Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Oklahoma 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 ...

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 ...

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,

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 communit ...

, and Wagoner counties. Tulsa was settled between 1828 and 1836 by the Lochapoka Band of Creek Native American tribe and most of Tulsa is still part of the territory of the

Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

. 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 intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

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 , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

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. 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 ...

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 Maye ...

and the foothills of the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state known as "

Green Country 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 d ...

". 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 Unit ...

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 United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

, 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 Tallassee (pronounced ) is a city on the Tallapoosa River, located in both Elmore and Tallapoosa counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,763. It is home to a major hydroelectric power plant at Thurlow ...

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 The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by European Americans in the colonial and early federal period in the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek ...

" who had been relocated to Oklahoma from the Southern United States. Most of modern Tulsa is located in the

Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

, 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, th ...

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 polici ...

, the Tulsa area saw its share of fighting. The

Battle of Chusto-Talasah The Battle of Chusto-Talasah, also known as Bird Creek, Caving Banks, and High Shoal, was fought December 9, 1861, in what is now Tulsa County, Oklahoma (then Indian Territory) during the American Civil War. It was the second of three battl ...

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 On the eve of the American Civil War in 1861, a significant number of Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been relocated from the Southeastern United States to Indian Territory, west of the Mississippi. The inhabitants of the eastern part of th ...

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 Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...

, the

Dalton Gang The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because four of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted double ...

, 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 The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

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 The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

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 philosoph ...

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 (located approximately 15 miles south of downtown Tulsa and site of the present-day town of

Glenpool Glenpool is a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area (TMSA). As of 2020, the population was 14,040, which represented an increase of 29.9% since the 2010 census, which reported the to ...

) 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 Unit ...

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 neighborhood, it was the site of the

Tulsa Race Massacre The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...

, 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," 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 = List of sovereign states, Count ...

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 o ...

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 a ...

. 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 ...

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 Cain's Ballroom is a historic music venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma that was built in 1924 as a garage for W. Tate Brady's automobiles. Madison W. "Daddy" Cain purchased the building in 1930 and named it Cain's Dance Academy. In 2021, Pollstar ranked Ca ...

became the base for the group, which is largely credited for creating

Western Swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

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" 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 ev ...

, 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 Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

, 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 prio ...

'' 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 courts and

federal judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

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, a ...

and the foot of the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

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 prairi ...

, 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 ...

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 Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

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 "

", 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 Ge ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, 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 O ...

. The

geographic coordinates The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various ...

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 th ...

, 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 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 ...

, the Boston Avenue Methodist Church, 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 ...

, 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, 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 Bruce Alonzo Goff (June 8, 1904 – August 4, 1982) was an American architect, distinguished by his organic, eclectic, and often flamboyant designs for houses and other buildings in Oklahoma and elsewhere. A 1951 ''Life Magazine'' article stat ...

and

Adah Robinson Adah Matilda Robinson (July 13, 1882 – March 10, 1962) was an American artist, designer and teacher, who influenced many other artists, especially architects, during the first half of the 20th century. Born in Indiana, she was educated in art sc ...

. 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 ...

was very influential in Tulsa:

Barry Byrne Francis Barry Byrne (December 19, 1883 – December 18, 1967) was a member of the group of architects known as the Prairie School. After the demise of the Prairie School, about 1914 to 1916, Byrne continued as a successful architect by dev ...

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 Westhope, also known as the Richard Lloyd Jones House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Textile Block home that was constructed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1929. This was Wright's only Textile Block house outside of California. The client, Richard L ...

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 ...

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 O'Neil Ford (December 3, 1905 – July 20, 1982) was an American architect of the mid-20th century in Texas, and a leading architect of the American Southwest. He is considered one of the nation's best unknown architects, and his designs merged ...

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 ar ...

, 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 Dev ...

, 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, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, 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 Lumpu ...

, the architect of the

Petronas Towers The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, ( Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially desig ...

in Malaysia.

Neighborhoods

Downtown Tulsa Downtown Tulsa is an area of approximately surrounded by an inner-dispersal loop created by Interstate 244, US 64, and US 75. The area serves as Tulsa's financial and business district, and is the focus of a large initiative to draw tourism, wh ...

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 galleryTulsa Convention Center, 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 a ...

. 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 Hi ...

, as well as Southern Hills Country Club, 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 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 l ...

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 Gilcrease Museum, also known as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, is a museum northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma housing the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West, as well as a gro ...

