Spartan's Downtown Tulsa photos - Blue Dome, Brady, East Village, and more

[Spartan]

Here are my photos of Downtown Tulsa. Really wish I had more time and could have gotten some of the Uptown skyscraper core and the Downtown skyscraper core. DT Tulsa is one of the Top 5 Art Deco concentrations in the U.S. Uptown Tulsa is a very impressive collection of awesome modernist architecture from the 50s and 60s (that isn't always functional).

I think you guys will see a little bit more than a downtown that is 100% surface parking, like so many of you firmly believe about Tulsa..

Starting with the Pearl District, an area that is beginning to heat up just east of the IDL (Inner Dispersal Loop). There is a plan for the Pearl District involving a streetscape and a canal going through the area.



Partial skyline



Central Park townhomes

Central Park community center

Central Park +skyline



Blue Dome District in Downtown Tulsa--this is a really awesome emerging area of lofts, restaurants, art galleries, etc.



The glass cube is Tulsa City Hall..aka the Borg Cube















Truly one of Oklahoma's most popular restaurants



















The Brady Arts District is an area of restaurants, lofts, art galleries, music halls, theaters, museums, and primarily bars. Blue Dome is east of the DT core, Brady is north just across the railroad tracks.



Lesbian bar




This shot would be better if not for painted brick




The famed Cain's Ballroom, home of Bob Willis & the Texas Playboys and other musicians who started out in Tulsa. Ranked by many as one of the top music halls in the U.S.


Signs galore















Huge mixed-use artist community project underway

[Spartan]

The Greenwood District was once the Black Wall Street of the U.S. Then it became the site of the worst race riot in this nation's history. The Tulsa Race Riot burned 35 blocks of downtown, left 10,000 homeless, and killed 3,000 (based on gravedigger's estimates, though officially only 39, still more than any other race travesty). Then it was swept under the rug by historians forever. Today the area is coming back, thanks to OSU who has put their Tulsa business campus there.



The brand-new Drillers Stadium downtown











The OSU-Tulsa campus:













The East Village, between the DT core and the east leg of the IDL, south of Blue Dome. This is an area of architecture firms, lofts, and the equality center:

[USG '60]

Wow, thanks a million.

[Spartan]

So anybody see these pics? Other than USG.

[Bunty]

I guess maybe some people couldn't wait for the pictures to download. Some of us are on DSL rather than cable.

[BG918]

Very nice, you should post these and your midtown pics on Tulsanow or Skyscaperpage. They would get a nice reception.

Blue Dome is getting better but still has a ways to go. Still several empty buildings and more infill is needed.

[MikeOKC]

Excellent pix! I think it's good for people to get a realistic view of Tulsa without all the shouted insults. You did a good job. That HAD to take a lot of time - thanks for taking that time and sharing it with us.

[ERISAjunkie]

Great pics!

[Spartan]

BG, I may get around to it..those just aren't really "my sites" that I like to visit a lot, nothing against TN.

Yeah Mike, I was kind of hoping more of the anti-Tulsa crowd on here would see these pics.

I guess maybe some people couldn't wait for the pictures to download. Some of us are on DSL rather than cable.

I didn't even realize DSL still existed, lol. My apologies to anyone who's computer crashes because of my pics (and not the virus).

[lasomeday]

Nice pics. What's with all the people in your pics. Can't you ask them to move or something?

[ronronnie1]

Love the pics. Tulsa is truely a gem.

[Spartan]

Nice pics. What's with all the people in your pics. Can't you ask them to move or something?

Ha!

[metro]

Thanks for the pics Spartan. No one is arguing Tulsa has a better skyline from a DISTANCE. But OKC has more density in the downtown core and more vibrant street life. There was what, maybe 20 people total in all those pictures and most were either outside McNellies or outside of Cains Ballroom? Tulsa is definitely improving and we're glad, I'm kind of jealous of the East Village potential and which OKC had a neighborhood like that, but they are still more than a decade behind in development of OKC.

[Urban Enthusiast]

Thanks for the pics Spartan. No one is arguing Tulsa has a better skyline from a DISTANCE. But OKC has more density in the downtown core and more vibrant street life. There was what, maybe 20 people total in all those pictures and most were either outside McNellies or outside of Cains Ballroom? Tulsa is definitely improving and we're glad, I'm kind of jealous of the East Village potential and which OKC had a neighborhood like that, but they are still more than a decade behind in development of OKC.

Yeah, Tulsa's problem is that there are so many parking lots downtown. It's just really bad. OKC's problem, IMO as I have expressed to Spartan elsewhere, is that so many of the downtown buildings are beige (talking core here). Tulsa's downtown is more colorful, but spreadout. OKC's is more dense and vibrant, but beige.

[Swake2]

It's not really spread out, it's that the core is surrounded on the south and east sides by parking lots. Largely lots for the big downtown Churches and Tulsa Community College.

[TulsaRobert]

It's a shame too, because TCC has very little interest in giving up the lots for a multi-level structure and offering the lots for sale. Some student housing and a few restaurants would do well with the daytime and early nighttime population in the area.

[Spartan]

An urban community college is not going to have student housing...

[Urban Enthusiast]

It's a shame too, because TCC has very little interest in giving up the lots for a multi-level structure and offering the lots for sale. Some student housing and a few restaurants would do well with the daytime and early nighttime population in the area.

I know Jack Crowley's (sp) plan for downtown, which he showed off last Thursday evening (at TCC's Center for Creativity) shows housing (or at least structures) around TCC in the parking lots to the north. He also mentioned having housing near OSU Tulsa that could be for TCC students as well as OSU students.

I'm ever optimistic that many of the parking lots downtown will someday be developed into something better. Virtually anything is better than a parking lot if you ask me.

[Spartan]

TCC students live at home. That's the reality, and TCC is not in the market for student housing...OSU-Tulsa on the other hand, you might be able to talk to OSU about that. They're very intent on turning OSU-Tulsa into a "real campus" and maintaining what they perceive as control over the Tulsa area..they will probably step it up soon with the recent OU/TU combined venture..which I was surprised to see Kaiser behind.

As for Jack Crowley, he's just a planner on lend, right? We've had nice renderings for years for that creek between downtown and midtown and the Pearl District area..yet there's nothing going on there. As for the "parking lot district" of DT Tulsa I think it's a matter of branding. There's an amazing amount of stuff going on DT Tulsa, and projects will continue to happen because DT just has that allure that will keep it fresh, it's just a matter of having a new, and cool image. That's why the Blue Dome area is doing so well...so maybe they should try some branding for the "parking lot district."