Museums
Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame
Created by the Oklahoma State Legislature in 1988, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame is located in Tulsa’s historic, 45,000-square-foot Union Depot building. Part museum, part performance hall and part educational facility, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s mission is to create unity through music. Through on-going concerts, classes and cultural events, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame illuminates the truly American art forms of jazz, blues and gospel music.
Website: http://www.okjazz.org
Location: 111 East First Street | Tulsa, OK 74103
Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art
The Sherwin Miller Museum is designed to be a moving experience that deepens understanding of the Jewish people while uniting all cultures through an appreciation of their common history and values. Priceless artifacts dating back 4,000 years along with fine art make up this renowned collection of Judaica. The museum’s Kaiser Holocaust Exhibition attracts and impacts thousands each year.
Currently Showing: IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT – The Book of Genesis in the Art of Samuel Bak. Starts September 21and runs through February 8. ANCIENT RITES, MODERN MASTERS – Swed Masters Workshop Contemporary Judaica opened September 23 and runs through February 2009.
Website: http://www.jewishmuseum.net
Location: 2021 East 71st Street | Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136
Tulsa Air and Space Museum
Tulsa Air and Space Museum is a soaring tribute to Tulsa’s rich aviation history. See an F-14 Tomcat Fighter Jet, operate a Space Shuttle Robotic Arm or experience the power of an F-16 Wind Tunnel. Then travel to the ends of the Universe in the museum’s digital planetarium. It is only the second museum in the world to offer this digital, 50-foot, full seamless dome equipped with the ESkyIITM projection system theater engineered by Spitz for an out-of-this-world planetarium experience.
Currently Showing: ASTRONAUT – Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space and encounter the perils that await space travelers.
Website: http://www.tulsaairandspacemuseum.com
Location: 3624 North 74th East Avenue | Tulsa, OK 74115
Gilcrease Museum
Gilcrease Museum is one of the country’s best facilities for the preservation and study of American art and history. Gilcrease houses the world’s largest, most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West. The Museum also offers an unparalleled collection of Native American art and artifacts, as well as historical manuscripts, documents and maps. Beyond the extensive Gilcrease collections and exhibits are its beautiful facilities and gardens. Themed gardens have been developed on 23 of the museum’s 460 acres.
Currently Showing: ANSEL ADAMS: A LEGACY – presents 138 iconic prints from master photographer Ansel Adams. Adams is best known for his black and white photos of the American West. Thru January 4.
Website: http://www.gilcrease.org
Location: 1400 North Gilcrease Museum Rd | Tulsa, Oklahoma 74127-2100
Philbrook Museum of Art
The historic, Italianate-villa that houses more than 30 permanent collections is a masterpiece in itself. Built in the 1920s by Tulsa oil baron, Waite Phillips, Philbrook adorns a canvas of 23 acres of formal and meditative gardens filled with paths, water features and sculpture. Inside, more than 8,500 works from Italian Renaissance paintings to African sculpture fill the villa’s ornate rooms. One of only five U.S. art museums offering a historic mansion and gardens, the Philbrook is a must-see Tulsa gem.
Currently Showing: THE EUGENE B. ADKINS COLLECTION – Philbrook’s inaugural exhibition of the Adkins material will display a significant sampling of this collection and will feature selected paintings, pottery, jewelry and other types of art thru December 31.
Website: http://www.philbrook.org
Location: 2727 South Rockford Road | Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114.
Special: Thanks to a grant from the Oklahoma Arts Council, everyone can enjoy free visits to Philbrook Museum every second Saturday of the month.
Will Rogers Memorial
The memorial sits on a 20 acre hilltop in Claremore, Oklahoma. Visitors, upon entering the museum, are presented with a larger than life statue of Rogers created by artist Jo Davidson. Carved on the base are his words: “I never met a man I didn’t like”. In the garden stands a statue of Will on his horse Soapsuds. Here, also, can be found the tomb of Rogers, buried with his wife and an infant son. Excerpts from Rogers’ films, radio broadcasts and hundreds of personal mementos can be viewed and experienced by visitors. Paintings, clippings and hundreds of photographs are on exhibit, along with his collection of rare saddles and personal cowboy items.
Website: http://www.willrogers.org
Location: 1720 West Will Rogers Boulevard | Claremore, Oklahoma 74017
Tulsa Historical Society
The Society is currently in the process of adapting this landmark into its future home. The house will serve as the Society’s headquarters and will provide space for a comprehensive museum on Tulsa’s history with exhibits formed from the organization’s permanent collections. In the Vintage Garden you’ll enjoy a stroll on the paved walkways lined with flowers as you discover historical Tulsa artifacts. The garden includes the Five Moons, which are life size, bronze depictions of Oklahoma’s internationally recognized Native American ballerinas.
Currently Showing: FLASHBACK ’57: TULSARAMA & THE BURIED BELVEDERE – This exhibit allows everyone to see the items in the time capsule, plus other artifacts and images from 1957.
Website: http://tulsahistory.org
Location: 2445 South Peoria | Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114
