The Tulsa Club

I recently had the opportunity to tour the historic Tulsa Club building in Tulsa's Art Deco district.  The building is undergoing a $36 million restoration to transform it into a 98 room boutique hotel and event center. The Tulsa Club was designed by Architect Bruce Goff and opened in 1927. Goff graduated from Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1922. In 1934, he joined Chicago artist Alfonso Iannelli for a brief period and then taught at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1947, Goff became a professor at the University of Oklahoma. In January of 1948, he became Chairman of the Department of Architecture until he resigned in December of 1955.

The building served a headquarters for the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce on the lower 6 floors and the Tulsa Club on the upper floors when it opened.  The Tulsa Club served as a business social club and athletic space for the oil barons and the elite of Tulsa. 

Note the Philtower building in the background.  To see my post about it, click HERE

Here is a photo of the original Art Deco style entrance to the building.  Note the tall geometric stepped lanterns that flank the doors.  The original entrance was updated in the 1950's with large black tile.

 The entrance as it stands today with the 1950's tile and a new modern canopy.

Here is photo of the new sign at street level.  The designers did a great job of capturing the Art Deco influences as well as it history over the decades.

Above is a photo of the original lobby in the 1920's and below is a photo of it's restored look.  At some point in it's past, the railings and light fixtures were removed and the two story space was filled in with a floor.

While we were there, they were still unpacking the new furniture.

The 8th floor has really great corridor - here is a photo from back in the day.

Here is how the 8th floor corridor looked when the project was started.  The building has stood vacant for several years.  Along with the vandalism, the building has also had a few fires.

This is how the corridor looks today!  We were told the carpet was added to aid with acoustics.  Because of the unique character of each floor and by order of the state historic guidelines in keeping the existing windows and corridors, the building will end up having 47 different hotel room layouts. 

The photo below shows the state of the two story ball room on the 9th floor at the beginning of the project.

Here is a photo of the ball room ready for a dinner party at some point back in it's history.

And here is a photo of the ballroom today.  They are storing furniture and items for the other floors that are still under construction in the space.

Here is an image of the state of the damaged plasterwork at the beginning of the project.

Here is an image of the plaster work restored.  We were told that the company that produced the original molds for the plaster-work were found which made the restoration a little easier and exact.

This sub-category of the Art Deco style is called Zigzag

The chandeliers for the ballroom were reproduced from old photos and drawings.

Here is an original curved stair case that leads from the ballroom to the second level. 

The second level is decorated with period emerald green and gold wallpaper and has toilet rooms, event spaces, meeting rooms and a brides room.

The elevator doors have been restored with an Art Deco themed graphics as well.  

The Tulsa Club was the very last building in Tulsa to have human elevator operators.

Below is a photo of an original fireplace on the 8th floor lounge.

Here is a photo of the fireplace restored.  The original mosaic tile was vandalized and missing pieces under layers of paint and graffiti. It serves as a focal point in one of the hotel suites now.  

Each of the hotel rooms has been outfitted with modern amenities and an artistic copy of the Tulsa Club logo in the tile.

This is some wallpaper in the lobby

and marble mosaic on the floor

Here are some banquets at the bar. The first floor and the bar will feature menu items that pay homage to the building's history.  Part of the funding for this project is coming from a new program in Oklahoma using state tourism taxes to help pay for tax rebates on the project for the first 10 years of operation.