Tulsa Union Depot

Can you appreciate that I'm working hard to keep up here? <LOL>

A few months back, I went on a shoot to the old Tulsa Union Station.  It's a grand and beautiful old art deco building that brings so much beauty and history to NE Oklahoma.  During the 1920's and 1930's when Tulsa was known as the world's "Oil Capital" construction of beautiful architecture with art deco flourished and exists today as a tribute to her rich beauty.  Back to the former rail station......

The Union Station was completed in 1931 and remained in use till 1967 when it closed due to a decline in rail travel.  The building remained vacant for a number of years till it was rehabilitated and eventually placed in use as the current Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.  What a perfect successor occupant!  She's still grand and respected.  I hope you enjoy these photos.

Former station in background behind beautifully landscaped garden

Leading walk to the entrance

Entrance on the west side

Closer look at the talented craftsmanship

Beautiful tile floor inside the current day Jazz Hall of Fame

I have many architectural images posted at my online gallery.  Please click here to browse, look closer, and shop.  All comments are welcome and please do sign up for email updates.

If you're interested in further information about the former Tulsa Union Station, click here to access a wikipedia article.  Thank you for coming by and I hope you've enjoyed it.

Vintage Locomotive

I love shooting old things with historical value because they have so much more character than shiny and new!  I was browsing through my gallery and came across one of my most favorite photos... let me share it with you but first a little history....

The Meteor 4500 presently sits in SW Tulsa at the new Route 66 Village Theme Park.  Previously, it was rusting away until a group of railroad enthusiasts volunteered to restore her and create a place for all to enjoy.

The Meteor 4500 has an Oklahoma history... she was built for Frisco in 1942 and transported passengers until it was converted to diesel in 1948.  After the conversion, it served as a freight locomotive until retirement in 1954 when it was donated to the City of Tulsa.  During passenger service she pulled cars daily between Oklahoma City and St. Louis with stops in Tulsa.  Many American servicemen traveled on this train to and from war.

It is a beautiful train and worth seeing during a Tulsa visit.

Meteor 4500 at Route 66 Village

Your comments and experiences are most welcome here.  This print is posted in my gallery if you want to examine it more closely.

Click here ->> Meteor 4500 Image  A new browser window will open.

If you want to learn more about the history of the Meteor,
click here ->> History of the Frisco Meteor