, Tulsa International Airport, the

Tulsa Zoo The Tulsa Zoo is an non-profit zoo located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. The Tulsa Zoo is owned by the City of Tulsa, but since 2010, has been privately managed by Tulsa Zoo Management, Inc. The zoo is located in Mohawk Park, one of the la ...

, the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, and the nation's third-largest municipal park, Mohawk Park.

=Walkability

= In 2016,

Walk Score Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...

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 ...

climate of the

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

variety (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''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 A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are somet ...

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 A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alth ...

, 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 A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For in ...

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 Ex ...

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 l ...

, 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 ...

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 commerc ...

and

Whataburger Whataburger is an American regional fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers. The company, founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, opened its first restaurant in Corpus Chris ...

, 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 Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...

) *

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 ha ...

: 15.6% * Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 14.1% (11.5%

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

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, 0.2% Honduran, 0.2% Salvadoran) * 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 cultur ...

: 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 peopl ...

: 2.3% (0.5%

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...

, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.3% Chinese, 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 Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, 0.2% Burmese) * 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 Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry * Equivalence class (music) *'' Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *''Equiva ...

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 ...

, 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 "

", 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 The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States, U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the Americans, Ame ...

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 as a city or tow ...

(MSA), spanning seven counties: Tulsa,

, Osage, Wagoner, Okmulgee,

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...

, and Creek. 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 The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...

," 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 Baptists, Baptist denomination, and the Protestantism in the United States, largest Protestantism, Protestant and Christia ...

and other

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

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

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

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christian televangelist, ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches. He is considered one of the forerunners of t ...

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 o ...

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

Joel Osteen Joel Scott Osteen (born March 5, 1963) is an American lay preacher, televangelist, businessman and author based in Houston, Texas. Known for his weekly televised services and several best-selling books, Osteen is one of the more prominent figu ...

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 Kenneth Max Copeland (born December 6, 1936) is an American televangelist associated with the charismatic movement. The organization he founded in 1967, Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. (EMIC), is based in Tarrant County, Texas. Copelan ...

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 singer and pianist, best known for his 2002 album, '' I Need You Now'' and his 2004 release, ''Nothing Without You,'' which won a Grammy at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary ...

and

Billy James Hargis Billy James Hargis (August 3, 1925 – November 27, 2004) was an American Christian evangelist. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his ''Christian Crusade'' ministry was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations and 250 tel ...

Mother Grace Tucker "Mother Grace" Tucker (January 4, 1919 – August 27, 2012) was an American Evangelical Christian pastor and philanthropist. She pastored and served Tulsa, Oklahoma's poor and homeless for over 50 years. Early life Grace Bee Anderson was born i ...

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 chari ...

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 Boston Avenue Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa. The metropolitan area has at least four religious radio stations (

KCFO KCFO (970 AM broadcasting, AM) is a Tulsa, Oklahoma, area Christian radio station. KCFO airs national shows such as Dave Ramsey, J. Vernon McGee, David Jeremiah, Dennis Rainey, and Albert Mohler. The station has been assigned the KCFO call letter ...

, KNYD,

KXOJ KXOJ-FM is a contemporary Christian radio station licensed to Glenpool, Oklahoma, serving the Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,06 ...

, & 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 cen ...

). 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, ...

and John A. Sullivan, Governor

Frank Keating Francis Anthony Keating II (initially born as David Rowland Keating) (born February 10, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. , Keating is one of only five governors in Okl ...

, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Francis Rooney, 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 ...

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 council ...

. 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 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) and chair of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and founder of several ot ...

. 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 r ...

, reportedly the largest

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. 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 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 Oklahoma ...

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 ...

. 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,

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,

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 te ...

, 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, Vision 2025, 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 ast ...

, finance, technology, telecommunications,

high tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

, 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 The QuikTrip Corporation, more commonly known as QuikTrip (QT), is an American chain of convenience stores based in Tulsa, Oklahoma that primarily operates in the Midwestern, Southern, and Southeastern United States as well as in Arizona. QuikT ...

, fast-casual restaurant chain Camille's Sidewalk Cafe, 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 t ...

. 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 ...

. 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 ConsumerAffairs is an American customer review and consumer news platform that provides information for purchasing decisions around major life changes or milestones. The company's business-facing division provides SaaS that allows brands to man ...

, Stephens Media Group, ''

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),

GEB America GEB Network (formerly known as Golden Eagle Broadcasting) is a digital satellite television network, which airs primarily Christian and family programming. Oral Roberts founded it in 1996. GEB is owned by Oral Roberts University and is headquart ...

