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OKPOP Museum Considers Second Location In Downtown Tulsa For Construction

A rendering of the pop culture museum in Tulsa.
OKPOP
A rendering of the pop culture museum in Tulsa.

The Oklahoma Historical Society has applied to possibly build the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture in downtown Tulsa across from the ONEOK Field. The vacant lot, owned by the Tulsa Development Authority, is one of two publicly-known sites for the museum.

Bob Blackburn, the director of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s, told The Tulsa World’s Curtis Killman the organization is considering all of the options.

Blackburn said the proposal submitted to the TDA included sketches depicting the orientation of the museum and a parking garage. “Our approach right now is this one is worthy of strong consideration,” Blackburn said. “But we want to have this conversation with the city of Tulsa, the arts community there, the other property owners in the Brady and find out if this is the best location, not just for the museum, but for the Brady (District) and for Tulsa.”

The tract of land across from the ballpark is located on Elgin Avenue between Brady and Archer streets and is owned by the Tulsa Development Authority.

An April 7-dated request for proposals from the TDA indicated the agency was seeking proposals for a mixed-use development for the vacant parcel. “The subject development site is strategically located in the midst of major downtown redevelopment venues and is capable of accommodating a host of development opportunities such as a hotel, office, and restaurant, and multi-tenant retail mix-use, upscale commercial and high density residential,” the RFP states. The property, which consists of two tracts of TDA-owned land, is valued at $881,000, according to the Tulsa County assessor’s website.

OKPOP Museum Director Jeff Moore said the location is good for foot traffic from the ballpark.

The other location under consideration in the Brady Arts District is between Archer Street, Cincinnati Avenue, Boston Avenue and the railroad tracks. It is currently owned by Bank of Oklahoma and is used by the bank’s employees as a parking lot.

Construction is set to begin in 2017 with an opening set for 2019.

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