A new landmark — in the form of a red phone booth — has a new home in north Tulsa. Located on Apache Street next to Stutts House of Barbeque, it’s an effort to beautify the area through art and education.
Lana Turner-Addison is with the North Tulsa Economic Development Initiative (NTEDi). She said the group chose this location because it’s in the heart of the northern part of the city.
“On Apache, there was a lot of business here at one time,” she told The Eagle on Thursday. “(Stutts) has been here 33 years. Wilson’s Barbeque was down the street. There was just a lot going on so it’s just so much history here.”
The project has been a year and half in the making. The phone booth had to be delivered from Texas and a sidewalk had to be laid before two artists — Anecia and Atoni Fowlkes — painted the inside and outside of it, respectively.
The inside of the booth features a mural of four Black kids smiling with their arms wrapped around each other in a circle, almost as if they’re outside playing. The exterior mural on the booth depicts symbols of Black culture in and around the city — like kids jumping rope, Stutts’ restaurant and a sign that says “together we shape our future.”
Anecia, who grew up in north Tulsa, said it was important for her to represent the youth who are “the purest part of the community.”
“We have a lot of representation of art with other ethnicities, not so much Black,” she said, “especially with the kids just so they see there are artists that look like them and they can represent themselves.”
Turner-Addison said the project cost about $40,000. But Turner Goodrum, a NTEDi board member, said it’s worth the investment.
“It’s more than just something cool to look at,” Goodrum said. “It helps us remember the history that made north Tulsa what it is and shows what we can do when we work together and let our creativity shine.”
Turner-Addison is planning an early June picnic outside of Stutts to mark the installation’s role as a community gathering spot. By then, there will be QR codes added to the phone booth that people can scan to learn more about the businesses that once adorned Apache Street.
The next part of the community project is to add flagpoles from the corner of Mohawk and Peoria north to 56th and Peoria. There will be chances for community members to submit art that can be adorned to the poles, Turner-Addison said.
As for another phone booth, she said they’re still looking for another location along Peoria but haven’t found it yet. And while it is the start of a celebration of north Tulsa’s legacy, Turner-Addison said she wants everyone in the city to care.
“This is more than just an art piece,” she said. “We’re anticipating drawing people here … and they can spend their money right here. It just starts with us marketing our community and inviting people.”