, 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 20 ...

'' 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, F ...

. 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 Nat ...

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 US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

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 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 ...

, the headquarters of Omni Air International, and the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology. 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 The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...

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 d ...

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, 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 (TUL) and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, connect the region with international trade and transportation.

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 technolog ...

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 The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

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 An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

pioneer Waite Phillips in Midtown Tulsa, the

Philbrook Museum of Art 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 ...

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 metalwor ...

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 fath ...

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 Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...

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 Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Ame ...

. Philbrook also maintains a satellite campus in downtown Tulsa. In the

of Northwest Tulsa, the

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 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 Sta ...

Thomas Moran Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth too ...

Albert Bierstadt Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was not ...

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 pictori ...

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 i ...

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 inspire ...

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 The Church Studio is a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma established in 1972 by musician, songwriter, and producer Leon Russell. Located in a converted church building, the studio has since been cited as being the heart of the Tulsa Sound. H ...

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 ...

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 Shelter Records was a U.S. record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell that operated from 1969 to 1981. The company established offices in both Los Angeles and Tulsa, Russell's home town, where the label sought to promote a "workshop ...

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; ...

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 th ...

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 Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 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". ...

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 The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...

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 ...

Appeal to the Great Spirit ''Appeal to the Great Spirit'' is a 1908 equestrian statue by Cyrus Dallin, located in front of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It portrays a Native American on horseback facing skyward, his arms spread wide in a spiritual request to the Great S ...

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 Cen ...

guards the front entrance to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds. Tulsa has a number of exhibits related to U.S. Route 66, including The Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, located next to the east entrance of the historic 11th Street Bridge. 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. It was formed in 2005 by musicians from the Tulsa Philharmonic The Tulsa Philharmonic was an American symphony orchestra located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The orchestra was found ...

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

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 pre ...

, American Theatre Company, 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 Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

company west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. Tulsa also houses the Tulsa Spotlight Theater at Riverside Studio, 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 Leonide or Léonide is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Leonide or Leonid of Georgia (1861–1921), Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia * Leonid Berman (1896–1976), Russian Neo-romantic painter and theater and opera designer * Léoni ...

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

, Paul Taylor,

Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Archi ...

Nacho Duato Juan Ignacio Duato Bárcia, also known as Nacho Duato (born 8 January 1957) is a Spanish modern ballet dancer and choreographer. Since 2014, Duato is artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet. Career Nacho Duato studied at the Rambert S ...

(ten works),

Val Caniparoli Val Caniparoli is an American ballet dancer and international choreographer. His work includes more than 100 productions for ballet, opera, and theater for over 50 companies, and his career as a choreographer progressed globally even as he continu ...

who is its resident choreographer (with seven works and four world premieres),

Stanton Welch Stanton De Burgh Welch (born 1969) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Houston Ballet. Early life Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch, two prominent Australia ...

Young Soon Hue Young Soon Hue (born 1963) is a contemporary ballet choreographer. She was born in South Korea and trained in South Korea and France. She began her professional career at Frankfurt Ballet, Germany, under the direction of William Forsythe and con ...

Ma Cong 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 ...

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

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 The Tulsa sound is a popular musical style that originated in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the second half of the twentieth century. It is a mix of blues, blues rock, country, rock and roll and swamp pop sounds of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Artis ...

" which blends rockabilly, country, rock 'n' roll, and blues and has inspired local artists like

J.J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...

and

as well as international superstars like

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

. A number of concert venues, dance halls, and bars gave rise to the Tulsa Sound but

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 The Tulsa Theater (formerly known as the Brady Theater, Tulsa Municipal Theater, and Tulsa Convention Hall) is a theater and convention hall located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was originally completed in 1914 and remodeled in 1930 and 1952. The build ...

, 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

. The Pearl District features

. Large performing arts complexes include the

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...

, the

Cox Business 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 ...

, the art deco Expo Square Pavilion, the Mabee Center, the Tulsa Performing Arts Center for Education, and the River Parks Amphitheater and Tulsa's largest venue, the BOK Center. Ten miles west of the city, an outdoor amphitheater called "Discoveryland!" holds the official title of the world performance headquarters for the musical ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

.'' The city's film community hosts annual festivals such as the Tulsa United Film Festival and Tulsa Overground Film and Music Festival.

