TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture is giving guided historical tours of the tunnels beneath downtown Tulsa on the second Saturday of February and August.
The tour starts at the Hyatt Regency on 2nd Street. and end at the Philcade near 5th Street and Boston Avenue.
The tunnels were built between 1918 and 1931 when Tulsa was known as the “Oil Capital of the World.”
It was a wild time for Tulsa, and historians say the tunnels allowed the banks and wealthy businessmen move money and goods from building to building without being robbed.
Tour Guide Ellen Stanley said, “In Tulsa in the ‘20s we had the most millionaires in the world. But we also had a really high crime rate. People who had money needed to a way to move from one place to another without easily being seen on the streets.”
Many of the tunnels have been renovated over time and have been used non-stop ever since they were built.
The tours are only held twice a year, because of the scale of the event.
They say around a thousand people usually sign up… and it requires around 50 volunteers to pull it off.
The tours cost $25 per person and usually sell out fast. Tickets are available on their website.
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