4 days of museums, memorials and Route 66 in Oklahoma

A Tulsa day of art and of building styles. An art museum in an Italian-style villa with formal gardens, a church and a tower from the Art Deco years, then the museum of the songwriter Woody Guthrie in the Arts District.

1. Breakfast

   Biscuits and gravy

   Warm, soft biscuits split and covered in a thick, peppery white gravy, often with sausage, a filling start before a day of museums.

   Local tip Ask for the gravy on the side if you want to control how much.
2. 1
   Morning

   Philbrook Museum of Art

   An art museum in a former villa of the 1920s, the home of the oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve, with formal gardens around it. It shows art from many parts of the world, and its cornerstone collection is Native American art, with baskets, pottery, paintings and jewelry. Check ahead on the opening.

   Go when Morning, then the gardens when the sun is soft.

   Local tip Start with the Native American collection, which is the cornerstone, then walk out to the terrace and the formal gardens behind the villa. Check ahead on the opening.

   

   About 10 min by car or transit1.6 mi
3. 2
   Midday

   Boston Avenue Methodist Church

   A church in downtown Tulsa with a tall tower in the Art Deco style, designed in the 1920s and credited to Adah Robinson and Bruce Goff. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1999. It is a working church, so stay quiet inside and check ahead on whether visitors may go in.

   Go when Midday, as an indoor stop.

   Local tip Stand outside and look up the tower first, then ask whether you can go in. It is a working church, so stay quiet, and look for the praying hands that return through the design.

   

4. Lunch

   An onion burger

   A burger in which thinly sliced onions are pressed into the beef as it cooks on the griddle, so they soften and caramelize into the meat, a style tied to Oklahoma.

   Local tip Add pickles and mustard, and eat it while it is hot.

   About 12 min walk0.6 mi
5. 3
   Afternoon

   Philtower Building

   A historic office tower on South Boston Avenue, said to be an example of neo-Gothic and Art Deco architecture. Look up at the upper floors from the street, since it is still a working building.

   Go when Afternoon, from the street.

   Local tip It is a working office and apartment tower, so look at the front and the upper floors from the sidewalk rather than expecting to go in. It makes a short stop on a walk downtown.

   

   About 10 min walk0.5 mi
6. 4
   Afternoon

   Woody Guthrie Center

   A museum and archive to the life of the folk singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie, in the Tulsa Arts District. It shows his instruments, drawings, notebooks and handwritten lyrics, with a short film and recordings. Check ahead on the opening.

   Go when Afternoon, as an indoor stop.

   Local tip Look for the notebooks and the handwritten lyrics, and listen to the recordings. The archive is partly visible through windows. Check ahead on the opening and on any music events.

   

7. Dinner

   Chicken fried steak

   A thin cut of beef, breaded and fried like chicken, and served covered in a white pepper gravy with mashed potatoes, a plate common across the plains.

   Local tip Order the gravy over the steak and the potatoes.

A Tulsa day that begins with history and moves out along the old road. The Greenwood District and the story of 1921, then a museum of the art of the American West, a golden oil worker and a blue whale on Route 66.

1. Breakfast

   Pancakes and sausage

   A stack of pancakes with sausage patties and syrup, a plain breakfast before the day.

   Local tip Ask for the sausage and the eggs on the side.
2. 1
   Morning

   Greenwood District

   A historic neighborhood of Tulsa, one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States in the early 1900s, popularly known as Black Wall Street. In 1921 a white mob attacked and burned the district in the Tulsa race massacre, and between 75 and 300 Black Americans were killed. The Greenwood Rising History Center, on Greenwood Avenue at Archer Street, tells the story in four galleries. Go slowly, keep your voice low, and check ahead on the opening.

   Go when Morning, with time to spare.

   Local tip Begin at the Greenwood Rising History Center to understand the story, then walk Greenwood Avenue and the reconciliation park. This is a place of loss and of rebuilding, so keep your voice low and your phone away from the memorials. Check ahead on the opening.

