How to spend eight hours in tulsa, oklahoma

Tulsa is Oklahoma’s second-largest city, whose land is the home to the Muscogee, Cherokee, and Osage Nations. Its story includes the nickname “Oil Capital of the World” and the Tulsa Massacre, when a white mob destroyed one of the country’s most affluent Black neighborhoods in 1921. Some of the country’s best examples of Art Deco alongside modern murals, it’s a city of contrasts. Here are a few highlights from eight hour in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Eat:

• Burrito at Tuly’s Tacos, an award-winning taco shop in downtown.
• Fried chicken at Wanda J’s Next Generation Restaurant, a Black family-owned soul food restaurant near the airport.
• “Red Bird Bangkok” bowl from Bodhi’s Bowl inside Mother Road Market, an award-winning food hall.

Drink:

• Specialty latte from Fulton Street Books & Coffee, a cafe inside a bookstore with books written by or for marginalized communities.

Do:

• Drive 35 minutes north to Bartlesville to see Price Tower Arts Center, the only realized skyscraper designed by Franklin Llyod Wright.
• Find Tulsa’s many murals starting with these ones.
• Learn about the horrors of the Tulsa Massacre at the Greenwood Rising Black Wall St. History Center, a local museum open Tuesday-Sunday from 10am to 7pm.
• Reflect at the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, a memorial honoring the lives affected by the Tulsa Massacre in 1921. Walk nearby to the “Pathway of Hope,” stopping to see the “Doorway” murals by Marlon Hall and Gordon Huether.
• Run along the River Parks East Trail, a long path along the river.
• Take your kids to the Gathering Place, a 66.5-acre public park with several large adventure playgrounds, trails, and the “Cabinet of Wonder,” a small art museum with oddities mainly from Oklahoma.

See:

• Art Deco architecture at places like Boston Avenue UMC, Tulsa Fire Alarm Building, and the Warehouse Market. See a more complete list here.
• Blue Dome, an old Route 66 filling station designed to look like Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia. Wander the surrounding streets to see many local murals.
• Golden Driller Statue, the sixth-largest statue in the country.
• Movies at Circle Cinema, a non-profit theater and the city’s oldest cinema. Wander the surrounding blocks to find many local murals.
• Philtower Building, a historic skyscraper with tunnels connecting to other historic downtown buildings. There’s an exhibit inside the tunnels.