Outdoor attractions

The city's zoo, the

, was voted "America's Favorite Zoo" in 2005 by

Microsoft Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...

in connection with a national promotion of its ''

Zoo Tycoon 2 ''Zoo Tycoon 2'' is a business simulation video game developed by Blue Fang Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios and MacSoft. Originally released for Windows, ''Zoo Tycoon 2'' is also available for Windows Mobile, PDA, and Mac OS X, ...

'' 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 The Tulsa State Fair is an annual event held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The modern fair takes place in late September (occasionally beginning early October) and lasts 11 days. History The local fair officially began in the late 1890s as a ...

, 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 Bell's Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Tulsa's Expo Square, part of the Tulsa State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma. It operated for 55 years before closing in 2006. The park was previously owned and operated by Keli and Jason Fritz. A ...

, which closed after Tulsa County officials declined to renew its lease agreement.

Music

Western Swing, a musical genre with roots in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, was made popular at Tulsa's Cain's Ballroom.

The Tulsa Sound The Tulsa sound is a popular musical style that originated in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the second half of the twentieth century. It is a mix of blues, blues rock, country, rock and roll and swamp pop sounds of the late 1950s and early 1960s. A ...

, a variation of country, blues,

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

swamp rock Swamp rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the mid-1960s as a fusion of rockabilly and soul music with swamp blues, country music and funk. The genre originated in Louisiana by artists such as Tony Joe White, but was subsequently po ...

and

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

, 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 Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a mem ...

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

, David Gates,

Dwight Twilley Dwight Twilley (born June 6, 1951) is an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the Top 20 hit singles "I'm on Fire" (1975) and "Girls" (1984). His music is associated with the power pop style. Twilley and Phil Seymour performed ...

Jesse Ed Davis Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

The Gap Band The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, and ...

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

Clyde Stacy Haskell Clyde Stacy (August 11, 1936 – November 6, 2013) was an American rockabilly singer and guitarist who recorded in the 1950s as the leader of Clyde Stacy & The Nitecaps. He is credited as a founder of the " Tulsa Sound". Biography S ...

Flash Terry Flash Terry (June 17, 1934 – March 18, 2004) was an American guitarist and singer. Terry was notably instrumental in the birth of blues and blues rock in the state of Oklahoma. He was born Verbie Gene Terry in Inola, Oklahoma, United State ...

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

Gus Hardin Gus Hardin (born Carolyn Ann Blankenship; April 9, 1945 – February 17, 1996) was a country music singer. Career Hardin was born in 1945 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her rise to country music popularity began in 1983 with her first single for RCA Recor ...

Jeff Carson Jeffrey Lee Herndon (December 16, 1963 – March 26, 2022), known professionally as Jeff Carson, was an American country music artist. Originally a session musician in Branson, Missouri, and later a demo singer, he was signed to Curb Records in ...

, Billy Reynolds Eustis and the Tri-Lads, Marvin&Johnny,

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled deb ...

, Jamie Oldaker,

(Texas),

David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' * David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...

, Broncho,

Jacob Sartorius Rolf Jacob Sartorius (born October 2, 2002) is an American singer and internet personality who rose to fame via social media after posting lip-syncing videos on Musical.ly. In 2016, he released his debut single "Sweatshirt", which charted on the ...

Tyson Meade Tyson Todd Meade (born September 15, 1962) is an American musician, painter, writer, teacher, and disc jockey best known as the principal singer and songwriter for pioneering alternative rock bands Defenestration and Chainsaw Kittens. Defenest ...

, John Moreland,

John Calvin Abney John Calvin Abney is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Tulsa, Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by ...

, The Damn Quails(folk group), Kristin Chenoweth(actress),

JD McPherson Jonathan David "JD" McPherson (born April 14, 1977), is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He is known for a retro sound rooted in the rock and roll, rockabilly, and rhythm and blues music of the 1950s. ...

, and

Wilderado Wilderado is an American indie folk band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. The band was first signed to Iamsound Records, but is now signed to Bright Antenna Records. Wilderado's Max Rainer and Tyler Wimpee met through mutual friends in coll ...

. The heart of the

can be found at The Church Studio.

AleXa Alexa may refer to: Technology *Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon * Alexa Internet, a defunct website ranking and traffic analysis service * Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture camera People * Alexa (name), a given name a ...

a representative from Tulsa won

American Song Contest ''American Song Contest'' is an American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest. It sees all 50 U.S. states, five territories, and Washington, D.C. compete for the title of Best Original Song. The fir ...

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 Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mex ...

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

and

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since h ...

