Downtown Tulsa and Tulsa Tunnel Trivia

Philtower, 427 S. Boston, built by Waite Phillips, was completed in 1927.  The Philtower was known as the “queen of the Tulsa skyline” and was the second skyscraper built in Tulsa.  Still prominent in the Tulsa skyline, the Philtower is easily recognizable by its red and green polychrome tile roof.  At the time of its completion, $1 million worth of building a month took place in downtown Tulsa.

Philcade, 511 S. Boston, also built by Waite Phillips to complement the Philtower, was completed in 1929.  The ornate lobby was built in the shape of a “T” for Tulsa.  Waite built the Philcade to prevent downtown business development from moving west to Boulder Avenue.  When the Philcade opened, 259 office suites and 28 shops became available, making the 5th and Boston Avenue area the most desirable retail business location in downtown Tulsa.

Tunnel construction began in 1929 on an 80-foot underground tunnel between the Philtower and the Philcade to facilitate transporting supplies between the two buildings.  Due to the rash of kidnappings of wealthy businessmen in the Chicago area at the time, Waite Phillips felt secure being able to move freely between the two buildings.

Atlas Building, 409 S. Boston, was built in the shape of an inverted “T” for natural ventilation and light on all four sides in 1922 as an insurance building.  The Atlas Building was connected to the Mid-Continent Building in the 1980’s.  The neon ATLAS sign was renovated in 1992 and is the only vertical sign of its kind left in Tulsa.  Additionally, the sculpture of Atlas holding the weight of the world on his shoulders makes the Atlas Building easy to identify.

Mid-Continent Building, 401 S. Boston, built in 1916 by Josh Cosden, was Tulsa’s first skyscraper.  The building sits on the site of the old 1884 mission, Tulsa’s first school, and was built for $1,000,000.  The Mid-Continent is 575 feet tall.  Reading & Bates purchased and renovated the structure in the 1980’s and cantilevered a 37-story structure above and over the original 16-story building.  There are 6” of space between the two buildings – they do not touch.  Interesting facts listed on the plaque upon entering the north entrance:

1803 – Site of land purchased in the Louisiana Purchase.
1836 – Creek Indians were given this land as part of Indian Territory.
1884 – First Presbyterian Mission Indian School still owned the land.
1903 – Entire city block was sold to Tulsa Board of Education for $426.23.
1916 – Site purchased by Josh S. Cosden to construct headquarters for Cosden Oil & Gas Company.
1918 – Completed the tallest building in City of Tulsa for the next 10 years.
1925 – Became property of Mid-Continent Petroleum Corporation.
1955 – Mid-Continent merged into Sunray, becoming Sun Oil Company.
1977 – Reading & Bates purchased the building.
1978 – Began remodeling and restoration.
1980 – Restoration completed. Recognized by Oklahoma Historical Society, listed on National Register of Historic Places by United States Department of Interior as a historic structure.

Kennedy Building, 321 S. Boston, was purchased by pioneer physician, S. G. Kennedy in 1915.  The lobby has a 10-story atrium.  Lion-headed gargoyles above the doors once held rings in their mouths to support the original canopy.

Exchange Tower, 320 S. Boston – housed the Exchange National Bank and has housed a bank since it opened in 1917.  In 1923 a 12-floor addition was added to the south side and in 1927 a 21-story tower was added, making it Tulsa’s tallest building, 57 feet above the Philtower.  The tower was illuminated in 1938 and could be seen up to 20 miles away.  It was considered a lighted “weather station”: a steady green color meant calm weather; a flashing red color meant stormy weather.

Vault Door – Built by the Mosler Safe Co. in 1928 and was sold to the Exchange National Bank of Tulsa.  The door is classified as a 20” door, meaning there’s 20” of solid polished steel from the front of the door to the bolt frame.  The weight of the door alone is approximately 30 tons.  Together with the weight of vestibule jamb and architrave, the total weight is increased to more than 55 tons.  Yet, it was so well engineered that it only takes one person to move the door to its open or closed positions.

Adam’s Mark Hotel, 100 E. 2nd Street.  The tunnel ends inside the lower parking lot of the Adam’s Mark Hotel.

The tunnels connect 8 buildings, 3 covered parking garages, numerous eating areas and a world-class hotel.  With a combination of the underground tunnels, above-ground building corridors and sky bridges, it’s possible to go from Fifth and Boston to First and Main without going outside.