Tulsa'''Tulsa''' is in the Green Country (Oklahoma)|Green Country region of Oklahoma.  ==Understand== Tulsa lies in northeastern Oklahoma, which is on the southeastern part of the Great Plains. It is far south enough that it gets muggy hot in the summers, but north enough that it gets down to 0 degrees and snow in the winter (although in recent years winters have been so warm that snow hardly is seen). I dont know much about precolumbian times but it lies right on the Arkansas River, which after passing through Arkansas feeds into the Mississippi River, so it is likely many Indians traversed the territory. In the 1830s however, Andrew Jackson in his infinite wisdom decided to banish the Five Civilized Tribes from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, etc, and move them all into 'Indian Territory'. The Creeks got a portion of the northeastern part of Oklahoma, and named one of the towns after a town they had back in the southeast, Tulsey Town. In the late 1800s the Dawes Act took away land from the tribal governments, broke the land into sections, and gave those sections to individual tribal members. This left a lot of land free for the whites to take it, and they did. Then someone found oil in the 'glenn pool', southwest of the City. In the first half of the 20th Century, the majority of the oil (up to 66%) used in the United States was found within a 90 mile radius of Tulsa. Whites flooded into the territory, fortunes were made, the downtown was filled with fancy art deco buildings, and statehood was quickly demanded. In nearby Osage county, bloodbaths erupted as family fueds and political machinations that would put the Sopranos to shame were carried out at the barrel of a gun over the fortunes buried in the soil. African Americans also came to Indian Territory and built one of the most prosperous neighborhoods in the area, the Greenwood district, until it was burned down in a race riot instigated by angry whites in 1921, possibly with the assistance of the KKK and definitely with the assistance of the pillars of the white community. To this day Tulsa is segregated into North Tulsa and South Tulsa, and nobody has been punished or arrested, and no reparations have been made, despite the help of Johnnie Cochran and other famous legal fellows. Tulsa had other businesses, like manufacturing, and helped build everything from planes for the US military to Bama Pies for the US consumer. There is still an oil refinery on the west side of the river, and you can smell it quite often. An oil company took all of its old nation-wide oil pipelines and rights of way and strung communications cable through them to become a telecom company. Tulsa is considered more 'liberal' than the rest of Oklahoma, but that is still a relative term. Tulsa has more churches than most other cities per capita and is definitely part of the bible belt. ==Get in== ===By plane=== '''Tulsa International Airport''' (TUL) is in the north part of town. Richard L. Jones, Jr. Airport (RVS) (often called the "Riverside Airport") is south of downtown Tulsa. [http://tulsaairports.com/] . ===By train=== The [http://www.cwrr.com/Amtrak/mw_thrwy.html#KCT only passenger train to Tulsa] leaves Kansas City (Missouri) every midnight. ===By car=== From Bartlesville come down 169. From Missouri go down I44. Don't forget to see the world's former largest mcdonalds spanning the roadway up around Miami Oklahoma. From Oklahoma City come up I44 aka 'the Turner Turnpike'. For the slow scenic route come in on old Route 66. ===By bus=== Greyhound Bus Lines (918) 584-4428 at 317 South Detroit Avenue (downtown) ===By boat=== Only cargo ships dock at the Port of Catoosa, a few miles east of Tulsa. Sorry. ==Get around== The major streets are in a "1 mile grid" that makes it much easier to find places than in cities where streets go every which way. The exceptions are downtown, which is slanted at almost a 45 degree angle to the rest of the grid. === By car === While getting around by car is the most convenient way to see Tulsa, keep in mind that two of the ten most dangerous intersections in the U.S. are in Tulsa. Tulsa drivers tend to be bad at several things: * Changing Lanes or turning without signaling * Accelerating and Breaking Unnecessarily * Merging on freeway onramps. A good rule of thumb is: whatever the stupidest thing to do would be, the driver in front of you will do within 30 seconds. Try it! Several freeways and bypasses can be used to easily get around the Tulsa Metro area: I-244, I-44, US 169 (Mingo Valley Expressway, aka "Pearl Harbor Memorial Expressway"), US 75, Hwy 51 (Broken Arrow Expressway), Creek Turnpike. The intersection of 51 and 169 is one of the most crowded interchanges anywhere. Avoid during rush hour. === By bus === [http://tulsatransit.org/ Tulsa Transit] provides bus service for the Tulsa Metro area. Cities served are Tulsa, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Jenks, and Broken Arrow. The central station is at 319 S. Denver (downtown). They do not run that often, especially to the outer towns like Broken Arrow. ===Bicycles=== There are 20 or so miles of bike trails running along the Arkansas river. A single paved path can be ridden from 95th and Memorial all the way to Sand Springs, 5-10 miles west of Tulsa. The rest of Tulsa is pretty