). 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 Billy Sims BBQ is an American restaurant chain founded by former professional football player, Billy Sims and his business partner, Jeff Jackson. In 2004, Sims and Jackson opened the first Billy Sims BBQ location in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The brand is su ...

. The prize-winning

Oklahoma Joe's Oklahoma Joe's is a barbecue restaurant owned and operated by Joe Davidson, with all locations in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma and Omaha, Nebraska. History Oklahoma Joe's was originally started by Joe Davidson as a smoker manufacturer, then a decad ...

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 Bristow is a city in Creek County, Oklahoma, Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,222 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down 2.4 percent from the figure of 4,325 recorded in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Hist ...

to Tulsa, but now mostly exist in the Tulsa region. These restaurants were founded by

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

and Lebanese families who immigrated to Oklahoma before statehood. Traditionally, many of these restaurants had live entertainment (including performers like

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and the

Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...

) and featured Mediterranean dishes like

tabbouleh Tabbouleh ( ar, تبولة, translit=tabbūla; also tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah) is a Levantine salad made mostly of finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, bulgur (soaked, not cooked), and seasoned with olive oil, lemon ...

, rice

pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techn ...

and

hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made f ...

alongside local favorites like smoked BBQ

bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

Chili and Coney Island hot dogs

Oklahomans have been consuming chili since well before statehood, owing to the influence of

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

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 Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

brought with them the tradition of 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 The Coney I-Lander restaurants are a regional chain based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their signature dish is a small slow-grilled hot dog topped with chili, onions, and mustard, sitting in a steamed bun. The restaurants also serve small tamales, a ...

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 Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak or CFS, is an American breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak (most often tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is someti ...

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 Wild Onion dinners are social gatherings held in the spring by various Native American tribes in Oklahoma, especially southeastern tribes.Milbauer, John A"Wild Onion Dinners."''Oklahoma History Center's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Cultu ...

is a festive gathering that originated with the

Southeastern tribes Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, Southeastern cultures, or Southeast Indians are an ethnographic classification for Native Americans who have traditionally inhabited the area now part of the Southeastern United States and the nor ...

which call Eastern Oklahoma home. The meals often feature

wild onion Wild onion can refer to * any uncultivated species in the genus '' Allium'', especially: **'' Allium bisceptrum'' ** '' Allium canadense'' ** ''Allium tricoccum ''Allium tricoccum'' (commonly known as ramp, ramps, ramson, wild leek, wood leek, o ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...

, frybread,

corn bread Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are s ...

, 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 Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

personality

Kerry Vincent Kerry Vincent (' Flynn; 1 June 1945 – 2 January 2021) was an Australian television personality and baker. She was a judge on several Food Network shows, as well the co-founder of the annual ''Oklahoma Sugar Art Show''. Career Vincent was a ...

. Tulsa is also home to the nationally renowned Pancho Anaya Mexican bakery, recognized by

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

as one of America's 100 best bakeries. Tulsa is home to several national dessert companies:

Daylight Donuts Daylight Donut Flour Company, LLC, doing business as Daylight Donuts, is a privately owned and operated American chain of doughnut shops, founded in 1954 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The chain has approximately 950 locations in 13 countr ...

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 Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

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

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

baseball team is called the

; famous former Drillers include

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...

Matt Holliday Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and former left fielder who is the bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB from 2004 to 2018 for t ...

, 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 Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those alb ...

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 WNBA, Tulsa Talons arena football, and 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 men's basketball program has reached the Sweet Sixteen three times, made an appearance in the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, won the NIT championship in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, and won the inaugural

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. The Tulsa football team has played in 16

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s, including the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

(twice) and the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

. Oral Roberts University's men's basketball team reached the Elite Eight in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, the Sweet Sixteen in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, and won the

Mid-Continent Conference The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the W ...

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 The Michael D. Case Tennis Center is a 2,000-seat tennis arena on the campus of the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The center officially opened on 2001-12-14 and was named after Mike Case, a local developer and philanthropist. In 2003, t ...

, 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 Southern Hills Country Club, which is one of only two courses that have hosted seven men's major championships: three U.S. Opens and four

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

s, the most recent in 2022. The course has held five amateur championships and from 2001 to 2008 the

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of wee ...

had a regular tour stop, latterly known as the

SemGroup Championship The SemGroup Championship was a golf tournament for professional female golfers that was part of the LPGA Tour. It was played annually from 2001 to 2008 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The tournament was originally known as the Williams Championship, with t ...

at Cedar Ridge Country Club. Tulsa also hosts two golf courses designed by famed golf course architect

A.W. Tillinghast Albert Warren "Tilly" Tillinghast (May 7, 1876 – May 19, 1942) was an American golf course architect. Tillinghast was one of the most prolific architects in the history of golf; he worked on more than 265 different courses. He was inducted into ...

