Look to your right for a tall, bright white tower with narrow vertical stripes and a red “BOK” sign near the top, rising like a sheer wall between the older buildings on either side.
This is BOK Tower-Bank of Oklahoma’s name on it today, but it opened in 1976 as One Williams Center, and for decades it was the tallest thing in the whole state at 667 feet. Fifty-two stories of “yes, we’re serious,” planted right in downtown Tulsa.
Here’s the twist: the architect was Minoru Yamasaki, the same guy who designed New York City’s World Trade Center. And this building isn’t just inspired by that look-it’s basically a close cousin. The story goes that John Williams, the CEO of Williams Companies, liked the Twin Towers design so much he hired Yamasaki to bring that vibe home… at about half-scale. Early plans called for two 30-story towers, but Williams wanted more drama. So he literally stacked one model on top of the other to make his point. It worked: one taller tower instead-clean, symmetrical, and unapologetically vertical. Executives even joked the architects just “cut the WTC plans in half.” Corporate humor is a special, thrilling genre.
Inside, the lobby leans into the same mood too-marble walls and hanging panels that echoed the Twin Towers’ interiors. The building packed about 1.1 million square feet of office space, and it hit around 80 percent occupancy within four months-Tulsa didn’t waste time moving in.
Then, in 2005, a water main break flooded the basement and wrecked electrical equipment-because even skyscrapers can be taken down by plumbing. The next year brought a sixteen-million-dollar repair and renovation (about twenty-five million today): pedestrian bridges, granite at the base, new windows and fitness areas, plus the heavy work of fixing that flood damage.
When you’re set, Tulsa parks and recreation is a 2-minute walk heading northeast.
