Howdy y’all! I’m the Big Tulsan, and it’s mighty fine to meet ya! My good buddy, Todd, and I have called T-Town home for a very long time. I’ve been around so long I have fond memories of having fun at places like Cimarron Ballroom, the Orpheum and, of course, riding the Wildcat at Bell’s Amusement Park. I’ll never forget fun meals at The Louisiane, Crystal’s Pizza and Utica 21 Club.
My hobbies? Meeting new folks and sharing my memories of Tulsa’s past as well as my thoughts on current happenings around town. Send me your burning questions about anything and everything pertaining to Tulsa. Send your questions to bigtulsan@tulsaflyer.org, and Todd and I will see what kind of fun we can get into by digging into the mail bags and responding to some of our favorite Qs.
Let’s get to this week’s question.
Dear Big Tulsan,
I noticed you have a nice view of the downtown skyline. I’ve always been told the BOK Tower is the tallest building in town and for a long time was the tallest in the state. Just curious, what is the second-tallest building? – Rebecca, Broken Arrow
Howdy Rebecca,
I do enjoy taking in our downtown skyline. It might come as a surprise to some folks that our second tallest building isn’t even in downtown, and it actually has more floors than the BOK.
The BOK Tower was completed in 1976 standing 667 feet tall with 52 stories. Six years later down in south Tulsa, the CityPlex Tower opened at 81st and Lewis, becoming the second tallest at 648 feet and 60 stories. For nearly a decade it served as a hospital, and during that time the giant Praying Hands statue was out front. It got moved over to out front of Oral Roberts in 1991. Today there’s a medical facility and 100 other tenants, including Z104.5.
A while back I got invited to a party on the 60th floor of the CityPlex Tower. You can darn near see all the way to Bristow from up there. It also has pretty views of the river when the sun sets.
Until next time!
The Big Tulsan (and Todd)
