Michael Overall: Tulsa isn't so jealous of OKC anymore

[davideinstein]

Yes, OKC can't help that it's so butt ugly, bless it's heart.  It's not at all right to be so insensitive like that in the local paper.

The Downtown area in OKC is way, way better kept than Tulsa. We have more history in our architecture, but they match or top us at just about everything else. We like to talk about Downtown, but outside of the Brady we really haven't backed up that talk.

[heironymouspasparagus]

OKC is light years ahead of Tulsa still to this day. And I love Tulsa, but that's a reality.

Have you been there?  Light years???

Most of the year I spend more than half my time in the OKC metro area down through Norman...and if you go to Penn Square, well ya got another mall....  Downtown is ok and there is always some stuff going on, but when you get past basketball (OKC) and baseball (Tulsa), one really doesn't have that much more over the other.  Different but similar.  No light years at all.

[AquaMan]

H, how many tour buses and school activity buses do you see visiting from OKC or central OK in Tulsa? Few. On the other hand OKC has lots of tour buses visiting from this area. That is a true indicator of which area offers more. They aren't light years ahead, but they are ahead in many categories.

I tire of hearing about their muddy ditch. We have one too and have steadfastly refused to fill it for decades.

[SXSW]

I've lived in both cities.  There are good and bad parts of each one.  Tulsa is a prettier place overall and has better recreation opportunities, and OKC has nothing quite like our midtown area with Utica Square.  Their downtown overall is more developed but Tulsa's is catching up fast.  Tulsa has had superior neighborhood districts in Cherry St and Brookside and OKC is now developing similar areas like Plaza, Uptown and Midtown that are pretty cool.  OKC has a huge advantage in having OU in its backyard, and a significant government/military presence.  Leadership in OKC has generally been more progressive and growth-oriented.

[heironymouspasparagus]

H, how many tour buses and school activity buses do you see visiting from OKC or central OK in Tulsa? Few. On the other hand OKC has lots of tour buses visiting from this area. That is a true indicator of which area offers more. They aren't light years ahead, but they are ahead in many categories.

I tire of hearing about their muddy ditch. We have one too and have steadfastly refused to fill it for decades.

Not many at either end...most of my turnpike travels are later in the day, so I usually see buses on the road and there are often several heading both directions....don't see them every trip, but maybe 1/2 of the time.

They are ahead in some things (I think I have at least implied that if not stated it) - they have Cattleman's Steakhouse and Del Taco.  Plus some pretty cool museums.  But we have a lot of stuff, too.  We don't need to duplicate - we should innovate!  But then we got Dewey....we could do SOOO much better!


I don't really care about the ditches at either end.  The OK river through downtown OKC is kind of contrived and "forced"....it is nice to walk along it once in a while just as a relaxing wind down, Myriad is also good for that.  On the other end, Woodward Park is magnificent, even if the city of Tulsa can't seem to get the restroom act together in that park.  They have been truly disgusting every time I have been there - yesterday being the most recent visit!!    Geez...can't we clean that thing up once in a while??  Let's spend a little of those big tax receipts we are getting to maybe even rebuild the things!

I bet we make big points impressing out of town visitors with those!

I did get some nice pictures of the gardens, though, so that at least helps a little bit!

[TheArtist]

  I do think OKC has done some things right.  But I do think Tulsa still has the potential to be something really great if we could get our act together.  Their city leadership with our city… that might have been a superb combo.  We had and have all the right pieces, just not the leadership to move us forward.

Here soon our downtown, and nearby areas, will have enough new people living in it, enough of the right kind of progress going on, and new businesses in it that "get it" that we will be able to band together and finally "let the old guard have it" to get the things we want.  I have hope, I KNOW, we are going to be great again, even if it takes a while and I have to do it myself lol.

Another thing to consider when comparing OKC to Tulsa, it's more accurate to compare OKC to Tulsa County and nearby suburbs.  Tulsa County is still smaller than OKC proper.  Look at all the things within Tulsa county and right nearby, the oft overlooked but beautiful downtown Sapulpa with its blocks of old historic buildings, neat little downtown Sand Springs, revitalizing Jenks area, downtown Broken Arrow Rose District and the area around it's Bass Pro, all the growth going on in Owasso, still improving Cherry Streets and Brookside, Whittier Square, Utica Square, Guthrie Green and the Brady Arts District, some great lakes really quite near downtown, etc. etc.

 

[SXSW]

Another thing to consider when comparing OKC to Tulsa, it's more accurate to compare OKC to Tulsa County and nearby suburbs.  Tulsa County is still smaller than OKC proper.  Look at all the things within Tulsa county and right nearby, the oft overlooked but beautiful downtown Sapulpa with its blocks of old historic buildings, neat little downtown Sand Springs, revitalizing Jenks area, downtown Broken Arrow Rose District and the area around it's Bass Pro, all the growth going on in Owasso, still improving Cherry Streets and Brookside, Whittier Square, Utica Square, Guthrie Green and the Brady Arts District, some great lakes really quite near downtown, etc. etc.

