That’s My World – Tulsa’s Midcontinent Tower

The Midcontinent Tower in downtown Tulsa at 37 stories is one of the tallest buildings in town. What most people don’t know is that it is actually two buildings. One built in 1918, the other built in 1984 and they don’t touch other.

As people working for foundation repair lafayette say, the quality of the foundation is the soul of the building. This would have been the secret here. The original building was built by Tulsa Oilman Joshua Cosden in 1918 in a tudor gothic style. It is 16 stories tall. The building passed along various owners to Reading and Bates Corporation, an offshore drilling company. By this time the building was known by its present name, the Midcontinent Building. R&B renovated the building in 1982. In 1984 they built the Midcontinent Tower. It’s ground location is to the west of the original building but cantilevers over the Midcontinent Building by about 40 feet. The two buildings do not touch each other. In the lobby the building security people will show you the gap if you ask. There is a rubber expansion gasket to keep the elements out.

The two buildings are free standing, each with their own foundations. The older building is concrete, the newer building has a steel framework. If you want to level your home with Smart Foundation Systems, you could click here and get the best service.

As with most of the significant buildings in Tulsa the security guys will encourage you to wander around the public areas and take pictures to your heart’s content. The guard in this building had a four page handout he gave me. He said lots of people from all over the country come in to look around.

The lobby is very ornate with different types of marble on the walls and the floor and the striking sculpture above.

The exterior is very nice. The tower required 85,000 pieces of terra cotta. You can hardly tell the old building from the new building. The 1984 expansion was done very nicely.
The lobby has two stained glass panels showing a panoramic view of the Tulsa Skyline.
Below is one of two paintings hanging in the lobby by one of my favorite western artists,Wilson Hurley. Mr Hurley died in 2008 at 84 years old. I got to say hello to him a couple years before that when he was touching up a painting of his that hangs in the lobby of the building where I work.
In the basement is an example of the steel work that went into the tower. I find this kind of stuff fun.
The building is immaculate and they welcome visitors. If you find yourself in downtown Tulsa with a few spare minutes wander in and look at it.
For other photographs and information from just about everywhere check out My World.

19 thoughts on “That’s My World – Tulsa’s Midcontinent Tower”

  2. Kathy

    Nice job on this post Yogi. The pictures are great. Tulsa chamber of commerce needs to hire you to do their advertising for downtown Tulsa. =)

  5. Janie

    I love that stained glass skyline. Very interesting how the new building seems to be a continuation of the old and yet doesn’t actually touch it.

  8. James

    Really interesting. I love seeing and taking pictures of buildings. I really need to start going inside of them.
    Thanks.

  12. Wren

    that’s fascinating and amazing – the architectural and engineering expertise to design and execute this must have been extraordinary.

  13. chrome3d

    Excellent post about a building that is a true treasure for a traveller. Stained glass was modern and well done and the steel work detail was indeed fun and informative. great post!

Comments are closed.