: the Oaks Country Club and Tulsa Country Club. The

Tom Fazio Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

-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 The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

. From 1978 to 1984, the city hosted the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

, who played in the now-defunct

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...

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 The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

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 Saint Francis Tulsa Tough Ride and Race is a three-day cycling festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It features non-competitive riding through scenic areas around the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and professional level races. It is held each year on Friday, ...

cycling race, the Hurtland cyclocross, the Route 66 Marathon, and the

Tulsa Run The Tulsa Run is an annual running event in Tulsa, Oklahoma hosting thousands of participants of all ages and abilities for a fast and festive Halloween weekend event. The Tulsa Run began in 1978 with just over 1,000 runners. Since that time, it� ...

, which features over 8000 participants annually. Another popular gambling draw,

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

events are housed by the Fair Meadows Race Track and

Will Rogers Downs Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs is a gaming facility and horse racing track located in Rogers County, near Tulsa, Oklahoma and immediately east of Justice. The track is owned and operated by the Cherokee Nation. Quarter Horse The American ...

in nearby

Claremore Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County in Green Country or northeastern Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,580 at the 2020 census, a 5.4 percent increase over the figure of 18,581 recorded in 2010.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 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

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...

s, Tulsa annually hosts the Chili Bowl indoor race at the

Tulsa Expo Center SageNet Center, originally known as the Exposition Center from 1966 to 2007 and QuikTrip Center, until 2012, and River Spirit Expo from 2013 to 2021, is the center of the Tulsa State Fair and one of the largest clearspan buildings in the world. T ...

. 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 A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, featuring the Tulsa Municipal Rose Garden, with more than 6,000 rose plants in 250 varieties, and the

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

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 gathering place is any place where people are able to congregate. Gathering places may be public; for example, city streets, town squares, and parks; or private; for example, churches, coffee shops, stadiums, and theaters. Examples of gatherin ...

, a $465 million park that opened September 8, 2018. The project is spearheaded and largely funded by the George Kaiser 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 City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis. These commissio ...

deemed wasteful and less efficient. Since the change, Tulsa mayors have been given more power in accordance with a strong mayoral system and have greater control of a more consolidated array of governmental branches.

Plurality voting Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...

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 James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committ ...

, who now represents Oklahoma in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

, 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 Oklahoma's 1st congressional district is in the northeastern corner of the state and borders Kansas. Anchored by Tulsa, it is largely coextensive with the Tulsa metropolitan area. It includes all of Tulsa, Washington and Wagoner counties, an ...

, with its far northwestern areas in southern Osage County in

Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district is the largest congressional district in the state, covering an area of 34,088.49 square miles, over 48 percent the state's land mass. The district is bordered by New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and the Texas ...

. Municipal and state laws are enforced in Tulsa by the

Tulsa Police Department The Tulsa Police Department (TPD) is the principal law enforcement agency for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies It is the second largest munici ...

, 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, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

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. 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

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...

occurred in a medical center, killing at least 4 people, including the perpetrator.

Education

K–12 education

The 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 Tulsa Public Schools is an independent school district serving the Tulsa, Oklahoma area in Northeastern Oklahoma. As of 2022, it is the largest school district in Oklahoma, surpassing Oklahoma City Public Schools for the first time since 2013. A ...

, with nine high schools and over 41,000 students, is the second-largest school district in Oklahoma and includes Booker T. Washington High School, a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

judged to be the 65th best high school in the United States by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' 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 Bishop Kelley High School is an American Lasallian Catholic high school with 905 students, grades 9 to 12, located at 41st and Hudson Avenue, in the center of the Tulsa metropolitan area (in the Midtown area), on a campus spanning just over 47 a ...

, administered by the LaSallians (French Christian Brothers). Another Catholic high school,

Cascia Hall Preparatory School Cascia Hall Preparatory School is an Augustinian Roman Catholic coeducational College-preparatory day school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a member of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association. It is one of Tulsa's two Catholic high schools, w ...

, is administered by

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–1 ...

Holland Hall School Holland Hall (or Holland Hall School), in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, is affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma and the Episcopal Church. The school has an approximate student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, and approximately 1,000 stude ...

is independent but historically affiliated with the Episcopal Church.