OKC City Limits: 621 sq mi - 610,613 population
Tulsa County: 587 sq mi - 622,409 population

[Conan71]

H, how many tour buses and school activity buses do you see visiting from OKC or central OK in Tulsa? Few. On the other hand OKC has lots of tour buses visiting from this area. That is a true indicator of which area offers more. They aren't light years ahead, but they are ahead in many categories.

I tire of hearing about their muddy ditch. We have one too and have steadfastly refused to fill it for decades.

“The Ditch” that Overall was referring to was the canal.   I think it’s a neat feature though we’ve never ridden on one of the boats.

As far as what they did with the “Oklahoma” River to the south of Downtown, it’s nothing short of brilliant.  Olympians now train there for rowing and kayaking.  It’s not as aesthetically pleasing as Tulsa’s Riverparks but in terms of recreational utilization it’s a home run and it’s use is not restricted only to athletes.

Aside from all that, Tulsa has Burnco BBQ and Marshall’s Brewery. 

Battle over.  We win.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Aside from all that, Tulsa has Burnco BBQ and Marshall’s Brewery. 

Battle over.  We win.

They still have Cattleman's.  Battle won, but war not quite over....but we are close to winning!

[Conan71]

They still have Cattleman's.  Battle won, but war not quite over....but we are close to winning!

Cattlemen’s is consistently good, but there is nothing that compelling about it other than it’s been there since Jesus was teaching carpentry.

Plenty of places in Tulsa to get a great country breakfast or steak without driving to OKC.  One restaurant I will drive to the area for is Green Chile Kitchen on Route 66 in Yukon.  You can’t get anything like it in Tulsa.

We had a 24 hour mountain bike race in Palo Duro Canyon this last weekend south of Amarillo.  We started to go to Big Texan after the awards ceremony on Sunday but it looked way too packed and I wanted to get home after 48 hours with no sleep and feeling physically punished.  Anyone ever eat there?  Some of our teammates thought it was pretty good, but then again they had the same sleep deprivation issues we had so it could have been Alpo for all I know.

[Hoss]

Cattlemen’s is consistently good, but there is nothing that compelling about it other than it’s been there since Jesus was teaching carpentry.

Plenty of places in Tulsa to get a great country breakfast or steak without driving to OKC.  One restaurant I will drive to the area for is Green Chile Kitchen on Route 66 in Yukon.  You can’t get anything like it in Tulsa.

We had a 24 hour mountain bike race in Palo Duro Canyon this last weekend south of Amarillo.  We started to go to Big Texan after the awards ceremony on Sunday but it looked way too packed and I wanted to get home after 48 hours with no sleep and feeling physically punished.  Anyone ever eat there?  Some of our teammates thought it was pretty good, but then again they had the same sleep deprivation issues we had so it could have been Alpo for all I know.

It's been about five years or so since i went (friend of mine and I flew when he got his instrument certificate so we flew a 172 with an IFR flight plan out there) but I have been.  It was good, but I've had as good in town and in state.  It's gimmicky, with its all you can eat challenge.  That's what gives it notoriety, I think.

[heironymouspasparagus]

We had a 24 hour mountain bike race in Palo Duro Canyon this last weekend south of Amarillo.  We started to go to Big Texan after the awards ceremony on Sunday but it looked way too packed and I wanted to get home after 48 hours with no sleep and feeling physically punished.  Anyone ever eat there?  Some of our teammates thought it was pretty good, but then again they had the same sleep deprivation issues we had so it could have been Alpo for all I know.

Haven't been since the 60's (a few times back then...never tried to get the free steak - a man's gotta know his limitations).  It's one of those places where everyone should go at least once just to cross it off the bucket list, but then you really don't need to bother again....it was edible every time I went, but Cattleman's is close by.  Plus, I have the home restaurant which is where I would rather do steak anyway.   And SWMBO has never been satisfied with any steakhouse we have ever gone to - I spoiled her very badly many decades ago....

[Conan71]

And SWMBO has never been satisfied with any steakhouse we have ever gone to - I spoiled her very badly many decades ago....

MC has the same problem.

[DowntownDan]

For a city defined by sprawl, my experience is that those living in OKC's burbs and within city limits but far from downtown don't seem to have the hostility towards downtown and actually support downtown development.  It seems that in Tulsa, South Tulsans and Tulsa suburbanites have a serious hostility towards our downtown.  It really holds us back in my opinion and is a reason why downtown development is progressing slower than it could if the entire community recognized downtown as the heart of the area and the billboard, if you will, of the city.

[RecycleMichael]

http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/06/03/this-writer-for-the-tulsa-world-doesnt-like-oklahoma-city/#more-45124