Only 24 Hours From Tulsa - Metro Tulsa

[UKDEB]

Index to all instalments

Sunday, 25th July

We all surface at around 6:30am. I’ve had a much better night’s sleep and Susan has, too. We breakfast on our gifted bread from Sweetie Pie’s, toasted, and topped with the marmalade we’ve brought with us from Prince Charles’ Highgrove shop in Tetbury. [We wanted to bring easily transportable, yet typically British, token gifts for various people. Living in the heart of the Cotswolds, the Highgrove marmalades seemed ideal and the ladies in the shop were enthusiastic in their willingness to help, wrapping them first in the signature ‘duck egg’ tissue paper, before sealing with Highgrove stickers and finally placing in suitably eco-friendly brown paper bags, adorned with the Highgrove crest. We purchased several varieties, Susan’s ‘lucky dip’ being Satsuma.]

Our plans for today revolve around landmarks on Susan’s doorstep. Tulsa has no fewer than fourteen historic districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places and one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco architecture in the US. It will be nice to spend a little less time in the car having already covered over 700 miles since arriving on Thursday evening, particularly as tomorrow marks the beginning of our Route 66 excursions. Susan offers to drive, and as much as Matt loves driving, particularly Stateside, he readily acquiesces.

We don’t rush this morning, finally heading out at around 11:30am. We take a tour of Susan’s sub-division with Pluto in tow, before dropping him back at home and making our way to Downtown Tulsa.

Our first destination is the Blue Dome Diner for a spot of lunch. Although we’re aware that this place is on Route 66 as it passes through Tulsa, it takes us a while to find it. As we’re driving around, we do spot Cain’s Ballroom in the city’s Brady District, and hop out to take a photo.

Cain’s Ballroom, a music venue built in 1924 as a garage for one of Tulsa’s founders, Tate Brady, has such a riveting past that a book is currently being written on its history. As The Home of Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys from 1935 to 1942, the ballroom was especially significant for popularising a new sound of western music called western swing, a form of country and western that combined jazz, hillbilly, boogie, blues, big band swing, rhumba, mariachi and jitterbug music. In 1978, it was one of just a few venues to host the *** Pistols on their only American tour. Today it continues to put on a variety of concerts from the likes of local band, Hanson to The Smashing Pumpkins, Arctic Monkeys and… erm… the Disco Biscuits.

Many Downtown districts are enjoying a revival. The Blue Dome District is named for a distinctive former Gulf Oil gas station, also built in 1924 and a Route 66 Art Deco icon. It was the first station in Oklahoma to have hot water, pressurised air and a car wash. It was open 24 hours, seven days a week. The station attendant lived upstairs in the dome itself.

Blue Dome Station in its Route 66 heydey

And as it is today

We park up next to the Blue Dome and make our way across the street to the diner.

Our server is a bit snippy to begin with, but it doesn’t take us long to cotton on: Susan’s enquiry as to what time they stop serving lunch is met with a brusque, “Two”. It’s currently 1:45pm. Susan and I both order the Blue Dome Club, with home fries and grilled veggies respectively. Matt has the burger. Susan opts for iced tea, whilst Matt and I find the lure of beer too much to resist – Coors Light for Matt and a Modelo for me.

 

[UKDEB]

Back in the car we realise that we haven’t brought the map of historic buildings, and bearing in mind how long it took us to find the Blue Dome Diner, we’re forced to acknowledge that our Downtown Tulsa Landmarks Tour will have to wait for another day. Instead, we embark on a circuit of “Yates’ homes over the decades”. First up is Scott’s home in Uptown Tulsa, east of the Arkansas River. This is where he lived when he and Susan first met and the place where he housed his phenomenal collection of Disney memorabilia. It’s an enormous, two-storey affair. Nearby, we stop to take in the historic Sophian Plaza with its views over the river. (Later in the trip, we’ll meet with two of its current residents.)

Constructed nearly 100 years ago, the Sophian was originally created as a hotel for the booming oil industry. Its refined historic architecture is still evident today, the building having been well-preserved and updated.

