I went on a little tour of Tulsa Saturday. It was a tour of a movie locations for “The Outsiders” based on the coming of age novel by S.E. Hinton. The movie was shot in Tulsa in 1983 by Francis Ford Coppola and several rising young stars in it including, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Patrick Swayze.
I went to several places including “The Outsiders House” where many of the scenes were shot. It is in a rough neighborhood that now appears on the upswing. The house had gone through some rough times since the filming and was about to be demolished when rapper Danny Boy O’Connor purchased it in 2016. The house was gutted and rebuilt with a lot of help of volunteers. It is now a museum and is pretty cool.
The inside has been restored and there is a lot of memorabilia on display. It’s kind of like walking through an old house, because it is an old house.
I also went to Will Rogers High School where some of the scenes were shot. It is a beautiful old Art Deco school. My wife and I attended a concert there several years ago and the interior is gorgeous.
Another scene was shot at the Circle Theater. Excuse the terrible photo. It is still in service but is now kind of art movie type venue.
And the Admiral Twin Drive-in which is still in use. It burned down several years ago and was rebuilt.
In times past I have been to other Outsiders Locations. This is a gas station in the suburb of Perry north of town and across the street…
Is another location used in the movie.
And this is Boston Avenue Church in downtown Tulsa. An exterior shot of this was made as a hospital.
So I had a lot of fun on my little tour. It was actually a type of geocache called an Adventure Lab where one has to travel to the various sites and answer a question about the site, while at the site (it uses your phone’s gps to keep you from cheating.)
Here’s a site that lists more locations. They have screenshots from the movie along with current day shots.
Do you like to visit old movie locations?
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That would be a great tour..
I appreciate your photos! That is awesome to have the house turned into a museum
This was great fun, Alan! I’ve never even seen the movie, but it was fun read your explanations and see your photos. Were you a fan of that movie before you did the Adventure Lab? It sounds like an elaborate scavenger hunt!
Yes, I remember it well. I was a teenager in the 80s and saw the movie, one of my favourites.
I recall rexall drugs, at one time we had one.
Stay Safe and Coffee is on
Cool museum!
Can’t recall seeing that movie but it sounds like a wonderful classic. Honestly, bless those folks who care enough to rebuild and provide historical harbors and context to human creativity.
Cool! I never knew where that movie was filmed. I live sort of close to where Dirty Dancing was filmed in Va.
Wow! What creative fun for you and us ~ great photo journey ^_^
Live each moment with love,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
What a great little adventure. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that movie. I’ll have to check it out.
Hello,
It sounds like a fun tour, I am not familiar with the movie.
Great collection of photos. Take care, enjoy your day and weekend!
That is fun! Clever geocaching challenge! I’ve not heard heard of the movie but now I want to find it. And Yes, we do like to visit places where movies were made and TV series too. …Animal House was filmed here in Eugene at the UO and notably at a dive bar east of the city. (And yes, we have.). Last summer on our trip to Northern California we visited the town where Hitchcock’s The Birds was filmed. We had to rewatch that one after we returned home.
I don’t know the movie but like the idea of a treasure hunt to find the filming locations. Always thought it was cool to recognize a location while watching a film or TV.
very nice place…love high school and church….beautiful buildings.
Thank you for sharing video.