Tulsa, Oklahoma

Get in

By plane

• Tulsa International Airport (TUL) Located in the north part of Tulsa. It has major airlines with direct flights to major cities in the US. It is a small, cute and charming airport with sofas and chairs all around and a very laid-back feel. The meet and greet areas and very well detailed and furnished. The car rental area and parking is well integrated. The airport even offers free short term parking.
• Richard L. Jones, Jr. Airport (RVS) (often called the "Riverside Airport") is south of downtown Tulsa and is a general aviation airport.

By train

There is no real passenger train service to Tulsa anymore, but there are two Amtrak bus routes into the city. One leaves Kansas City (Missouri) every midnight, and one leaves Oklahoma City every night at 11:00 PM.

By car

From Bartlesville come down US75.

From Missouri go down I44. Don't forget to see the world's former largest McDonalds spanning the roadway up around Vinita 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 +1 918 584-4428 at 317 South Detroit Avenue (downtown)

(WORD TO THE WISE: This is not in a very safe part of town, so be careful!)

By boat

Only cargo ships dock at the Port of Catoosa, a few miles east of Tulsa. There is no passenger access to Tulsa.

Get around

Thanks to urban planning, the major city streets are placed in a grid layout. Almost all major intersections are one mile from each other, and exactly in a straight line. That makes it much easier to find places than in cities where streets go every which way. The major exception is downtown, which is slanted at almost a 45 degree angle to the rest of the grid.

By car

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 streets and avenues are planned on a 1 mile by 1 mile grid system, with the main arterials running on each mile. The name avenues run north/south and are name after US cities, generally in alphabetical order. In the mid-town area the names are taken from colleges and college towns. North/South is divided by Admiral Blvd. Name streets East of Main are cities east of the Mississippi River, vice versa for name streets west of Main.

Numbered streets run East/West. With Main Street and the Arkansas River as the dividing line. Watch out for Place, Street, Avenue designation, e.g. 47th Place, 47th Street, or Florence Place, Florence Avenue.

Downtown streets were originally platted parallel to the Frisco railroad tracks. When Tulsa expanded beyond the bounds of its original plat, the expanded areas were platted in alignment with the points of the compass. Thus the "twisted" area down-town represents the original extent of Tulsa ca 1907.

By bus

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. Unlike major cities in the Northeast, the city bus is not a major form of transportation in the city. It is usually a means of travel for those who are without their own motor vehicle.

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 remainder of Tulsa is not safe for bicycling as there are no bike lanes.

See

• Gilcrease Museum, 1400 North Gilcrease Museum Road, +1 918 596-2700. Daily 10AM-5PM, tours at 11AM & 2PM. One of the world's largest collections of Western and Native American art and artifacts. Free, charge for special exhibitions.

• The Philbrook Museum of Art, 2727 South Rockford Road (One block east of Peoria Avenue at 27th Place), +1 918 749-7941, Tu, W, F, Sa, Su: 10AM-5PM; Th: 10AM-8PM. Native American, Renaissance, European, American, African, and Southeast Asian art.

• Woodward Park southeast corner of 21st and Utica, See the park in the spring when the roses are blooming in the Tulsa Rose Garden.

• The Expo Building 4145 E. 21st Street. 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.

• Williams Center Tower 2nd Street, The largest skyscraper in Oklahoma it is also called the Bank of Oklahoma Building. It was designed by Minoru Yamasaki who also designed the World Trade Center Towers in New York.

• Oriental Museum On Harvard near 49th street South.

• Tulsa Zoo, 6421 East 36th St N., +1 918-669-6600, Daily 9AM-5PM. Has zebras, giraffes, polar bears and elephants in addition to a children's zoo and rain forest. $6/4/3/Free (Adults/Seniors 55+/Children 3-11/Children under 3).

• Tulsa Air and Space Museum, 3624 N. 74th E. Ave, +1 918 834-9900, Tu-Sa: 10AM-5PM; Su: 1PM-5PM.

• Penguins on Parade There are dozens of 6 foot tall penguin sculptures scattered throughout the city. It is a local art project to raise funds for the Tulsa Zoo's new penguin habitat.

• Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 322 N. Greenwood Ave. (Greenwood Cultural center at OSU-Tulsa), +1 918-596-1001, M-F 9AM-5PM. Donations.