   

   About 11 min by car or transit2.1 mi
3. 2
   MiddayIndoor

   Gilcrease Museum

   A museum northwest of downtown, founded by Thomas Gilcrease, a Muscogee Creek oilman. It is said to hold the largest collection of art of the American West in the world, with work by Frederic Remington, Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt, and art and artifacts from Central and South America. Check ahead on the opening.

   Go when Midday, as an indoor stop.

   Local tip It holds a large collection, so choose the rooms that catch your eye, such as the Western landscapes. Check ahead on the opening and on the gardens.

   

4. Lunch

   An Indian taco

   Fry bread, a flat round of dough fried until puffed, topped like a taco with beans, meat, lettuce, tomato and cheese. Fry bread has roots in the Native nations of the Southwest and of Oklahoma, and many families make it as part of their food traditions.

   Local tip Eat it with a fork at first, since it is a heavy plate, and ask what the cook calls it.

   About 22 min by car or transit5.8 mi
5. 3
   Afternoon

   Golden Driller

   A statue of an oil worker, 76 feet tall, in front of the Tulsa Expo Center since 1966. It is a steel frame covered with concrete and plaster, and it is a good photo stop. It stands near a fairground, so there is room to park and walk around it.

   Go when Afternoon, as a photo stop.

   Local tip A quick stop at the Expo Center, where you can stand at his feet and look up. The statue is a symbol of the oil that built Tulsa. Take sun cover in summer.

   

   About 34 min by car or transit11.8 mi
6. 4
   Afternoon

   Blue Whale of Catoosa

   A whale of iron and concrete beside a pond in Catoosa, built in the early 1970s by Hugh Davis as a gift for his wife Zelta, who collected whale figurines. It has become a well-known stop on old Route 66. Swimming is no longer allowed, but you can walk the picnic area. Check ahead on the visitor center.

   Go when Late afternoon (about 6:48 PM), when the light is soft.

   Local tip A roadside stop on old Route 66, with a picnic area. Walk around the whale, but swimming is not allowed. Check ahead on the visitor center and keep clear of the road.

   

7. Dinner

   Barbecue brisket

   Beef brisket smoked low and slow until tender, sliced across the grain, with pickles, onion, beans and white bread on the side.

   Local tip Ask for a slice from the middle if you like it fatty, and from the end for lean.

A day that moves from Tulsa to Oklahoma City, a drive on the interstate, so check the road and the weather before you set off. Start at the national memorial, then an art museum and the gardens downtown, then the canal in Bricktown.

1. Drive from Blue Whale of CatoosaAbout 2 h 33 min by car111.7 mi

   Where Day 2 ended.
2. Breakfast

   Cornbread with butter and honey

   Warm cornbread, made with cornmeal and baked until golden, split and spread with butter and a drizzle of honey, with coffee.

   Local tip Eat it warm from the oven if you can.
3. 1
   MiddayBook ahead

   Oklahoma City National Memorial

   A memorial and museum on the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which honors those killed, the survivors and the rescuers of the bombing of April 19, 1995. One hundred and sixty-eight empty chairs stand in rows, one for each person who died, beside a reflecting pool and an elm called the Survivor Tree. Go slowly, keep your voice low, and check ahead on the museum.

   Go when Morning, with time to spare.

   Local tip Walk the Field of Empty Chairs and sit by the reflecting pool. A quiet visit is the respectful one, so keep your voice low. The museum shares the story; check ahead on the opening and on timed entry.

   

   About 6 min walk0.3 mi
4. 2
   MiddayIndoor

   Oklahoma City Museum of Art

   An art museum in the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center downtown. It holds one of the largest collections of Chihuly glass, with a tower of glass 55 feet high in the atrium, and shows traveling exhibitions. Check ahead on the opening.

   Go when Midday, as an indoor stop.

   Local tip Look up at the tower of glass in the atrium by Dale Chihuly, then pick your rooms. Check ahead on the exhibits, since they change.

