century

21st century

Geography

Topography

Cityscape

Architecture

Neighborhoods

=Walkability

=Bicycling

Climate

August 6, 2017 tornado

Demographics

Metropolitan area

Religion

Economy

Energy industry's legacy and resurgence

Diversification and emerging industries

Culture

Museums, archives and visual culture

Cultural and historical archives

Public art

Performing arts, film and cultural venues

Music

Cuisine

BBQ

Lebanese steakhouses

Chili and Coney Island hot dogs

Southern "homestyle" food

Wild onion dinner

Baking and confectionery

Breweries

Sports

Professional sports

College sports

Golf

Professional soccer

Professional football

High school sports

Running, biking and trails

Motorsports

Parks

Government

Crime rate

Education

K–12 education

Public libraries

Higher education

Media and communications

Print

Television and radio

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

Buses

Airports

Railways

Port of Catoosa

Medical facilities

In popular culture

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

Notes

References

External links