• Geo Science Center 8801 S. Yale, +1 918 497-5555, fax +1 918 497-5557.

• The Ida Dennie Willis Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys, 627 N Country Club Dr, +1 918 584-6654. W-Sa 11AM-4:30PM. Over 2000 dolls, dollhouses and other miniatures.

Do

• Bells Amusement Park, 3901 E 21st Street. Amusement rides and games. Closed and looking for a new location.
• Downtown Mall Walk the downtown mall and see lots of Art Deco architecture downtown.
• The Center of the Universe is at the top of a pedestrian bridge in Tulsa. The bridge goes over the railroad tracks from Archer Street to First Street, west of the Union depot and immediately north of the Williams Center Tower. If you stand on the opposite side of the brick circle from someone else, you hear their echo, but not your own. If you stand at the center of the brick circle and talk, your echo "sounds weird".
• Artificial Cloud, Just south of The Center of the Universe is a 72.5 foot sculpture by Robert Haozous.
• IMAX theater, 71st st South and Hwy 169 at the Cinemark movie megaplex.
• The Tulsa underground tunnels.
• Tulsa's Incredible Pizza Company 8314 E. 71st Street, +1 918 294-8671. It has 96,000 square feet and is both a restaurant and amusement park, includes an all-you-can-eat pizza and salad buffet, indoor go-kart races, bumper cars, miniature golf, bowling, and a game arcade.
• Fringe, 823 E. 3rd street South. A "knitting/coffee shop".

Nature parks

• Oxley Nature Center, 5701 East 36th Street North, +1 918 669-6644. 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 is a new complex, Riverwalk Crossing at 101st in Riverside. It has a movie theatre and many restaurants, with a wonderful atmosphere.

Events

• Tulsa Oktoberfest, which some people say is the largest Oktoberfest in the world outside of Germany. In 2006, Oktoberfest runs October 19 - 22.
• Tulsa State Fair, at the Expo Fairgrounds (near 21st and Yale), It's the last full week in September. "Funnel cakes" are a tradition.
• Oklahoma Scottish Games & Gathering, Recently moved to River West Festival Park. It's always the third weekend in September. Next one is September 16-17, 2006.
• Tulsa Trek Expo, The largest Star Trek convention in the central US.
• Contestoga, Oklahoma's largest literary science fiction and fantasy convention. Late July.
• Cherry Street Farmer's Market, 15th and Peoria, every Saturday 'til the frost is on the pumpkin' from about 7 am to 11 am.
• Wanenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show, The world's largest gun show. Twice a year. April and October.
• Tulsa.TV, Tulsa's most extensive and up-to-date local event listings including live music, performing arts, community events, movie showtimes, and more Tulsa information.

Learn

Tulsa is just about the largest US city that has no major state/public university. There are two 4 year private universities and 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:

• University of Tulsa Private four year University.
• Tulsa Community College (4 campuses)
• Tulsa Technology Center
• Oklahoma State University Tulsa branch
• University of Oklahoma Tulsa branch
• Oral Roberts University Tulsa is home to educational complex founded and named in honor of televangelist Oral Roberts. The Cityplex Tower there is the second-largest skyscraper in Oklahoma.
• Spartan School of Aeronautics

Buy

• Gardner's Used Books, Music & Comics, Inc. Oklahoma's largest used book store
• Steve's Books and Magazines has a special section of books about Tulsa.
• Cherry Street Shops 15th Street South, Many unusual shops and restaurants line Cherry street.
• Utica Square Shopping Center 21st street South, has some nice shops and restaurants.
• Montag Fine Candle Company 1639 S. Main St., Broken Arrow., Montag Fine Candle Company offers up a wonderful collection of scents, whether for you or for a gift.
• Tulsa.TV Tulsa's largest and most user-friendly online content provider for finding local businesses to shop at and restaurants to visit as well as customer ratings and reviews to help make an informed decision. Includes videos of Brookside, Cherry Street, Riverwalk, and other premier Tulsa locations.

