Venture into the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s second largest city, for a trip into a glimmering metropolis filled with world-class attractions, vibrant nightlife venues and exclusive shopping destinations that range from upscale to unique. There are many interesting thing to do when you visiting Tulsa, Oklahoma. Home to cosmopolitan delights coupled with Southern hospitality, Tulsa
is a dynamic city known for a variety of bustling urban districts,
exceptional dining, an unsurpassed love of the arts and one of the
largest collections of art deco architecture in the nation. Immerse
yourself in the rich cultural legacy of Tulsa’s renowned performing arts
venues and tap your toes in the birthplace of Western Swing while
allowing the sights and sounds of Tulsa tempt you into enchanting
travels around the city. Before we informs the tourist attraction in Tulsa, Oklahoma, let we informs how the city itself.
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 393,987 (2012 US Census estimate), it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 951,880 residents in the MSA and 1,122,259 in the CSA. The city serves as the county seat of Tulsa County, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma, and extends into Osage, Rogers, and Wagoner counties. Located in Tornado Alley, the city frequently experiences severe weather. It is situated on the Arkansas River at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state known as "Green Country". Considered the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma, Tulsa houses two world-renowned art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation's largest concentrations of art deco architecture. The city has been called one of America's most livable large cities by Partners for Livable Communities, Forbes, and Relocate America. FDi Magazine in 2009 ranked the city no. 8 in the U.S. for cities of the future. In 2012, Tulsa was ranked in BusinessWeek's top 50 best cities in America. People from Tulsa are called "Tulsans."
1. Gilcrease Museum
Gilcrease Museum is a museum located northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum now houses the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West as well as a growing collection of art and artifacts from Central and South America. The museum is named for Thomas Gilcrease, an oil man and avid art collector. The archival collection at Gilcrease Museum contains over 100,000 books, manuscripts, documents, and maps ranging from 1494 to the present. Items of special interest are: A letter dictated and signed by Diego Columbus in 1512, the Cortez Decree of 1521, copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation (signed by Benjamin Franklin), and a letter written by Thomas Jefferson dated July 1, 1776.
2. The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center
The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,199-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar events, the facility was built at a cost of $178 million in public funds and an additional $18 million in privately funded upgrades. Ground was broken on August 31, 2005 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony involving Tulsa musicians Garth Brooks and Hanson took place on August 30, 2008. The arena's schedule of concerts and other events began on August 31 with a community choir hosted by Sam Harris. Designed by César Pelli, the architect of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, the BOK Center is the flagship project of Tulsa County's Vision 2025 long-range development initiative. Local firm, Matrix Architects Engineers Planners, Inc, is the architect and engineer of record. The arena is managed and operated by SMG and named for the Bank of Oklahoma, which purchased naming rights for $11 million. Current permanent tenants are the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League and the Tulsa Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association. The facility will also host NBA preseason games and college basketball matchups on a regular basis and seek to attract national and regional sporting tournaments.
3. The Tulsa Performing Arts Center, or Tulsa PAC
The Tulsa Performing Arts Center, or Tulsa PAC, is a performing arts venue in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It houses four main theatres, a studio space, an art gallery and a sizeable reception hall. Its largest theater is the 2,365-seat Chapman Music Hall. The Center regularly hosts events by 14 local performance groups. Tulsa Ballet, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Symphony and Celebrity Attractions (Broadway series) are among the Tulsa PAC’s major clients. Tulsa Town Hall, Chamber Music Tulsa, Theatre Tulsa, American Theatre Company, Theatre Pops, Playhouse Tulsa, Theatre North, the PAC Trust and LOOK Musical Theatre also fill the PAC calendar. Numerous headliners such as Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, Steve Martin and Anthony Bourdain have appeared at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. The complex was built with a combination of public and private funds and opened in 1977. The building is home to a permanent collection of 76 works of art. The Tulsa Performing Arts Center launched a regional ticketing company, run by the Tulsa PAC, in 2006. MyTicketOffice.com handles the ticketing for 12 performance arts venues in Oklahoma and Texas.
4. The Oklahoma Aquarium
The Oklahoma Aquarium is located on a 66-acre (27 ha) campus along the banks of the Arkansas River in Jenks, a southern suburb of Tulsa. The 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m2) facility was built in 2002 with the expectation to bring nearly 500,000 visitors to the Tulsa metropolitan area annually. The Oklahoma Aquarium opened on May 28, 2003. On display is an ever growing array of exotic marine life, as well as fish and freshwater environments native to Oklahoma. The aquarium's showcase attraction is Shark Adventure, a 500,000-US-gallon (1,900,000 l) shark tank, complete with a shark tunnel that allows visitors to walk 'through' the shark environment. Near the middle of the tunnel is a 12-foot (3.7 m) high, 20-foot (6.1 m) wide all-acrylic observation dome designed to give unobstructed, 360-degree views of the entire tank and its Bull shark, Lemon shark, Nurse shark, and Sand Tiger Shark inhabitants.