The Sophian has a proud history which began at the end of the 1920s. The apartment hotel was a mecca for the affluent and many famous people have passed through its doors during the last century. The Sophian once boasted a restaurant for residents and their guests, a tennis court and delicatessen. Women of leisure frequented the beauty parlor located in the basement whilst waiting for their apartments to be tidied up by the on-property servants available 24 hours a day.

The Sophian rooms came furnished or unfurnished and sometimes were occupied year-round by oil tycoons and their mistresses. The servants’ quarters were located in the basement while the larger units in the building actually had a servant’s room and bath located in each apartment.

The building was designed to take advantage of the best possible ventilation and cross breeze by the use of louvered doors and the placement of the foundation diagonally on the lot. This allowed for the best circulation of air during sultry summer evenings.

Over the years, this unique residential community has housed some of the most prestigious business leaders and socially prominent families in Tulsa. In the 1960s the building was purchased by a group of New York investors. Ownership by absentee landlords resulted in the loss and removal of lovely antiques, oriental rugs, and overall neglect.

The building reverted to local ownership in 1973 and the renovation process began. It was converted to condominium status in 1978 and continues to flourish as one of the most prominent addresses in the downtown Tulsa area. Today, both the original condo owners and new, younger professionals reside at the Sophian. Together, they continue to work in restoring the building to its old world charm and splendour.

Next we head for Midtown and Florence Park where Susan lived for 16 years from 1984. Florence Park sits adjacent to the Cherry Street District, an eclectic mix of funky shops, restaurants and art galleries. It’s a sizeable neighbourhood and surprisingly coherent despite all the properties having very different architectural styles ranging from Craftsman bungalow to ranch-style to Greek Revival. The homes span a period from the early 1900s through to the 1950s, some fairly modest in size, others nothing short of colossal. As was the rule in many communities, some of Tulsa's midtown neighbourhoods began to fall into decline as families made a mass exodus for new homes in suburban areas beginning in the late 50s and into the 60s and 70s. Now, they’re enjoying a renaissance as newer generations discover the character, charm and convenience of living there, restoring these treasured older homes to their original grandeur. Susan’s former home, built in 1929, could have been lifted straight from the pages of a fairytale storybook.

As we make our way south towards our next destination of Bolewood Acres, we experience a sudden lack of air conditioning. Temperatures have been bordering on 100ºF ever since we arrived and it doesn’t take long for the car to turn from a welcome haven to a torturous hothouse. Nonetheless, we’re made of stout stuff and we plough on. Bolewood Acres is upscale by anyone’s standards and the properties are jaw-droppingly impressive. Again there’s a range of architectural styles and ages, but these are mainly of the sprawling ranch style on lots of one to two acres and it's easy to imagine prices upwards of the $1M mark. The entire development is immaculate with winding, tree-lined streets reminiscent of a country club. We’re here to take a look at The House That Jack Built, the home Susan shared with Scott. She’s quick to point out that it’s the smallest of the homes here, but nonetheless it’s a striking property. What you can’t tell from the picture is that it contains an inner courtyard complete with a mature tree. I think I’m right in saying that four separate rooms within the house, each with a picture window, overlook the courtyard.

The lack of air conditioning becomes too much and we make our way home, spending the remainder of the afternoon looking through Disney memorabilia including commemorative coins (Sixty Years of Mickey series; various anniversaries of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World; park openings of Epcot, MGM Studios and Tokyo Disneyland; fiftieth anniversary of Fantasia), an old WDW coupon book for rides with tickets A-E still attached, an early Disneyland souvenir book, park pamphlets for Magic Kingdom from the 70s, and a first day ‘Passport Commemoratif’ to EuroDisney.