Flea Markets

• The Admiral Flea market is on Admiral street between Mingo and Memorial. It is huge 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. Be alert when you cross Admiral. 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

Dining

The major dining corridors can be found along 15th Street South ("Cherry Street") near downtown, along 71st Street South near Woodland Hills Mall, in the Brookside district near midtown, the Blue Dome district, and in the Utica Square shopping area.

Notable Restaurants

• Atlas Grill, 415 S Boston Ave #20, Located deep in the lobby of one of Tulsa's historic Art Deco builidngs, the Atlas Grill serves up the best lunch downtown.
• Atlantic Sea Grill, 8321 E 61st St #A, +1 918 252-7966, a can't-miss, upscale, intimate seafood restaurant with great wine list and elegant bar.
• Jazzmo's / Bourbon Street Cafe, On Cherry Street and 71st between Memorial and Mingo, excellent cajun seafood and purveyor of live music.
• The Downtown Buffeteria, 514 S. Boston Avenue (formerly Nelson's Buffeteria) is famous for chicken-fried steak
• Desi Wok, 3966 South Hudson Ave, +1 918 621-6565, near I-44 and East 41st Street, serving both traditional and fusion Indian / Chinese cuisine.
• In The Raw, 33rd and Peoria (Brookside) and 61st and Sheridan. 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, 1324 S Main in the historic Hotel Ambassador, just north of 15th. Fantastic bistro cuisine.
• Jamil's, 2833 E 51st St., +1 918 742-9097 Tulsa's oldest steakhouse.
• Gaucho, 6219 E 61st St., +1 918 494-0042 Centrally located Brazilian steakhouse (or churrascaria).
• Fuji Restaurant, 8226 E 71st St., +1 918 250-1821 Wide variety of sushi and sashimi as well as other authentic Japanese favorites. Owned and operated by Chef Nobu Terauchi. Friendly atmosphere and reasonable prices!
• The Brook, a restaurant with many kinds of foods to choose from (burgers, sandwiches, and Tex-mex). Very good service. 2 locations: E. 91st & S. Memorial & on Brookside a region on S. Peoria Ave.
• Cosmo Cafe, on Memorial just north of 71st, across from Woodland Hills Mall. Gourmet sandwiches & salads, very cool place to hang out. Wi-Fi, open floorplan, and decent bar & wine list. Outdoor patio is a great place to relax.
• Zio's, an Italian restaurant with 2 or 3 locations across town, very family oriented. Very good and reasonable pasta.
• If you're looking for a good burger, Tulsa has lots of competition. Search out Goldie's Patio Grill, Ron's Hamburgers & Chili, Harden's, Claud's Hamburgers, and Weber's Root Beer Restaurant when you're in town.

Brookside

The Brookside area can be found at 33rd and Peoria to 45th and Peoria. The location of many of Tulsa's best eating and drinking establishments. If you can't find something to eat here, you are not doing something right.

• The Brook
• Cafe Ole
• Ciao
• The Grapevine
• Monte's Chop House
• The Garlic Rose
• Table Ten
• Alioli
• Charlestons
• Elmer's
• Fuji
• In The Raw
• Biga
• Crow Creek
• Senior Tequila's
• Delta Cafe
• Brookside By Day (Breakfast)
• Lao Thai
• Blu, formerly the Blue Rose Cafe.

Utica Square

• Polo Grill
• P.F. Chang's
• Stone Horse Cafe
• Tsunami Sushi
• Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

Cherry Street

• Bourbon Street Cafe
• Kilkenny's Irish Pub & Eatery
• Full Moon Cafe
• Hideaway Pizza

71st Street

• Jazzmo's
• Logan's Roadhouse
• Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy
• Fish Daddy's
• Lone Star
• Mimi's Cafe
• Egg Roll Express (cash only, but really good egg rolls)
• Asahi Sushi

Brady District

• Lola's at The Bowery

Barbeque

Barbeque is serious business in Oklahoma, and Tulsa is no exception. At least three significant BBQ competitions are hosted in the Tulsa area annually, with hundreds of teams from around the nation competing. There are dozens of small, dive-ish wax paper BBQ establishments where only the food is meant to impress.

