Tulsa, Oklahoma: The GOOD and the BAD

What's going on in downtown Tulsa?

For this video I drove the downtown region in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s biggest city. The goal would be to show both the downtown area as well as the surrounding region. It was a really pretty day in late fall, the day after Thanksgiving, with highs in the low 50s. The day was Friday, November 27, 2020 at noon.

Tulsa is the second largest city in Oklahoma, with a population of about 400,000 people, putting it around the same size of cities such as Tampa and Minneapolis.

The state of Oklahoma is known for four main things - oil, religion and Native Americans. Oil was first discovered here in 1901 and by 1920 this city’s population swelled from 1,000 people to 75,000 people. Hence, it named itself the oil capital of the world. Today, Tulsa’s oil influence has diminished, but it still ranks as the nation’s 4th highest oil producer. Many oil fields dot the landscape just outside of town.

Oklahoma as a state ranks as the 8th most religious, where more than 70% of folks say believe in God with absolute certainty. As a city, Tulsa ranks as the 17th most religious in the nation. Hence, that’s a big reason why Oklahoma always votes conservative. The last time Oklahomans voted for a democratic presidential candidate was in 1964 for Lyndon B Johnson.

Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that . The Tulsa metro area ranks first by a long shot for the percentage of residents who are Native American - at 14%. And the Supreme Court just ruled that half of Oklahoma should now be considered Native American land, including much of the city of Tulsa.

BBQ is a big deal here. Tulsa says it lies at the midpoint between pig country and cow country - or the border between the south and the west. The city is widely known for its wood smoked barbecue flavor, particularly for its hickory smoked meat.

Tulsa’s crime rate is far above the national average for a city of its size. Most of the worst crime takes place in the poorer areas on the city’s north end. Tulsa is extremely affordable for homes - it ranks as the 6th cheapest major US city for home prices, where the average home costs about $194,000. And home prices are going up quickly here - . People are suddenly coming to Tulsa from other metro areas in large numbers to take advantage of this city’s low cost of living and large homes with big lots. It’s been called one of the nation’s best most affordable cities.

Here’s downtown Tulsa.

#tulsa #oklahoma
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[robinmattingly]

Fun fact: drive between 22 - 24 miles per hour and you'll hit every green light in Downtown Tulsa.

[chrisford]

Nick: This is Tulsa
Actual Tour he takes: less than 2% of the city

[stevewoodall]

I lived a good part of my life in Tulsa. It’s probably not what a lot of people would think of as an exciting place, but it’s not at all what this film depicts. Looks like it was done on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, avoiding the places where there might be a lot of people. And showing vacant buildings and lots. The city is much more than what’s depicted here.

[johncoffelt]

The day after Thanksgiving, would mean that most or nearly all of the shopping and other commerical traffic will not be downtown Tulsa during the day time, as it is BLACK FRIDAY.

[bendayhoe]

Spent the last year of my life there thanks to the Tulsa Remote program, and it was certainly one of the best years of my life–some of the kindest souls (like Boise/Flagstaff nice) that I have been blessed to meet!

[DriveByShouting]

Moved to Tulsa from Austin two years ago.

I love your video because you make Tulsa seem dull. I don’t want what happened to Austin to happen to Tulsa.

Truth is, the City is outstanding. Cheap, Good Weather, Aesthetically beautiful with Tons of Trees, Rolling Hills, A Major River, excellent biking trails, World Class Art museums in Philbrook and Gilcrease and the best park in the World. ‘The Gathering Place’. You think I’m lying, you’ll be shocked. I called bullshit until I saw for myself, the park is awe inspiring…They also have a killer baseball team with one of the coolest views of a Cities downtown I’ve seen. Tulsa is also more Liberal than OKC, which the 2021 version of Liberalism is insane sounds bad but maybe more Libertarian I’d say than hard Conservative. The Conservatives I see are just normal people. There is no ‘Drama’ or Unrest here that a good portion of the US is seeing. However, I wouldn’t burn any American flags here. You’ll likely get a courtesy nap from an America loving Okie. Which you’d deserve.

They also have lots of Lakes surrounding the City, so if you like water you’re in luck.

It also has a Rich Music History with Bob Wills, Leon McAuliffe, JJ Cale, Leon Russel, Lee Hazlewood, and a ton of historic shows brought to town by Little Wing Productions from the Sex Pistols in 1978 at The Police, Iggy Popp, Richard Hell, The Police, U2, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson’s 1977 4th of July Picnic…Cains Ballroom, Brady Theater, Tulsa Pavilion, Tulsa Assembly Center and on.

The Woody Guthrie Center, OKPOP, World HQ for BMX, Booming Downtown and one of the best live music scenes in America. The local musicians are world class. Texans and Okies probably have more music history than the rest of the US.

The City is growing and the combined metro has right at 1, 100, 000 people. OKC is at 1, 400, 000 and is it’s own City, absolutely nothing like Tulsa. More like Fort Worth. Which is ok 👍

According to the Supreme Court OKC is in Oklahoma and Tulsa is now in ‘Indian Territory’ again. Sounds good to me.

