Tulsa Greenwood District and Black History Month (Norman, Muskogee: Home Depot, wedding)
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@CaramelSmoothie, we use to have a vibrant downtown. We use to have drugstores and department stores downtown. We've lost them, but slowly, life is beginning to return to downtown. I grew up downtown and now live about a mile from the BOK. LOL, I learned to cocktail waitress in the Crest Club in the Mayo Hotel. That was back in 79-80, before the hotel was shuttered for many years. We are extraordinarily lucky that the Mayo was revived. I don't say restored as things are different, but it was saved and will now be with us for many years to come. I do hope you have had coffee at Topeka Coffee. That is the best coffee house in the city. They have a family farm in El Salvador, and are wonderful people to work for. (I know someone who works for the company). The floor inside Topeka Coffee is the original floor of the coffee shop/cafe that was in the Mayo Hotel. LOL, I remember it.
As people begin to move back into the downtown vacinity there should be more businesses that open. Grocery stores, drugstores, and shops that benefit a vibrant district. I have my hopes anyway. Anytime I've lived in Tulsa, I choose to remain near downtown, even when everyone else seemed to be caught up in the burbs of South Tulsa. That was never my choice of lifestyle, so I'm happy to see a little bit of life return.
I'm glad you are enjoying a few of our beautiful, art deco buildings. We lost many of them during the flight to suburbia. Thankfully, a few people wisened up before we lost all of them.
[quote=CaramelSmoothie;21945818]I arrived in Tulsa yesterday. I was tired from traveling all day so I took a nap then went to the Mayo rooftop bar, that hotel is beautiful! I will be spending a lot of time there for the duration of my trip. I am staying in the Atlas Life building which is also beautiful, in one of their Historic Registry rooms, the hallways on this floor look like a 1930s office building, it's great! Saturday will be rainy so I will walk around today and look at the art deco buildings here in downtown as well as hit up the Greenwood section. I plan to catch a play tonight and tomorrow night at the Tulsa Performing arts center. One thing I did notice yesterday is that downtown becomes a ghost town after dark and that there are no CVS or Walgreens at all. I've never seen a downtown that did not have a drugstore.[/quote] That is the very reason why I left Tulsa so many years ago , but people like me and yourself are pulling Tulsa in the right direction. Please give me a update on how the play went at the Tulsa PAC...Holler At You Later CarmelSmoothie....
I so happy to hear that you are in Tulsa CarmelSmoothie I was so busy battling the NE in a NE Eastern Seaboard Vs. California Thread that I wasn't paying much attention to the Tulsa Forum LOL....FOMC falling out of my chair. Please keep me abrest of what happening in the Greenwood District I would Really Love That , and CarmelSmoothie Godspeeed in your Quest To learn all that you can about Black History and Art In The Tulsa OK area.
Last edited by Howest2008; 12-02-2011 at 10:56 AM..
Thanks Ecovlke and Howest. I am glad to hear that downtown Tulsa will most likely be experiencing a revival in the coming years.
The play last night was great! It was called "A Song of Winter". It was the Native American take on "A Christmas Carol". I really enjoyed it. Tonight I will be seeing another play called "Good Boys".
I went to Greenwood yesterday. I did a tour of that little house that is right next door to the Cultural center. The pictures of the riots were heartbreaking. It shows how man can be so cruel to their fellow man and that cruelty transcends race because there is cruelty within same races as well as between different races. I ate at Fat Guys Burgers In Greenwood and the food was very good.
I was very upset to see that a sports field, a highway, a university and railroad tracks were put on such a historical site. That is very disrespectful. I was very upset to see that. Didn't the Black community stand up and fight against that?
Today I will finish my tour of the Art Deco buildings as well as see the play and I may be going to an event later tonight. I will update everyone tomorrow.
Thanks Ecovlke and Howest. I am glad to hear that downtown Tulsa will most likely be experiencing a revival in the coming years.
Yes it started in 2005 in a attempt to keep up with Oklahoma City (MAP) Metro Area Projects which were started sometime around 1999..Tulsa urban renewal program was called Vision 2025 if my memory serves me correctly.
The play last night was great! It was called "A Song of Winter". It was the Native American take on "A Christmas Carol". I really enjoyed it. Tonight I will be seeing another play called "Good Boys".
Tulsa Ballet is one of five of Tulsa World Class Attractions Gilcrease Museum , Philbrook Museum , BOK Center , Cains Ballroom and The Tulsa Ballet.
I went to Greenwood yesterday. I did a tour of that little house that is right next door to the Cultural center. The pictures of the riots were heartbreaking. It shows how man can be so cruel to their fellow man and that cruelty transcends race because there is cruelty within same races as well as between different races. I ate at Fat Guys Burgers In Greenwood and the food was very good.
I was very upset to see that a sports field, a highway, a university and railroad tracks were put on such a historical site. That is very disrespectful. I was very upset to see that. Didn't the Black community stand up and fight against that?