Riverfield Country Day School {{Infobox school , name = Riverfield Country Day School , native_name = , latin_name = , logo = , seal_image = , image = , image_size = , alt ...

is non-sectarian.

Public libraries

The largest library system in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, the

Tulsa City-County Library The Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) is the major public library system in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Overview The library system serves those who live, work, go to school in, own land in, or pay property taxes on land in Tulsa County. There are 24 b ...

, 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 McFarlin Library at the University of Tulsa is a 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 James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

. 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 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 Robert M. McFarlin (July 27, 1866 – August 11, 1942) was an American oilman, cattle rancher, philanthropist, and businessman who is best known for amassing a fortune by drilling for oil near Glenpool, Oklahoma with his nephew and son-in-law, ...

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

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 The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

'' 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 The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United S ...

and the Collins College of Business. TU also manages the famous

in northwest Tulsa and hosts the Alexandre Hogue Gallery on its main campus. Oral Roberts University, a

charismatic Christian Charismatic Christianity (also known as Spirit-filled Christianity by its supporters) is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, and modern-day miracles as an everyday part of a believer's life. Practi ...

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: *

houses three campuses in the city, the OSU Center for Health Sciences, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, and 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 OU School of Community Medicine (OUSCM) located in Tulsa, OK is a branch of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. It is the first medical school of its kind in the nation. The OU School of Community Medicine is designed to serve the ...

, the first medical school of its kind in the United States. Rogers State University in

Claremore, Oklahoma Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County in Green Country or northeastern Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,580 at the 2020 census, a 5.4 percent increase over the figure of 18,581 recorded in 2010.Tulsa Community College Tulsa Community College is a public community college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1970 and is the largest two-year college in Oklahoma. It serves approximately 23,000 students per year in classes.

(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 Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban mis ...

, the only

historically black college or university Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...

in the state, founded in 1897. Tulsa previously had a branch campus of

St. Gregory's University St. Gregory's University was a private Catholic university. It was one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It had its main campus in Shawnee and an additional campus in Tulsa. The university closed its oper ...

, a Catholic university with its main campus in

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical ...

; however, that school went into bankruptcy in 2017. The

Spartan School of Aeronautics 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 ...

enrolls 1,500 students at its flight programs near Tulsa International Airport and the city's

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...

is headed by

Tulsa Technology Center The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education (ODCTE, commonly known and branded as CareerTech) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. CareerTech oversees a statewide system of career and technology ed ...

, the oldest and largest vocational technology institution in the state. Among trade schools located in Tulsa are

Community Care College Community Care College is a private career college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The college is the main campus of two branches, Clary Sage College and Oklahoma Technical College. Founded by Teresa Knox in 1995 as Dental Directions: The School of Dental As ...

(including branches Oklahoma Technical College and Clary Sage College), Holberton School Tulsa, and 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

Alt-Weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting l ...

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 The ''Tulsa Beacon'' is a weekly newspaper in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was founded by Charles and Susan Biggs under the corporate name Biggs Communications, Inc. The first paper was published in April 2001. Charles Biggs died on August 29, 2022. Feat ...

'', ''

'', 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 The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...

. It was succeeded by the ''

Oklahoma Eagle ''The Oklahoma Eagle'' is a Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa-based Black-owned newspaper published by James O. Goodwin. Established in 1922, it has been called the voice of Black Tulsa and is a successor to the ''Tulsa Star'' newspaper, which burned in the ...

'', which began publishing using the press salvaged from the ''Star'' office. Until 1992, the ''

Tulsa Tribune The ''Tulsa Tribune'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1919 to 1992. Owned and run by three generations of the Jones family, the ''Tribune'' closed in 1992 after the termination of its joint operating agreement w ...

'' served as a daily afternoon newspaper competing with the ''Tulsa World''. The paper was acquired by the ''Tulsa World'' that year. ''

Urban Tulsa Weekly {{Infobox Newspaper , name = Urban Tulsa Weekly , image = Urban Tulsa Weekly (cover).jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = , type = Alternative weekly , format = Tab ...

'' 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

affiliates In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...

in the

designated market area A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

(a region covering a 22-county area serving the northeastern and east-central portions of Oklahoma, and far southeastern Kansas); these include

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

affiliate

KJRH-TV KJRH-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Okmulgee-licensed Ion Television outlet KTPX-TV (channel 44). KJRH-TV's studios are located o ...