Tulsa is also on the short list for an NFL expansion team. Why? Because draw a 150 mile circle around OKC and you have OKC, Tulsa, and Stillwater: Roughly 2, 560, 000 prospective fans.
Draw a 150 mile circle around Tulsa and you have : 3, 975, 000 Prospective fans and Huge Businesses like WalMart, Tyson, Quiktrip, American Airlines, Cessna, Hawker-Beechcraft to attain revenue from.

Tulsa-1, 100, 000
OKC-1, 400, 000
Wichita- 650, 000
Fayetteville/Bentonville/Rogers, AR-575, 00
Joplin/Springfield, MO-200, 000
Stillwater, OK-60, 000

Tulsa is a special City, Elon Musk nearly moved his Company here over Austin. Tulsa will continue to attract Business Relocation, with one I won’t mention as it’s not been announced yet but it’s impressive.

My family of 7 came two years ago, and won’t be leaving for many decades if at all….

[maliqmorris]

Most of the crime isn’t on the North Side anymore Nick. Tulsa is changing very fast. I’ve lived on every side and if I had to pick a most dangerous side it would be the drug infested south west. The city as a whole though is pretty nice and safe 💯

[davidlaney]

There are about 3 of these restaurant shopping districts that are walkable, Utica Square, Cherry Street, and Peoria St...Tulsa has some areas in the Downtown area on the Northside with bars and restaurants, he probably drove in the wrong areas...Tulsa isn't known as tourist friendly there are lot of hideaway places that only locals no about...

[carolynbecton]

I moved to Tulsa in 1951. I loved the downtown area. We rode the Sand Springs streetcar to Main street and shopped Kresses, Walgreens and lots m
ore shops. It was alive with movie theaters, businesses and people.

[dialtommy]

Tulsa native here. Its the best place to live. I will never move away. This video only showed downtown area which is okay! But, the city has a TON more to offer. One of the fastest growing in the nation. Fun place to be.

[RestrictedAirspacePodcast]

2:15 that’s the Brady theater 🎭 I opened up for Buckcherry there in 2015. That building is literally 100 plus years old in age. Tulsa has grown a lot due to the art district and better managed building owners. Many jobs are available here. Californians and Texans move here constantly.

For the record when you ask “where is everyone?”

I don’t know what you expected in 2020 but that wasn’t a great time to catch the vibrant energy or collective gatherings.

[kenthompson]

One thing not mentioned by other commenters and ignored by Nick is that Tulsa is being engulfed by turnpikes (toll roads). Coming into or leaving Tulsa is difficult without paying a toll on some turnpike. Not so in OKC, where both I35 and I40 are FREEways north south east and west. But then all the important state politicians work and/or live in OKC. My single biggest objection about Oklahoma is the state commits highway robbery by forcing people pay to use their roads. No other state has as many miles of turnpikes, per capita. And the people of Oklahoma don't seem to understand that they're being ripped off.

[sikchopper]

This was recorded during the covid shut down. Tulsa is very lively and can see thousands of people commuting in downtown. Also, it’s home to Greenwood, aka Black Wall Street the most violent massacre in U.S history took place . The BOK building is also, a smaller scale skyscraper to the twin towers of NYC design by the same architect. Downtown Tulsa is also home to the famous Cains ballroom. The BOK center is also the nation’s highest ticket selling venue. Center of the universe is also in D town Tulsa .the outsiders was also filmed in Tulsa. It’s late I’m going to bed hopefully this sheds some more light in our cities Downtown district

[grainofsalt]

Native small town Texan and I’ve been living in Tulsa for two and a half years. I love this city!!

[vivataylor]

Lived in Tulsa through the 80's & 90's...loved it!

[stephenroberts]

If you're going to tour Downtown Tulsa, you really need to include ALL of the Arts District. Skipping Guthrie Green and Cain's Ballroom is just sad.

[Monica-swld]

So much more going on downtown now, at least there is when I drive through it. Between the BOK Center, the new ballpark, Guthrie Green, the Greenwood District, Cain's Ballroom, restaurants, bars, and a thriving music scene, it's pretty vibrant. The Art Deco architecture and murals make it beautiful, too. Outside of downtown, there's Gathering Place, Cherry Street, Woodward Park, Brookside, museums, and beautiful oil-era mansions. So much more than you can tell from this video.

[tulsabeasley]

Dude! Do you even research the cities you visit? You drove around “downtown” but were not on Main Street, Boston Avenue, or Reconciliation Way.
Lazy video about Tulsa.
Do better.

[little_laughs_family]

I am living in this city for the last two years now. I have loved every bit of living here. People are so nice and welcoming, values are important and hospitality is a part of life. These things seem to be vanishing from the advanced cities.

[Ravyne]

I live in Tulsa and it is a relatively decent place to live. Not nearly as much crime and drug as people say, although we do have some homeless issues. Downtown isn't usually that busy, even during the week. Most people only go there to work in office buildings. The lunch time crowd is decent and Saturday nights. All the action is usually on Utica and Cherry Street (15th street) during the week. Tulsa has expanded a lot in the Southern part of town, but I rarely go there. They probably have some decent shops and restaurants out that way. Since this was taken last year during the pandemic and the day after Thanksgiving, I am surprised there were any automobiles around. There definitely wouldn't be many people walking around downtown any time.