Tulsa
[key], city (2020 pop. 413,066), seat of Tulsa co., NE Okla., on the
Arkansas River E of its junction with the Cimarron; inc. 1898. It became an
inland port with the opening (1971) of the McClellan-Kerr Waterway, a 440-mi
(708-km) system linking it with the Gulf of Mexico. Tulsa is an important
center of the nation's petroleum industry, with refineries and plants that
produce petroleum products and related equipment. Although refining
functions declined in the late 20th cent., several major oil concerns have
their business offices and research laboratories there. The city's many
manufactures include air conditioners; asphalt; oil-field, plumbing, and
communications equipment; rubber and glass products; metal castings;
agricultural chemicals; and power tools. The aerospace industry and banking
are also important. An extensive park system and well-planned communities
characterize the residential aspect of the city; the notable Gathering Place
(opened 2018) is designed for both landscape and play. Tulsa is also a
cultural and educational center with a symphony orchestra, opera, and
ballet, all of which perform at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center; the
Philbrook Museum of Art; the Gilcrease Museum; and the BOK Center, a
multipurpose arena designed by Cesar Pelli. The Univ. of Tulsa, Oral Roberts
Univ., and campuses of Oklahoma State Univ. and the Univ. of Oklahoma are in
the city. Tulsa grew as a cattle-shipping village after the coming of the
railroad in 1882 and boomed with the discovery of oil nearby in 1901. In
1921 one of its black districts, Greenwood, was the scene of a notorious race massacre
by whites.
See J. S. Hirsch, Riot and Remembrance: The Tulsa Race War and Its Legacy (2001).
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