horrible for bicycling. There are no bike lanes. Often there are no sidewalks. Often there are not even grassy patches you can ride along. ==See== Image:Penguin_downtown_tulsa.jpg|thumb|Penguin sculpture *[http://www.gilcrease.org/index2.html '''Gilcrease Museum'''] "One of the world's largest collections of Western and Native American art and artifacts" * The Philbrook Museum of Art : Native American, Renaissance, European, American, African, and Southeast Asian art. * Woodward Park http://tulsawalk.com/parks-places/tulsaparks-woodward.html -- especially in the spring when the roses are blooming in the Tulsa Rose Garden. * The '''Expo Building''' contains what was once the largest unobstructed indoor area in the world. The "Golden Driller" in front of the Expo building is still pretty impressive. * The [http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/okla/tulsa/yamasaki/banktower.html largest skyscraper in Oklahoma] is the ''Williams tower'' (also called ''the Bank of Oklahoma building'') at 50 stories (or is it 52 ?). Minoru Yamasaki designed it and the New York World Trade Center Towers. * Oriental Museum -- on Harvard near 49th street South. * [http://tulsazoo.org Tulsa Zoo] * [http://okaquarium.org Oklahoma Aquarium] * [http://TulsaAirAndSpaceMuseum.com Tulsa Air and Space Museum] * Safari's Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary http://SafarisSanctuary.org/ (OK, so technically this is in Broken Arrow). [http://safarisZoo.org/] * There are dozens of 6 foot tall penguin sculptures scattered throughout the city. ''Remind me to stick a few photos here.'' ==Do== Utica square (21st street South) has some nice shops and restaurants. Many unusual shops and restaurants line Cherry street (15th street South). Walk the downtown mall. Lots of Art Deco architecture downtown. There is an IMAX theater at the Cinemark movie megaplex at 71st st South and Hwy 169. Have you ever played [http://PaintballLand.com/ paintball] (call 918.371.4044 for reservations) or Lazer-tag ? The games people play in America might give you some insight into American business and politics. ===Nature parks=== [http://oxleynaturecenter.org Oxley Nature Center] hidden in the woods behind the Tulsa Zoo. Open almost all year. Has a few different habitats built up, such as a mini-prairie, a marsh with a walkover, ponds, woods, and plenty of opportunity for bird-watching. '''River Parks''' There is a lovely cafe down around 21st and they have live music from time to time when it is warm out. There are dozens of [http://www.cityoftulsa.org/Parks/Parks.htm city parks] scattered around although most of them are quite small. Philbrook Museum has some fascinating gardens but you probably have to pay to see them. 2 hours north of the city, near Pawhuska, is the Nature Conservancy's tallgrass prarie preserve, where you can drive around and probably spot some buffalo and walk 3 miles of prarie trail. Its not on a national park level; there are still oil derricks and some farms in the area, but everyone tries to cooperate. Watch your ass around buffalo they are dangerous. === Events === *[http://tulsaoktoberfest.org Tulsa Oktoberfest], which some people say is the largest Oktoberfest in the world outside of Germany. In 2004, Oktoberfest runs Oct 21st - Oct 24th. *[http://tulsastatefair.com Tulsa State Fair] at the Expo Fairgrounds (near 21st and Yale). In 2004 the Fair runs Sept 30th - Oct 10th. ''Funnel cakes'' are a tradition. * [http://northkeep.ansteorra.org/ The Society for Creative Anachronism] general meeting at Martin East Regional Library, on the last Monday night of the month, at 7.00 pm or so. * Renaissance Faire [http://thecastle.org/renaissance_fair.html] (OK, so technically this is in Muskogee). In 2005, April 30, May 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, and 22 * Rhema Bible Church Christmas Light Tour [http://www.rhema.org/] has the largest Christmas light display in NW Oklahoma. December ? *[http://www.starbase21ok.com Tulsa Trek Expo]is the largest Star Trek convention in the central US. A tradition *[http://www.sftulsa.org/ Contestoga] is Tulsa's most popular general Sci-Fi and Fantasy Convention. July 15-17, 2005 *Cherry Street Farmer's Market, every Saturday 'til the frost is on the pumpkin' from about 7 am to 11 am. 15th and peoria. ==Learn== Tulsa is just about the largest US city that has no public university. As a result there are a plethora of smaller 2 year commuter colleges and limited-degree-option branches of statewide 4 years colleges such as NSU, OU, OSU, etc. There are also truck driving schools, welding schools, a Vo-Tech, and other technical colleges. Universities in or near Tulsa: * TU: [http://www.utulsa.edu/ Tulsa University] (private) * TCC: [http://www.tulsacc.edu/ Tulsa Community College] (4 campuses) * TTC: [http://www.tulsatech.com/ Tulsa Technology Center] * OSU-Tulsa: [http://www.osu-tulsa.okstate.edu/ Oklahoma State University Tulsa branch] * OU Tulsa: [http://tulsa.ou.edu/ University of Oklahoma - Tulsa branch] * RSU: [http://www.rsu.edu/ Rogers State University] - named after Will Rogers. Considerably northeast of Tulsa in Claremore * ORU: [http://oru.edu/ Oral Roberts University] Tulsa is home to the gigantic educational complex founded and named in honor of televangelist Oral Roberts. The