5. The Brady Theater
The Brady Theater (formerly Tulsa Convention Hall and Tulsa Municipal Theater) is a theater and convention hall, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It was originally completed in 1914 and remodeled in 1930 and 1952. The building was used as a detention center during the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains in use as a theater today. Located at 105 West Brady Street, the building is four stories tall, occupying an area of 130 feet by 160 feet. It was designed with a seating capacity for 4,200 people (including 1,300 in the balcony). The stage was 70 feet wide and 40 feet deep, and slopes 13 feet from back to front. According to the Tulsa Preservation Commission, the building also contained the only municipally owned pipe organ west of the Allegheny Mountains.
6. Woodland Hills Mall
Woodland Hills Mall, shopping mall located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, is one of Oklahoma's largest shopping malls. It was originally developed by Homart Development Company, and opened in August 1976. Today, The mall is owned by Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, Indiana. Woodland Hills Mall features over 160 specialty shops and restaurants, including Aldo, Coach, the Cheesecake Factory, Michael Kors, Nine West, Pandora, Sephora, Apple store, and Godiva Chocolatiers.
7. The Expo Square Pavilion
The Expo Square Pavilion, sometimes called simply The Pavilion, and formerly known as the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, is a 6,311-seat multi-purpose arena, in the Tulsa State Fairgrounds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was built in 1932; the architect was Leland I Shumway. The building is in the PWA Art Deco style, built of blond brick with terra cotta ornamentation, and is considered one the prime examples of Art Deco architecture in Tulsa. It was home to the Tulsa Oilers Central Hockey League team, during the 1960s and the Tulsa 66ers, of the NBA Development League, until they moved to the SpiritBank Event Center in 2008. The Tulsa Roughnecks of the NASL used it for indoor soccer until the league's demise in 1984.
8. Cox Business Center
Cox Business Center is a 8,900-seat multi-purpose arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The civic arena was constructed in 1964 and named for Tulsa Mayor James L. Maxwell who was the driving force behind the planning and start of the venue. With a 102,600-square-foot (9,530 m2) exhibit hall, 23 meeting rooms, an 8,900-seat arena and an executive conference room, the Tulsa Convention Center contains a total of 227,000 square feet (21,100 m2) of meeting space all under one roof. In 2013, the Convention Center was renamed Cox Business Center. It was home to the Central Hockey League Tulsa Oilers ice hockey team and to the Tulsa Talons, an af2 arena football team prior to the opening of the new BOK Center in 2008. It was a regular stop for Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling and its successor, the Universal Wrestling Federation, until shortly after the UWF's purchase by Jim Crockett Promotions in 1987. It hosted the Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament title game in 1982 and 1984-87. It was also the home to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane basketball team until the program moved to the Reynolds Center in 1998. The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) hosted a Built Ford Tough Series event at the Convention Center each year between 2005 and 2008; for 2009 and beyond, the event was moved to the BOK Center. Beginning in 2009, the Convention Center was the home arena for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League until 2012, when it returned to nearby Bixby.
9. The Tulsa Zoo
The Tulsa Zoo is a 85-acre (34 ha) non-profit zoo located in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA. The Tulsa Zoo is owned by the City of Tulsa, but since 2010 has been privately managed by Tulsa Zoo Management, Inc. The zoo is located in Mohawk Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. The zoo is involved in many conservation efforts, such as a push to reduce the use of palm oil,[8] FrogWatch USA, and efforts to encourage ocean conservation. The Tulsa Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
10. The Philbrook Museum of Art
The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma is an art museum housed in part in a 1920s villa, situated on 23 acres of formal and informal gardens. The original structure is the former home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve (Elliott) Phillips. As of 2007, the museum has a staff of 60 and an operating budget of nearly $6 million. The museum opened October 25, 1939. It was known as the Philbrook Art Center until 1987, when the name was changed to Philbrook Museum of Art.[2] The collection housed at the Philbrook Museum of Art includes works from Giovanni Bellini, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, William Merritt Chase, Leonardo Drew, Arturo Herrera, Charles Loloma, Maria Martinez, Thomas Moran, Pablo Picasso, Fritz Scholder, Tanzio da Varallo, Rachel Whiteread, and Andrew Wyeth. A satellite facility, Philbrook Downtown, opened on June 14, 2013 in Tulsa's Brady Arts District. The museum serves an average of 149,000 visitors annually
