This 40-minute video by Tulsa Community College’s Documentary Filmmaking class explains the unique challenges and possibilities of Route 66 tourism in Tulsa. You’ll see a lot of interviews with Tulsa business owners along the Mother Road.
The video is really well done. Tulsa, for a long time, tended to gloss over its issues with Route 66 tourism. There won’t be easy answers, but finding an eventual solution is first admitting you have a problem.
One of the interviewees hints the Warehouse Market building near downtown will get a new tenant soon. Much of the building has been empty since the historic Lyon’s Indian Store left for a new location in the Blue Dome District.
(Image of Tally’s Cafe from Lost Tulsa, via Flickr)
This is an impressive film and remarkable for the fact that’s a student project. Work on both sides of the camera seem to be on a professional level. The photography is engaging and the interviews are enlightening. The on camera commentator is poised and skillful. Well done, students of the TCC’s documentary film class. I was going to say, filmmakers of the future, but your future has arrived.
Great film! When we went through Tulsa two years ago, I have to admit we were pretty disappointed and we were even using the Jerry McClanahan’s EZ Guide and the Images of 66 picture book as guides. The street signs were poor at best with some even missing. Watching this shows me how much we missed. I hope Tulsa can get it’s act together by the time we come back through again in a couple of years. I see one hotel I’d love to stay in but that might not be enough to warrant an overnight stay.
Keith, I hope you return to Tulsa soon. Perhaps you will be pleased to know that new, prominent signage has been installed on the eastern end of the Tulsa stretch of 66 (not many minutes past the Blue Whale of Catoosa that’s just outside of Tulsa’s city limits), including a sequence of bronze plaques that outline Tulsa’s history with the Road. We who live on the western end are looking forward to our new signs going up soon, especially the large one that will arch over the road and be visible from the Interstate making it easier for 66 travelers to find their way into the city on a true alignment of Historic 66.
Here are links to some things you might enjoy exploring the next time you come to town. Hope you have fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbAh4_C-Lyc Tulsa 66
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INRClQJ8kYU Cyrus Avery Plaza/statuary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3do-RXERxso Tulsa’s Art Deco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rH1t0bokC4 Woody Guthrie Center
“One of the interviewees hints the Warehouse Market building near downtown will get a new tenant soon.”
Spatula City?
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UHF_%28film%29&oldid=259762678 has this as Weird Al’s film shooting location.