Cityplex Tower there is the second-largest skyscraper in Oklahoma. * [http://okwu.edu/ Oklahoma Wesleyan University] has some Tulsa classes * [http://www.StGregorys.edu/academics/sgutulsa.htm St. Gregory's University] has some Tulsa classes * [http://CommunityCareCollege.com/ Community Care College] ==Work== ==Buy== * "Gardner's Used Books, Music & Comics, Inc." "Oklahoma's largest used book store" [http://gardnersbooks.com/] * "Steve's Books and Magazines" has a special section of books *about* Tulsa. [http://stevesbooksmags.com/] ==Flea Markets== * The Admiral Flea market is on Admiral street between Mingo and Memorial. It is pretty darn big and includes a strip mall type of setup on one side of the road and a building on the other. On weekend mornings the outdoor exhibitors come as well, putting the number of booths into the hundreds. Even if you find nothing to buy, its quite a sight to look at. Watch your ass when you cross the road. There is no light or crosswalk. A good strategy is to wait until you see a couple of locals gathering up to cross, and cross with them. * The Tulsa Expo center has a flea market as well, but its more organized and prettyfied than the Admiral flea market. ==Eat== ===Markets=== *'''Wild Oats supermarket, 41st and Peoria. Its a national chain full of vegetarian stuff.''' *'''Akins' Natural Foods''', 31st and Harvard, and also just west of 51st and Memorial. They are smaller and local, and have better tofu. *'''Nam Hai''' oriental market, 21st and Garnett. Has the best tofu. ===Vegetarian restaurants=== *'''Bangkok Thai''' A few blocks south of 31st and Harvard, Thai buffet with lots of vegetarian options. Very unlike the standard Chinese buffet where 90% of dishes are meat. *'''India Palace''' Just north of 71st and lewis. *'''Taj Palace''' 71s and memorial *'''Organic''' 36ish and Peoria, on the west side of the street in an old wendy's. High prices but excellent food. *'''Wild Oats''' 41st and Peoria, deli bar *'''Salad Alley''' 7923 East 51st Street *'''Subway''' are all over the place. === other restaurants === * Nelson's Buffeteria (514 S. Boston Avenue) is famous for chicken-fried steak http://tulsatvmemories.com/nelson.html <ul>Sorry, but Nelson's recently closed, after more than 50 years in biz. Might it come back? Many generations hope so, but the doors were shut and the place vacant last time I walked by.</ul> Nelson's may have closed but, the "Buffeteria" lives on. The Downtown Buffeteria opened for lunch on Dec. 15, 2004. The place sparkles, shines and the food is delicious. Fast but not fast food. They even have The Round Up Boys back on Fridays. * In The Raw, 61st and Sheridan and 33rd and Peoria. Great sushi. Not an Asian person in the joint, but very tasty. * Lanna Thai, Memorial, just south of 71st. Fantastic Thai Food. Live Band on some nights. * Flavors, 71st, just west of Sheridan. Excellent Chef-owned Bistro. * The Chalkboard, on Main, just north of 15th. Fantastic bistro cuisine. * There are also dozens of restaurants along 15th street South ("Cherry Street") and along 71st street South. ==Drink== ==Sleep== There are several small bed-and-breakfast inns in Tulsa, including * Renaissance Cottage Bed & Breakfast: 1204 So. Florence Ave: 1 block from Tulsa University and historic "Route 66". http://bbonline.com/ok/cottage/ ===Budget=== ===Mid-range=== ===Splurge=== * The Ambassador Hotel, 11th and Main. They have their own line of mattresses. Luxurious, exclusive hotel accommodations. Also housing the excellent Chalkboard restaurant. ==Contact== * Central Library is across the street from Denver Station, the central city bus station. There's usually a few free Internet terminals you can use there or at any of the 24 other public libraries. [http://tulsalibrary.org/] ''are they really free, or do you have to pay $40 for an out-of-state library card ?'' * '''University of Tulsa Parking''' Don't bother. They don't want you parking there. If you don't know where to park at TU, they probably don't want you there anyway. They don't like 'the public'. Their libraries are all closed to the public. They disdain the unwashed masses. ==Stay safe== The tornado sirens are tested at noon on Wednesday and Saturday. Weird people downtown who ask you for a ride. Do not give them one. They might be a prostitute trying to solicit you. Simply tell them you are late and that you are sorry and drive off. Do not go to '''Turkey Mountain''', on the west side of the river. It is way overgrown, and full of weirdos, and the occasional mountain biker. You can get an interesting view of the city from one or two spots but.. it is almost not worth it. ==Cope== == Get out == The cities of Sand Springs, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Owasso, and Catoosa are all part of the Tulsa metroplex. == External links == *[http://www.cityoftulsa.org City of Tulsa] *[http://tulsaTVmemories.com Tulsa TV Memories] *[http://urbantulsa.com Urban Tulsa Weekly Alternative Newspaper] - great event listings *[http://www.visittulsa.com Visitor Information from the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce] WikiPedia:Tulsa, Oklahoma Dmoz:North_America/United_States/Oklahoma/Localities/T/Tulsa First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

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