Day 1: The Places and People

Click the underlined addresses for a virtual tour

The Drexel Building

3rd and Main

The location of the infamous elevator incident between Dick Rowland and Sarah Page.

The Tulsa Courthouse

6th and Boulder

The holding place for Dick Rowland after arrest. This is where the mob gathered to ask for his lynching on the evening of May 31st, 1921.

The Deco District

Boston Ave.

One of the most vibrant pictures of pure 1920s Art Deco architecture, this street symbolizes “Oil Boom” Tulsa and the extreme wealth and cosmopolitan quality of “The Magic City”

This population and economic explosion helped Greenwood domestics cultivate and invest in their community. It also bred resentment among white Tulsans, many of whom immigrated to Tulsa from the deep south.

The Frisco Tracks

South of Archer and Elgin

The geographic and ideological border between black and white Tulsa in the 1920s.

This is the site of the struggle that happened between the sides that resulted in a shot being fired and the start of the Massacre.

This is also where, at 5:08 am on the 1st of June 1921, the mob crossed to raze the Greenwood District.

Deep Greenwood

Greenwood Ave. and Archer

This was the area of the most active and vibrant culture of the Greenwood District.

This was the social and commercial hub dubbed by Booker T. Washington as “Black Wall Street”

The Dreamland Theater

127 N. Greenwood

One of the flagship establishments of “deep” Greenwood. Owned by John and Loula Williams, the Dreamland was one of the finest theaters in the US. It was completely destroyed in 1921 and rebuilt in 1923.

Gurley Hotel

112 N. Greenwood

This was the first business of the Greenwood District. O.W. Gurley was the founder of Greenwood before statehood and gave thousands of dollars to up-and-coming Greenwood entrepreneurs.

The Stradford Hotel

222 N. Greenwood

Another of the flagship Greenwood businesses. J.B. Stradford was a founder, leader, and activist for Greenwood. He was one of the Greenwood citizens arrested and charged for acts of violence during the Massacre. No whites were arrested or charged.

Mount Zion Baptist Church

419 N. Elgin

The site of some of the most intense fighting during the Massacre, it was only months old when destroyed. It was rebuilt in the 1950s and houses many artifacts and plaques about the Massacre today.

Vernon AME Church

311 N. Greenwood

Founded by O.W. Gurley (the father of Greenwood), this church was a focal point of the district. All but its basement was destroyed in the Massacre.

Booker T. Washington High School

504 Easton Street

As one of the most successful black schools in the US, BTW was a hotbed of scholarship and achievement. It was not destroyed in the Massacre and was actually used as a hospital during the violence.

Dunbar Elementary School

N. Hartford and Cameron Ave.

This was the black elementary school during the Massacre. It was completely destroyed by fire and looting.

McNulty Park

10th and Elgin

Used as one of three official internment camps for Greenwood residents whose homes had been destroyed. Dozens died in these camps and were transferred to mass graves such as Oaklawn Cemetery just across the highway from this park. Greenwood residents could not leave internment camps without clothing markers signed by a white employer.

Tulsa Convention Center

105 Reconciliation Way

Known as the Brady Theater today, this was one of three internment centers during the Massacre. Dozens of people died here while separated from their families when ambulances were forcibly detoured by white mobsters away from helping the wounded.

Tulsa Fairgrounds

North of Archer and Lewis

Another of the three main internment camps during the Massacre.

Tulsa High School (Central)

2 West 6th Street

Now called Central High School, this was the white secondary school at the time. As accounted by a visiting French teacher, many classes let their students out to go take part in the burning and looting of Greenwood.

Beno Hall

501 N. Main

This was the official meeting place of the Tulsa Ku Klux Klan during the Jim Crow Era. Tulsa boasted very high and active KKK membership which actually surged after the Massacre.

Discuss with family and friends

• Which of these modern places have you seen before in Tulsa?
• Why is it important to know the geography of events like this?
• What impact is still visible from the Massacre?