 

[UKDEB]

We plan to stay close to home this evening, too; our destination: Broken Arrow. A city in the Metro Tulsa area, it was settled by Creek Indians who named it after the place they left behind when moving west on the Trail of Tears. Recently it has seen unprecedented growth in retail and residential development and we are off to experience a slice of that proliferation – The Village at Stone Wood Hills. This is a conglomeration of shops and restaurants centered around a lake and anchored by the largest Bass Pro Shop in Oklahoma. Another tenant is The Cigar Box which boasts “a comprehensive selection of cigar and tobacco accessories, a walk-in humidor stocked with hundreds of cigars, and a full bar in which to relax and enjoy them in comfort and style”. No prizes for guessing who chose this evening’s activities. (Clue: It wasn’t Susan and it wasn’t me.)

Still, it’s impossible not to be entertained by the merchandise on offer at Bass Pro. The sheer scale of the place is mind-boggling and, as usual, we wander around in wide-eyed amazement. My personal favourite this time out? The amount of floor-space dedicated to camouflage and stakeout gear. The size of a small supermarket, I swear. Why it hasn't occurred to anyone to turn this brand into a theme park is beyond me. Matt, once more, fails to convince me of the merits of purchasing stink bait and is forced to settle for the altogether more acceptable t-shirt option (albeit with a slighty-less-than-acceptable slogan).

Our fancy well and truly tickled, we head next door to Los Cabos Mexican Grill and Cantina. It’s a local restaurant with just one other location, but it has all the hallmarks of a national chain – large, standalone and newly constructed with expensive fittings. The outdoor patio overlooking the lake is appealing, but the highly-themed, colourful interior wins on this occasion.

Once inside, we consider first the bar, then the conservatory, before settling on a booth in the main restaurant from which we can see all the comings and goings.

We order drinks (Modelo for Matt, a Caborita for Susan and a Republic Margarita for me) before settling down to contemplate the menu. Complimentary nachos and dips are quickly brought to the table, but we do no more than sample them as we want to leave room for the main attraction.

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We start by sharing the Sweetcorn Tamale Cakes. These are little corn muffins topped with chipotle ranch dressing, avocado, tomatoes and salsa verde, and are sensational.

Our entrees are Chicken and Spinach Enchilada (Susan), Chicken Chimichanga (Matt) and Shredded Beef Burrito (me). All are served with Mexican rice and a choice of refried, borracho or black beans.

There’s a lot of food, but it’s absolutely delicious and we all do a good job with it. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and, overall, we’re more than impressed. [Looking at the receipt now, for the purposes of writing this report, I see we were charged for two additional entrees – one of them more expensive than anything we ordered. That puts a bit of a dampener on things!]

It’s blowing a hooli as we leave and those patrons on the patio who aren’t leaving of their own accord, are being whisked away by the force of the gale. A thunderstorm is rattling away in the distance as we drive home and, as we get closer, rain starts to fall. We’re in bed by 11pm.

 

[SusanEllen]

There’s a lot of food, but it’s absolutely delicious and we all do a good job with it. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and, overall, we’re more than impressed. [Looking at the receipt now, for the purposes of writing this report, I see we were charged for two additional entrees – one of them more expensive than anything we ordered. That puts a bit of a dampener on things!]

It's 9PM here and I've just talked to Darren the manager at Los Cabos who patiently listened to me explain about the error on our bill. Considering the fact that the dinner was two (2!!) months ago, I think it's pretty amazing that he didn't laugh and hang up on me. Instead, he appologized. He asked if he could have time to talk to the boss tomorrow to come up with some way to compensate you. They don't have a gift shop and afraid a replacement chicken mango salad and sampler platter probably wouldn't travel well to the UK, so you may have to make a return trip to Broken Arrow to realize the benefit of any reimbursement, but it's good to know that this restaurant we enjoyed so much actually cares about their guests--even ones who aren't likely to drop in again soon.

 

[tony64]

A great day, I really wish we had been there with you but reading your wonderfully detailed report is the next best thing.

I NEED to know what Matt's Bass Pro T shirt says.

Keep um coming Debs.

 

[Tammy Stringer]

Another lovely day. I need to know what Matt's T shirt says too Deb. I was hoping there was a photo to reveal all.