   

5. Lunch

   Fried okra and a plate lunch

   Okra pods sliced, coated in cornmeal and fried until crisp, served beside a meat and two sides, a common weekday lunch plate.

   Local tip Shake a little salt on it while it is hot.

   About 7 min walk0.3 mi
6. 3
   Afternoon

   Myriad Botanical Gardens

   A botanical garden of 15 acres in the downtown district, with the Crystal Bridge Conservatory and outdoor grounds to walk. A calm break after the memorial and the museum, and check ahead on the conservatory.

   Go when Afternoon, under the trees.

   Local tip A green break after the memorial and the museum. Walk the outdoor grounds, and check ahead on the Crystal Bridge Conservatory.

   

   About 10 min walk0.5 mi
7. 4
   Evening

   Bricktown

   An entertainment district just east of downtown, once a major warehouse district, with a canal that runs for a mile through it, lined with trees. Walk the canal in the evening light, and look at the brick buildings.

   Go when Evening (about 6:48 PM), when the canal is lit.

   Local tip Walk the whole mile of the canal under the trees, and look at the old brick warehouses, now cafes, shops and a ballpark. It is lively on game and event nights.

   

8. Dinner

   Pot roast and pecan pie

   Beef braised slowly with carrots and potatoes until it falls apart, then a slice of pecan pie, a sticky, sweet pie of pecans in a syrup of eggs and sugar, to end the day.

   Local tip Share a slice of the pie, since it is rich.

A day by car, west of Oklahoma City along the old Route 66 corridor. A former cavalry post, a space museum in the town of Weatherford, then the Route 66 museum in Clinton. Fill the tank and check the road and the weather first; the plains are open and the wind can be strong.

1. Drive from BricktownAbout 56 min by car30.3 mi

   Where Day 3 ended.
2. Breakfast

   Eggs, bacon and toast

   A plain breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast, with coffee, before the long drive west.

   Local tip Eat well and carry water, since the plains have few places to stop.
3. 1
   Morning

   Fort Reno

   A former United States Army cavalry post west of El Reno, begun in 1874 and later used to control and protect the Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho reservation. The fort is open to the public with a visitor center, and its cemetery holds soldiers, settlers and prisoners of war from the Second World War. Walk with respect, and check ahead on the opening.

   Go when Morning, before the sun is high.

   Local tip A visitor center sets out the story of the fort and the reservation, and the cemetery is a place to walk with respect. The land is open and windy, so bring layers and water.

   

   About 1 h 2 min by car35.7 mi
4. 2
   Midday

   Stafford Air & Space Museum

   A museum in Weatherford named for the astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, who was born in the town. It shows his Apollo 10 spacesuit, the Gemini 6A spacecraft, a Moon rock and a collection of historic aircraft. Check ahead on the opening.

   Go when Midday, as an indoor stop.

   Local tip Look for the Apollo 10 suit and the Titan II rocket in the gallery. The aircraft stand outside by the runway. Check ahead on the opening.

   

5. Lunch

   A fried chicken plate

   Chicken in a seasoned crust fried until crisp, with mashed potatoes and gravy and a side of green beans, a roadside plate on the way west.

   Local tip Choose a place with a full parking lot, a sign that the food moves.

   About 41 min by car18.0 mi
6. 3
   Afternoon

   Oklahoma Route 66 Museum

   A museum in Clinton about the history and the culture of Route 66, from Chicago to Santa Monica. It is said to be the largest museum given to the road. Check ahead on the opening and plan the drive back to Oklahoma City.

   Go when Afternoon, as an indoor stop.

   Local tip Follow the road from Chicago to Santa Monica through the decades. It is one of several Route 66 museums, so check ahead on the opening and leave time for the drive back.

   

7. Dinner

   A smoked beef plate

   Smoked beef with baked beans, coleslaw and a slice of white bread, in the barbecue style of the plains, after the drive back to Oklahoma City.

   Local tip Order a half portion to start, since the plates are large.