(channel 2),

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

affiliate KOTV-DT (channel 6), ABC affiliate

KTUL KTUL (channel 8) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located at Lookout Mountain (near South 29th West Avenue, west of Interstate 244) ...

(channel 8), PBS station KOED-TV (channel 11, a

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

of the state-run OETA member network), CW affiliate

KQCW-DT KQCW-DT (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States, serving the Tulsa area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Griffin Media alongside CBS affiliate KOTV-DT (channel 6) and radio stations KTSB (1170 ...

(channel 19), Fox affiliate

KOKI-TV KOKI-TV (channel 23) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Imagicomm Communications alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYT-TV (channel 41). The two stations share studios on Ea ...

(channel 23),

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

affiliate

KMYT-TV KMYT-TV (channel 41) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Imagicomm Communications alongside Fox affiliate KOKI-TV (channel 23). The two stations share studios on East 27th Street ...

(channel 41),

Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented en ...

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

KTPX-TV KTPX-TV (channel 44) is a television station licensed to Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Tulsa area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Company alongside NBC ...

(channel 44). The market is also home to several religious stations including TBN owned-and-operated station

KDOR-TV KDOR-TV (channel 17) is a religious television station licensed to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, United States, serving the Tulsa area as an owned-and-operated station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The station's transmitter is located in r ...

(channel 17), religious/secular

independent station An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, marke ...

(channel 47), and Oral Roberts University-owned

(channel 53, which is distributed nationwide via satellite as

Cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

service in the area is provided by

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...

, 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 AT&T Broadband was AT&T's cable operations division. It was formed in 1999 when AT&T acquired the assets of TCI and renamed it to AT&T Broadband. The next year, AT&T Broadband acquired MediaOne as well and became the largest cable operations com ...

'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 Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority, usually known as MTTA or Tulsa Transit, is the public transit system operating buses and paratransit for Tulsa, Oklahoma. In existence since 1968, the system consists of 21 regular routes and 4 night routes, w ...

'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 The Will Rogers Turnpike is a freeway-standard toll road in the northeast portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The highway begins as a continuation of the Creek Turnpike in Tulsa, continuing northward from the I-44/ US-412 interchange there ...

and Oklahoma City on the

Turner Turnpike The Turner Turnpike is a toll road in central Oklahoma, connecting its two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Authorized by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1947 and opened in May 1953, it is the oldest of the state's eleven turnpikes.Everet ...

. Most commuters use the highway system in Tulsa to get to and from work. Highways that run through Tulsa are

I-44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

, I-244, US-412, US-169, OK-66, US-64, US-75, OK-11, OK-51,

Creek Turnpike The Creek Turnpike, also designated State Highway 364 (SH-364), is a freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The turnpike forms a partial beltway around the south and east sides of Tulsa, Oklahoma's secon ...

, and Gilcrease Expressway. In 2011, the

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma secretary of transpor ...

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

, the city's

transit bus Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

operator, runs 97 buses on 19 different routes across Tulsa and in surrounding suburbs such as Broken Arrow, 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

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

. Most routes go through one or both of the stations, facilitating the commute to work and events in

or Midtown. Buses stop at specific stops such as

Tulsa Community College Tulsa Community College is a public community college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1970 and is the largest two-year college in Oklahoma. It serves approximately 23,000 students per year in classes.

Oklahoma State University-Tulsa 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, ...

CityPlex Towers CityPlex Towers is a complex of three high-rise office towers located at 81st Street and Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The complex was originally constructed by Oral Roberts University as City of Faith Medical and Research Center and meant to b ...

, 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 Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

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 Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...

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 Charter Bus Network.

Airports

Tulsa International Airport, which has service on thirteen commercial airlines (nine passenger and four cargo ones), serves more than three million travelers annually, with almost 80 departures every day. 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 L. Jones Jr. Airport, a/k/a Jones-Riverside Airport, a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

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 Okmulgee Regional Airport is in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, three miles north of the city of Okmulgee, which owns it. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021-2025 categorized it as a ''general aviation'' airport. History Opene ...

in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, further to the south of Tulsa.

Railways

Freight railways bisect the city in every direction; the state's chief freight rail transporter is

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

, 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 The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, and

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Loui ...

(via a short-line switch on the

South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad is a short line railroad which operates of rail lines in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri that used to belong to Missouri Pacific, Frisco and Santa Fe lines. SKOL is a unit of Watco. The present railroad was create ...

). 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

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

grounds; 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

Outdoor attractions

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