Love the picture of Susan's fairytale house - a real picture postcard.

Hope you can find the recipe for those sweetcorn tamales - they definitely look like the sort of thing you would enjoy making.

Tam

 

[jockey]

Great report fab pics

 

[irongirlof12]

love the photo's I really get a feel for the place and isn't Susan the best host

 

[Pugsly]

Obviously, inquiring minds want to know, Deb! Do tell what verbiage graces Matt's shirt! (unless of course ... and I can't imagine this being the case knowing Bass Pro Shop merchandise ... there would be too many ******'s to get the gist.)

Another fabulous day. And I have to agree with Tam - the picture of Susan's storybook house is just way too cute!

 

[Boss Hogg]

The t-shirt is a Redneck Sportsman one and features a graphic on the back of a guy on the toilet shooting a deer out of the window - the phrase is "shoot or get off the pot", it's pretty cool, but as it's tasteful his crotch area is pixelated so not to offend anyone!

I also bought some socks, but there's nothing special about them!

 

[rlduvall]

I have never posted on the UK Board [I'm almost a little nervous], but your title grabbed my attention because I live in Tulsa - and have for all of my 46 years. I thought our little city was somewhat boring and ugly, but you reminded me of how unique it really is. I know we are known for our downtown architecture, but I never have taken the time to research the history of it . . . and I love history. I guess when you see something every day, you just take it for granted; much like my husband. Thanks for the great pictures!!!

[Take me back to Tulsa, I'm too young to marry]

 

[UKDEB]

Hope you can find the recipe for those sweetcorn tamales - they definitely look like the sort of thing you would enjoy making.

It's already been done, Tam, along with the shredded beef burritos, Mexican rice and refried beans! Oh, and some mole sauce.

 

[UKDEB]

I have never posted on the UK Board [I'm almost a little nervous], but your title grabbed my attention because I live in Tulsa - and have for all of my 46 years.

Thanks for dropping by, riduvall. No need to be nervous - we're all friendly here.

I hope you'll come back to check out the remainder of my reports, although I have to warn you that I have a a reputation for being a bit slow in posting them.

If you're interested in learning about the background to our trip and the days preceding this one (which is day 4), please take a look at my previous reports. You may need to set aside a couple of hours!

Pre-trip report
Heathrow to Houston
Houston to Tulsa
Indian Territory

 

[Tammy Stringer]

It's already been done, Tam, along with the shredded beef burritos, Mexican rice and refried beans! Oh, and some mole sauce.

I should have guessed you had already done that. All I can say is roll on the next mexican night at the Churchills - I want an invite as that sounds yummy. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the real stuff next March

Tam

 

[tony64]

I should have guessed you had already done that. All I can say is roll on the next mexican night at the Churchills - I want an invite as that sounds yummy. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the real stuff next March

Tam

Any chance we could get an invite....Pretty please, I love debs cooking.

 

[Latte Lover]

Great report as usual, Deb. I adore Susan's little cottage!

 

[UKDEB]

I should have guessed you had already done that. All I can say is roll on the next mexican night at the Churchills - I want an invite as that sounds yummy. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the real stuff next March

Tam

Any chance we could get an invite....Pretty please, I love debs cooking.

Flattery works every time! Let's make that happen.

 

[Chilly]

Susan you have lived in some wonderful houses.

 

[SusanEllen]

Susan you have lived in some wonderful houses.

You know, Claire, I think so, too. I've been very lucky and Debbie's report has been a good reminder to me of that fact.

 

[SusanEllen]

love the photo's I really get a feel for the place and isn't Susan the best host

Thanks for saying that, Andrea, but I'm afraid that when you've read all of Debbie's report you'll find out that I managed to weasel out of my major hosting duty--feeding my guests. Early on in the planning of this visit we realized we had far more unique places we wanted to eat than the number of meal opportunities two weeks would give us, so I just never cooked. Actually, I don't know when I would have found time. Most days were so packed with things from our To Do List I can't imagine giving up anything we did in order to have the time to cook. Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it