Amazing Color Photos of Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1940s and ’50s

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area. The city serves as the county seat of Tulsa County, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma, with urban development extending into Osage, Rogers, and Wagoner counties.

For most of the 20th century, the city held the nickname “Oil Capital of the World” and played a major role as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry. It is situated on the Arkansas River between the Osage Hills and the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state known as “Green Country”.

Considered the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma, Tulsa houses two art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation’s largest concentrations of art deco architecture.

These amazing color photos from Michael Lins that captured street scenes of Tulsa in the 1940s and 1950s.

Christ the King Parish, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1940s

The Route 66 Arkansas River bridge in, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa late 1940s

11th St., looking west from Trenton Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1941

Arkansas River, Oklahoma Highway 51 and Frisco Tracks, West of Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1941

Boston Ave., looking south from 4th St., Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1945

Main St., looking north from 4th St., Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1945

The Tulsa Rose Garden, Oklahoma, 1945

Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, as seen from 12th St., Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1946

Main St., looking north from 7th St., Tulsa, Oklahoma, December 1947

First National Bank construction, Tulsa, Oklahoma, December 1948

First National Bank construction, Tulsa, Oklahoma, December 1948

Ice skating on Swan Lake, Tulsa, Oklahoma, February 1949

Swan Lake in the fall, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1949

Swan Lake, Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 1949

5th street, looking east from about Elwood Ave. Tulsa Central Library is now on the corner in the picture where the Conoco station is, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1953

Boston Ave., looking south from 6th St., Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1953

Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 1953

Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1953

Looking south from about 12th and Boston Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1953

Looking west from 2nd and Kenosha, Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 1953

Skelly Stadium, now renamed Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1953

The University of Tulsa's McFarlin library, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1953

Tulsa welcome sign and oil derrick, old Tulsa Airport, Tulsa, Oklahoma, September 1953

Utica Square shopping center, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 1953

Sand Springs Interurban Railway at Tulsa's Archer St. Station, Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1954

5th Street, looking east from Elwood Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1957

Tulsa skyline, Oklahoma, circa 1957

Boston Ave., looking south from 12th, Oklahoma, 1958