On your left, look for the big brick-and-cream high-rise that fills the whole block, with a stepped-back tower and a little crown-like cupola at the very top.
This is the 320 South Boston Building, and it’s been quietly showing off since the days when Tulsa was deciding what kind of city it wanted to be. The first version went up in 1917 as the Exchange National Bank’s headquarters-ten stories, solid and confident, right on the corner of Third and Boston. Then came the upgrade in 1929: the building shot up to 22 stories and about 400 feet, briefly claiming the title of tallest building in Oklahoma. It only held that bragging right until 1931, but it stayed Tulsa’s tallest for decades, which is plenty of time to develop a little swagger.
Architecturally, it’s Beaux Arts-think “formal suit,” but in brick with terra cotta trim. Notice the heavier terra cotta on the lower floors, and how the central tower steps back near the top before finishing with that temple-like cap and cupola.
For years, that cupola wasn’t just decoration-it acted like a low-tech weather app. Green lights meant fair skies; red warned you trouble was coming, including flashing red for storms. Tulsa: practical, but make it dramatic.
The name changed as the bank did-Exchange National became National Bank of Tulsa, then Bank of Oklahoma, before BOK moved out in 1977 and the building settled into general office life.
One darker footnote: in 1949, a television transmitter went up top, and a dropped wrench killed a woman on the street below-a sharp reminder that “progress” can have a human cost.
When you’re set, Tulsa Performing Arts Center is a 2-minute walk heading northwest.
