• What to know if you go

DON SIBLEY / Washington Post/STR (ENLARGE)
Tulsa's architecture is a mix of period pieces, a highlight of which is the art deco design of the Boston Avenue Methodist Church, adorned with terra-cotta sculptures and topped by a 225-foot spire.
SIBLEY/STR (ENLARGE)
Locals used to pay a dime for square dance lessons at Cain's, which is now a rock concert hall.
Gilcrease Museum (ENLARGE)
To understand Tulsa's history and culture, visit the Gilcrease Museum, which has a trove of Native American and American West art as well as historical-themed gardens.
MOST POPULAR STORIES New arrests likely in Fla. adoptive couple slaying Toddler found wandering street alone Reed aims to rejuvenate Christian conservatives Motorist dies in drive over edge of Grand Canyon Three arrested for attempted robbery near Tech
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR

When I first ventured into downtown Tulsa more than three decades ago, I was sure that's how Paris looked. Don't laugh.

A cluster of art deco buildings — a rush of terra-cotta facades, boldly geometric doorways and corridors covered in travertine marble — towers above the city center. To a 10-year-old who had never traveled beyond St. Louis, it seemed to be a fine replica of European grandeur.

It still does.

Rich, raucous African-American culture

Tulsa is a city of period pieces. The Gilcrease Museum, with its dazzling portraits of Indian tribal leaders and bronco-riding cowboys in bronze, takes you back to the Old West. Tee's Barber Shop, as much a hangout for African-Americans as a place to get a haircut, is a reminder of the rich and raucous black life that once reigned here.

Cain's Ballroom, the gargantuan rock music performance hall where locals once paid 10 cents for square dance lessons, is a throwback to an era before high-tech clubs.

These are a few of the monuments left by the oil barons, displaced Indians, entrepreneurs and pioneers who built Tulsa. Together they make this one of the most intriguing urban enclaves in the Southwest.

OK, a city that is perhaps best known as the old home base of televangelist Oral Roberts isn't everybody's idea of a get-there-quick destination. As a native son and fourth-generation Oklahoman, I know its sore spots all too well. Although it's the second-largest city in the state and has a population of 387,000, it has the up- and downsides of a small town.

The house where I grew up (and still own) is a short walk from the scene of a 1921 race riot, a bloody rampage that left more than 300 dead, almost all of them African-Americans. And for all its splendor, downtown can be downright funereal at night.

Tulsa city is also a nondriver's bad dream. It's a place where locals think little of spending an hour driving to get a burger.

The frontier preserved

But there is no better-preserved example of Southwestern frontier culture. Even road-trippers in a hurry along Route 66, which runs through the city, would be foolish not to stop at one of the vintage eateries.

Take, for instance, the Coney Island, a beloved downtown lunch spot that Greek immigrant Christ Economou opened in the mid-1920s — and where you can still get your fix of the house special, a trio of hot dogs topped by chili, onions and mustard. For bigger appetites, there's the White River Fish Market, for seven decades the purveyor of heaping platters of buffalo and catfish, shrimp and every other kind of seafood.

Nancy K. Owens, a feature writer for the monthly Greater Tulsa Reporter, thinks the eclectic conglomeration of venues around Tulsa makes it seem more a collection of small villages than a city. "You can get caught up in one scene here," she said, "and forget that there are many others equally as interesting all across town."

American West art

The Gilcrease Museum, a 10-minute drive northwest of downtown, is one of the best-known repositories of American West art — and a great way to get a feel for what Tulsa is all about.

This time I noted that the museum — with more than 10,000 paintings, sculptures and drawings, including one of the world's largest collections of Thomas Moran paintings and Frederic Remington bronzes — reaches far beyond Western art. One special exhibit was devoted to photographs of the ruins at Machu Picchu. An impressive collection of Mexican paintings, including a couple of brilliant works by Diego Rivera, is on permanent display.

But it's the Western landscapes that grabbed my full attention. Moran's 1900 "Shoshone Falls on the Snake River" is probably the most celebrated piece in the place.

Greenwood Avenue

From there, I headed to a familiar area, Greenwood Avenue, until the 1980s the center of Tulsa's black community. Tony middle-class homes with neat lawns and fences have replaced the black-owned businesses, but thankfully a bit of the 'hood's old flavor still hangs in the air. At Tee's, the black barbershop at the end of the street, a crowd of regulars was sitting around trading basketball scores and gossip.

Farther along is the Greenwood Cultural Center, which organizes black-oriented arts events. A gallery explains the history of Tulsa's "Black Wall Street" and has photos of local African-American celebrities.

Change has brought an unexpected hipness. Richard Florida, a nationally known public policy expert, gives Tulsa big points for its lively creative class, thanks mostly to the contingent of students, artists, musicians, designers and gay men and lesbians.

Arts scene

But where to find that scene? Brookside, a boulevard lined with bars and boutiques in the south end, was one option. Too easy. I head for Cherry Street, a mix of antiques stores and restaurants south of downtown.

One step inside the Peace of Mind Bookstore, a favorite hangout for former hippies, and I was back in the era when cool people were listening to the Grateful Dead and reading Carlos Castaneda.

While parts of Tulsa are clearly trendy, for the most part it clings to its boomtown past. This is especially true of the downtown art deco district. A dozen or so worthy historical structures remain, mostly in an area centering on South Boston Avenue. Most were built during the oil boom of the 1920s.

The Boston Avenue Methodist Church, for example, is surfaced in Bedford limestone blocks and adorned with finely chiseled terra-cotta sculptures and a 225-foot spire. But I've come to this conclusion: It doesn't resemble anything I have seen in Paris.

But that's OK. I could not imagine it anywhere but here.

IF YOU GO

Expect to pay about $290 round-trip airfare from Atlanta to Tulsa.

Information: Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department, 1-800-652-6552, www.travelOK.com.