Tulsa, Oklahoma: Full of Surprises

I hadn’t given much thought to Oklahoma. Fields of grain. Feedlots stuffed with cattle. What else could there possibly be? Turns out a visit to Tulsa flips those assumptions on their head. In Tulsa, I found a mid-size city that seems to have it all—world-class museums, architecture, a history-steeped downtown, a hopping arts district, and one of America’s great road trips snaking right through the heart of the city.

Turns out that Tulsa—and the whole state—are an inspiring RVers destination.

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s saw families across the region pack their belongings and follow Route 66 to jobs in the agricultural fields of California. The story was told in books and films like John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. The hardships of the time also influenced Oklahoma folk singer Woody Guthrie, who hitched his way west along the famous highway (more on that later).

Tulsa has been anointed the official “Capital of Route 66,” with 42 kilometres of the storied roadway passing inside the city limits. The highway known as The Mother Road is a large part of the city’s identity, lined with dozens of neon signs and kitschy statues, early 20th-century-era diners, gift shops, and mom-and-pop-style motels.

Some of the quirkier stops are The Blue Whale (lit at night is best), the Route 66 Rising sculpture at the Avery Traffic Circle, and the seven-metre-tall Buck Atom Muffler Man and Stella Atom Space Cowgirl statues at Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios.

World-class Music Museums Galore

In addition to Woody Guthrie’s own instruments, several display cases are dedicated to those he influenced and who followed in his footsteps (including Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and his son Arlo Guthrie).

You could say it all began with the Woody Guthrie Center, celebrating America’s most influential folkie: a man who sang about the politics of the time, the common man, and their plights. “All you can write is what you see,” said Guthrie. And in the disastrous years of the Great Depression, he saw the inequality surrounding him and responded with songs, writings, and artwork calling for social change.

The Grammy-affiliate museum starts with a timeline of Guthrie’s life from birth to his death at age 55 from Huntington’s disease. There are original instruments signed with protest statements like “Whatever It Takes,” cases dedicated to those he influenced and who followed in his footsteps (including Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and his son Arlo Guthrie), and a music bar where listeners can choose from 46 of his songs sung in his voice. At the centre of the museum is a large display dedicated to his most revered song, “This Land Is Your Land,” the piece he wrote to be all-inclusive and to speak out about housing, hunger, and poverty. The original hand-written lyrics are stored in the archive, but the original facsimile is displayed.

Sitting on a recreated cabin front porch, visitors can try virtual reality headwear and are immersed in the massive dust storms of 1935 Oklahoma.

The Dust Bowl of the early 1930s was a formative event in Guthrie’s life, motivating him to become a voice for the disenfranchised. Tucked along one wall is a recreation of the front porch of a farmer’s cabin. Visitors sit in a rocking chair and don virtual reality headwear, immersing themselves in the massive dust storms of 1935 Oklahoma. It was a time when the storms were so powerful that they obliterated the sun and were described by some as “a tornado on its side.” The documentary The Dust Bowl by Ken Burns is an excellent follow-up to understanding this history.

The Bob Dylan Center includes a chronological timeline of his influences and achievements.

It was Woody Guthrie, his number one formative influence, who led songwriter, balladeer, and Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan to establish the Bob Dylan Center along the same block in the Tulsa Arts District. “Life is about creating yourself and creating things,” said Dylan, and the center dedicated to his work is very focused on his prolific creative process.

An introductory film and many archive-rich display cases trace Dylan’s life and work chronologically. Visitors wear headsets and use an audio guide that automatically connects with dozens of gallery touch points of original lyrics and notes, photographs, concert performances, and interviews. There’s a jukebox loaded with a collection of 160 songs of the time, curated by Elvis Costello. Listening rooms dive deep into those who influenced Dylan, including Woody Guthrie, Little Richard, Hank Williams, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Chuck Berry.

In the middle of the Bob Dylan Center’s main floor looks at Dylan’s most iconic songs—including “Like A Rolling Stone.” These displays track his inspiration, the songwriting process, the production, and performance.