• Papa Tom's, 121st and Memorial in Bixby, +1 918 369-3698, good sweet & hot sauces, great chopped brisket and ribs. Hungry? Get the "Big Papa" sandwich.
• Legend's BBQ, in Owasso, and on Memorial north of I-44 at about 27th Street. You won't need the sauce for the pork spareribs - exceptional.
• Billy Simm's, on 71st East of 145th in Broken Arrow (across from Rhema Bible College). The sauce is Head Country, the "Heisman" with pulled pork is one of their better platters.

Vegetarian restaurants

• Bangkok Thai 3313 East 32nd Place, +1 918 663-4880 Thai buffet with lots of vegetarian options.
• India Palace Lewis, just North of 71st, buried in a shopping center on the East side of the street.
• Organic 3524 South Peoria, +1 918 742-9595 High prices but excellent food.
• Wild Oats 41st and Peoria, deli bar
• Salad Alley 7923 East 51st Street
• Be Le Vegetarian Restaurant 6634 South Lewis Ave. (918) 499-1414 Vietnamese and Chinese food made with faux meats and faux fish.

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.

Drink

• McNellie's Public House Irish pub in downtown Tulsa, 1st and Elgin. Has over 60 beers on tap.
• Kilkenny's Irish Pub Irish pub and restaurant on Cherry Street. Has a nice selection of beers, nice atmosphere and good food. Pours the best Guinness. A little more upscale than McNellie's.
• Brookside Bar and GrillCheap drinks and great food on Brookside at about 34th and Peoria.

Sleep

There are several small bed-and-breakfast inns in Tulsa, including

• The McBirney Mansion, 1414 S. Galveston, +1 918 585-3234, Fax: +1 918 585-9377.
• Renaissance Cottage Bed & Breakfast, 1204 So. Florence Ave, +1 918 599-0801. 1 block from Tulsa University and historic Route 66.

Budget

• Days Inn Central, 4724 S Yale, +1 918 496-9300, Fax: +1 918 495-1760.
• Microtel Inn & Suites - Admiral Place, 16518 East Admiral Place, +1 918 234-9100.
• Microtel Inn & Suites Tulsa - Expo Center, 4531 East 21st Street, +1 918 858-3775.
• Super 8 Motel - Downtown, 3211 South 79th East Avenue, +1 918 660-8080.

Mid-range

• AmeriSuites Tulsa/Hyde Park, 7037 S. Zurich Avenue, +1 918 491-4010.
• Doubletree Hotel - Downtown, 616 W 7th Street, +1 918 587-8000, Fax: +1 918 587-1642.
• Doubletree Hotel - Warren Place, 6110 S Yale, +1 918 495-1000, Fax: +1 918 495-1944.
• Downtown Crowne Plaza, 100 E 2nd Street, +1 918 582-9000, Fax: +1 918 560-2292.
• Hawthorn Suites Tulsa, 3509 South 79th East Ave., +1 918 663-3900.
• Radisson Hotel, 10918 East 41st Street, +1 918 627-5000, Fax: +1 918 627-4003.

Splurge

• Hotel Ambassador, 1324 S. Main Street, +1 918 587-8200, Fax: +1 918 587-8208. 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.

Stay safe

The tornado sirens are tested at noon on Wednesday, but they are not tested if it is rainy, stormy, or very windy. You might want to check the Tornado safety page if you are visiting Tulsa. Tornado season is normally in the spring and early summer, but they can occur anytime during the year. Also, swimming in the Arkansas River is inadvisable due to the large amounts of pollution and the currents created by the dams near downtown. (NOT A GOOD IDEA).

Cope

Get out

• Oklahoma Aquarium Just south of Tulsa in the suburb of Jenks.
• Safari's Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary Located in the suburb of Broken Arrow).
• Renaissance Fair In Muskogee). Last of April and first part of May.
• The Frank Lloyd Wright Price Tower in Bartlesville.
• Rhema Bible Church Christmas Light Tour in Broken Arrow -- free admission.
• Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prarie Preserve 2 hours north of the city, near Pawhuska, You can drive around and spot 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. (Note: buffalo are dangerous. Stay alert.)
• The cities of Sand Springs, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Bixby and Catoosa are all suburbs and part of the Tulsa metroplex.
• Claremore the birthplace and hometown of Will Rogers is about 30 minutes away, there is a wonderful museum about Will Rogers located there. There is also a large casino in Catoosa, Cherokee Casino and resort, which is very popular among locals.