Whites in Tulsa only wanted to forget and cover up what happened in Greenwood (so) during the 1960's when some of the urban renewal took place they put in some of those features - the ball park is OK with me and so is the OSU campus....BY THE WAY LANGSTON A HBCU is near MAKE SURE TO TOUR THE ONLY BLACK UNIVERSITY IN OKLAHOMA , the African-American community were involved in being intergrated into the larger White Caucasian Community via the Civil Rights Movement....So they totally abandon the Great Stand Alone AA Community of GREENWOOD OK USA...
Today I will finish my tour of the Art Deco buildings as well as see the play and I may be going to an event later tonight. I will update everyone tomorrow.
Have a great day today CarmelSmoothie and hit me with some more 411
Last edited by Howest2008; 12-03-2011 at 10:10 AM..
I am back from Tulsa. I had a blast! On my last day there I attended a jazz concert at the Jazz Center in the old Tulsa train depot as well as another one in a neighborhood named "Brookside" I believe. I also visited the Tulsa Historical Society as well as the Tulsa Garden Center right next door.
When I arrived in Tulsa, the shuttle driver had mentioned to me that there was a big uproar about the baseball field being built on that site and when I saw it I understood. So the general sentiment within Tulsa's Black community that it should not have been built there. Howest, I had the good fortune of meeting several prominent people within Tulsa's Black community there and they all were in the know as to what is what around the city and I'm not going to repeat it here because I don't feel that this is the forum for that, but the more I thought about it the angrier I became at knowing that some people would think it would be a good idea to put a sports stadium and a school on that site, especially considering the fact that Greenwood was an area where most Tulsans didn't even venture into at all. When you look at that stadium, it just seems so out of place, especially when you look at all the abandoned buildings and warehouses near the Spaghetti Factory...almost like they deliberately chose Greenwood in an attempt at disrespect.I know you say you have no problem with it, but it seems that many people do and did.
Last edited by CaramelSmoothie; 12-06-2011 at 11:46 AM..
Reason: added more info
I am back from Tulsa. I had a blast! On my last day there I attended a jazz concert at the Jazz Center in the old Tulsa train depot as well as another one in a neighborhood named "Brookside" I believe. I also visited the Tulsa Historical Society as well as the Tulsa Garden Center right next door.
When I arrived in Tulsa, the shuttle driver had mentioned to me that there was a big uproar about the baseball field being built on that site and when I saw it I understood. So the general sentiment within Tulsa's Black community that it should not have been built there. Howest, I had the good fortune of meeting several prominent people within Tulsa's Black community there and they all were in the know as to what is what around the city and I'm not going to repeat it here because I don't feel that this is the forum for that, but the more I thought about it the angrier I became at knowing that some people would think it would be a good idea to put a sports stadium and a school on that site, especially considering the fact that Greenwood was an area where most Tulsans didn't even venture into at all. When you look at that stadium, it just seems so out of place, especially when you look at all the abandoned buildings and warehouses near the Spaghetti Factory...almost like they deliberately chose Greenwood in an attempt at disrespect.I know you say you have no problem with it, but it seems that many people do and did.
I haven't been back to Tulsa since 2002 or 2003 when my father passed away , but this I know the problem with the Greenwood District is that the local African-American Community weren't going to put any money into the Greenwood District (and really) it wasn't going to get redeveloped properly anyways. The Baseball Field doesn't have anything to do with Black Tulsa History because they weren't thinking about that when they built it , now I would've rather had Local African-American money building Churches , Department Stores , Sports Clubs , Limo Services , Mom and Pop Operations, Restuarants , Cafes and especially Housing ( All Red Brick ) Like It was in The Glory Days of 1920's or The 1960's I Remembered Greenwood In It's Last Hurrah in the 1960's It's Was A Thriving Place...However it begain to go downhill after African-American begain moving to other places that offered more opportunities and excitment for them. My brother a Captain or Major on the Tulsa Police Department and my sister A Banking Executive built modern houses just off of Greenwood Ave ( Me Myself would've preferred 3 & 4 Story Brick Houses , Condo's , Walk Up Apartments LIKE THE ONE THAT I howest2008 once lived in on GREENWOOD STREET AVE or whatever in the Greenwood District.
I read disturbing news in the Tulsa World newspaper recently. It said that the Greenwood Memorial Museum is currently in dire need of funds and may have to close. I Googled it but other than that I couldn't find any additional facts/info. I know times are tight but it would be a step back if that were to happens. Anyone know anything more about it?
I read disturbing news in the Tulsa World newspaper recently. It said that the Greenwood Memorial Museum is currently in dire need of funds and may have to close. I Googled it but other than that I couldn't find any additional facts/info. I know times are tight but it would be a step back if that were to happens. Anyone know anything more about it?
If you truly want to keep up with the day to day activities of the Greenwood District " follow it in The Oklahoma Eagle " Tulsa African-American Newspaper.
St. Monica Catholic Church Greenwood Ave. Greenwood District
St. Monica Catholic Church was built in 1930 just off of Greenwood Ave in Tulsa Oklahoma to serve the African-American community.I remember my Mother and Father putting together enought money for me to attend Catholic School for one year ( my Kindergarden year ) of school , I was even " In The TOM TOM WEDDING " bring back FOND MEMORIES of THE BLACK WALL STREETS OF ANERICA.
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About the Greenwood Memorial Museum
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