The centre of the main floor is given over to a deep dive into several of Dylan’s most iconic songs—including “Like A Rolling Stone,” “Tangled Up In Blue,” and “Jokerman.” Often described as the greatest songwriter of modern times, these displays track his inspiration, the songwriting process, the production, and performance with archival material that includes scribble-filled notebooks, photographs, and multiple song drafts. After examining the tens of thousands of items, those who have energy can climb the steps to the second floor, nicknamed a “cabinet of curiosities,” with more personal letters, instruments, and other oddities.

Whether you are a Bob Dylan fan or not (his voice does not have universal appeal), after touring this excellent museum, any visitor can appreciate his genius and poetic mind, acknowledging him as the singing conscience of a generation.

At the entrance to The Church Studio is a statue of its founder, musician Leon Russell.

These two museums stand out in Tulsa, but there are also other highlights of music. The Church Studio marks the era of the Tulsa Sound—a combination of country, blues, and rock—pioneered by the late Oklahoma native Leon Russell. The museum and working studio are in a church renovated by Russell for his Shelter Records label. The space houses an archive of Russell’s contribution to many different projects, a museum of his hits—including “This Masquerade” that has more than 300 cover versions—instruments, photographs, artwork, and even his trademark hats and boots. The iconic dance and concert venue in the Tulsa Arts District, Cain’s Ballroom, is known as “The Home of Bob Wills” and the “Carnegie Hall of Western Swing.” There’s a row of stars on the pavement out front of the Tulsa landmark to honour performers—many with a connection to the Tulsa Sound—including Leon Russell, JJ Cale, Bob Wills, Asleep At The Wheel, and many others.

Tulsa Race Massacre: A Tragic Event in History

Bronze sculptures in Reconciliation Park depict actual images from the Tulsa Race Massacre.

In the early part of the 20th century, the Greenwood District of Tulsa was a prosperous African-American neighbourhood often called the Black Wall Street. In 1921, white supremacists attacked and decimated the homes, stores, and residents over 35 square blocks of the neighbourhood, resulting in one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. The history of The Tulsa Race Massacre, as it became known, is told at Greenwood Rising, a state-of-the-art history centre honouring the legacy of the Greenwood District both before and after the tragic events of 1921. The centre uses holographic technology, recorded memories of survivors, and films to tell the history of events.

Near the Arts District, John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park was built in commemoration of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre—at its centre is the eight-metre Tower of Reconciliation that displays the early struggles of the Oklahoma Territory and the history of Black Wall Street in Greenwood.

A Mecca for Art Deco

In the Roaring Twenties, Tulsa enjoyed unprecedented growth and prosperity from Oklahoma’s oil boom, just as the Art Deco movement came into vogue. Prominent Tulsans started building the skyscrapers and public buildings that would mark one of the preeminent collections of Art Deco in America.

Art Deco rejected the immediate past but often looked to ancient cultures, such as the Egyptians, for inspiration. Art Deco also looked to the future, embracing and celebrating technology, while following a theme of modernity using stylized geometric forms such as zigzags, chevrons, squares within squares, diamonds, fern tendrils, flowers, and fountains. The result was a sleek elegance that symbolized wealth and sophistication.

There are walking and driving tours of Tulsa’s Art Deco District—the city has the largest concentration of Art Deco buildings for an American metro area of its size. These include Boston Avenue Methodist Church (1929), a National Landmark and listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the Tulsa Club, the elegant Mayo Hotel, the stately Pythian Building (1930), the Tulsa Fire Alarm Building (1930), and many others.

RV overnight spots: It may not look like much when you first arrive (this campground is located within a revitalized industrial complex) but rest assured that your opinion will turn around quickly. West Bend RV Outpost is located within the gated WOMPA complex of artisans and small business entrepreneurs. WOMPA itself is well worth a tour—it is very impressive!

www.visittulsa.com