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West Tulsa, Tulsa

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Coordinates:36°08′06″N96°00′09″W/ 36.13500°N 96.00250°W/36.13500; -96.00250
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West Tulsais a local name given to an area situated in the west section of the city ofTulsa, Oklahomawhich includes variouscommunitiesto the west and south of theArkansas River.As development betweenSand Springsand Tulsa continued in the late 19th through the early 20th centuries, the name West Tulsa was used to refer to this area west of Tulsa and north of the Arkansas River, but many people in Tulsa and those knowing of the history of Tulsa do not include this area near Sand Springs when referring to West Tulsa.

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The southwest quadrant of Tulsa is split intocountyandcityareas, so that the county areas include industrial areaenclavesand lands south and west of thecity limits.Some communities are within city limits and others are not, including a large section of urban housing andcommercialand industrial development around West 23rd street, which is the most developed area of West Tulsa. Generally accepted communities of West Tulsa in city limits areRed Fork,Carbondale, Garden City, andTurkey Mountain.Those not within Tulsa City limits areBerryhill,Marglo, Bowden, andPrattville(though annexed by the city ofSand Springsin 1964). Other communities considered a part of West Tulsa but located inCreek CountyareOakhurst,Oakridge, and Allen-Bowden.

The most significant road in West Tulsa is Southwest Boulevard (originally called Quanah Avenue until the middle to late 1950s), which was formerly part ofRoute 66.Other principal streets in West Tulsa include West 21st street, West 41st street, West 51st street, and the principal avenues are South 65th West avenue, South 57th West avenue, South 49th West avenue, South 33rd West avenue, South Union avenue, and South Elwood avenue.

West Tulsa is also home to The OaksCountry Club,one of Tulsa's three major country clubs, Inverness Village, a large retirement community, and Camp Loughridge, a ChristianSummer Campoperates on 186acresof land in West Tulsa.Goodwill Industriesis also located in this area as well as several companies supporting Tulsa's transportation industry adjacent to theBNSF Railway'Cherokee' railyard.

West Tulsa Free Will Baptist Churchhas been serving the area since 1946.The Chirch offers H2O Teen Ministries for 6th through 12th Grades, and CityKids Ministries for pre-kindergarten through 5th Grades. Located at the corner of Nogales Avenue and West 23rd Place, West Tulsa Free Will Baptist Church also provides Upward Sports programs for the community. The Church is associated with theNational Association of Free Will BaptistsinNashville, Tennessee,andRandall UniversityofMoore, Oklahoma.

Twooil refineriesoperate in West Tulsa.Sunoco's Tulsa refinery opened in 1913, and is located adjacent toI-244at the Arkansas River. A sale of this refinery to Holly Corp. ofDallas, Texaswas announced, with a planned closing date of June 1, 2009.[1]TheSinclairRefinery (built in 1910 byTexaco) is located on Southwest Boulevard.[2]Holly Corporationof Dallas, Texas bought both the former Texaco refinery and the Sunoco refineries in 2009 and announced that it would operate both as a single refinery.[3]

Education

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West Tulsa High Schools areDaniel Webster High Schooland Berryhill High School. Clinton Middle School on West 41st Street and Berryhill Junior High School are separate school districts. Eugene Field Elementary School, Robertson Elementary in Carbondale, Remington Elementary in Mountain Manor, and Park Elementary inRed Forkare in Tulsa city limits. West Tulsa Elementary schools outside city limits are Jane Addams Elementary School on South 65th West Avenue and Berryhill Elementary School on West 31st Street. These schools are south of the Arkansas river.Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences,which includes their College of Osteopathic Medicine, is on West 17th Street.

History

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West Tulsa became an incorporated town September 14, 1907, and held its first city election in October of that year. It was annexed by the City of Tulsa on September 7, 1909.[4][5]

West Tulsa had one of the firstamusement parksin the area, having its first visitors before 1920 at a park owned byThe Park Addition Company,which operated adance hall,concessions,and boat rides. In 1921, theElectric Amusement Park Companytook control over the site, adding the only miniature train ride in Oklahoma at the time. By 1922, the company contracted to operators ofcarouselandFerris wheelrides, but financial problems closed the park in 1925. After changing hands, the park reopened in 1928, remodeled and renamed asCrystal Cityand featuring Tulsa's giant Zingo roller coaster. Operation of the park was successful until a fire in 1956 burned down thebath houseandCasa Lomadance hall, forcing its closure.[6]Many of the rides were installed at another one of Tulsa's facilities,Lakeview Amusement Parknear theMohawk Zoo.Investors bought the buildings and lease in September 1958 to build what became theCrystal City Shopping Center,a major shopping venue for West Tulsans, with an anchoring bowling alley calledCrystal Bowl.

In June 2006, theSouthwest Tulsa Main Street Committeehad plans to present a request to the city of Tulsa for support of an Urban Main Street program covering Southwest Boulevard from OSU Medical Center to Crystal City. The request is the first step toward getting the area certified as part of the Oklahoma Main Street program, which should help the West Tulsa area economically.

Tulsa's Red Fork area has been selected by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to be the city's first designated Urban Main Street Community. The Red Fork Main Street encompasses two blocks on either side of Southwest Boulevard extending from the Arkansas River to 49th West Avenue. Being part of the state program provides access to technical support, planning, expertise and resources that help communities preserve historic buildings and make them economically viable. The City Council has agreed to a three-year, $150,000 commitment to take part in the program. Matching funds have been pledged by numerous individuals and businesses.[7]

Levee

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On the left bank of the Arkansas River, the levee extends from river mile 531.0 near Sand Springs, Oklahoma, downstream to river mile 521.4 at Tulsa. On the right bank, the levee extends from near river mile 526.7 downstream to river mile 521.3 and is adjacent to the major portion of the business and residential districts in West Tulsa. Approximately 12.4 miles of levees were constructed prior to February 1938 in accordance with plans contained in HD 308, 74th Congress, 1st Session. Improvements and additions to the levees were initiated in the fall of 1943 and were completed in the spring of 1945.[8]

References

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  1. ^Walton, Rod (April 17, 2009)."Sunoco refinery sale set for June".Tulsa World.RetrievedJune 25,2011.
  2. ^Lassek, P. J. (September 6, 2007)."Sinclair to invest in Tulsa".Tulsa World.RetrievedJune 25,2011.
  3. ^Walton, Rod (October 21, 2009)."Holly to buy Sinclair refinery".Tulsa World.RetrievedJune 25,2011.
  4. ^Field, Eugene. "Growing Together: West Tulsa."Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  5. ^"History of Southwest Tulsa." Chapter Seven:Historic Route 66. Available on Google Books.
  6. ^Tulsa Gal. "Tulsa Area Amusement Parks." January 10, 2010. Accessed August 18, 2011.[1]
  7. ^Barber, Brian (March 11, 2007)."Red Fork area selected for program".Tulsa World.RetrievedJune 25,2011.
  8. ^"Civil Works Projects: Pertinent Data:: TULSA AND OKLAHOMA HISTORY COLLECTION".cdm15020.contentdm.oclc.org.Retrieved2019-06-05.
Further reading
Notes
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36°08′06″N96°00′09″W/ 36.13500°N 96.00250°W/36.13500; -96.00250

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