Oil Capital of the World

The title of "Oil Capital of the World" is often used to refer to Tulsa, Oklahoma.[1][2] (Houston, Texas, the current center of the oil industry, more frequently uses the sobriquet “The Energy Capital of the World.”[3])

History
Oil Capital Historic District in Tulsa

In mid-19th century, when Pennsylvania was the first center of petroleum production, Pittsburgh[4] and Titusville[5] were considered oil capitals. In the later 19th century, before oil was discovered in Texas, Oklahoma, or the Middle East, Cleveland, Ohio had a claim to the title,[6] with 86[7] or 88[8] refineries operating in the city in 1884.

Tulsa claimed the name early in the 20th century, after oil strikes at Red Fork (1901) and Glenpool (1905) in Tulsa County. Many prominent oilmen lived in Tulsa at some point, including Josh Cosden,[9] William Skelly,[10] Harry Ford Sinclair,[11] Waite Phillips,[12] Thomas Gilcrease,[13] George Kaiser,[14] and J. Paul Getty.[15] Many corporations producing, refining or transporting petroleum had at some point their headquarters or major facilities in Tulsa including Texaco,[16] BP-Amoco,[17] Cities Service Company,[18] Sinclair Oil and Gas Company,[19] Skelly Oil Company,[20] Warren Petroleum Company,[21] the Williams Companies,[22] and Kaiser-Francis Oil Company.[23] In 1923 a group of Tulsa oilmen organized the first International Petroleum Exposition and Congress (IPE); among the IPE's stated purposes was to "firmly establish Tulsa for all time to come as the oil center of the entire world."[24]

Tulsa continued to be known and promote itself as the "oil capital of the world" into the 1950s[25] and 1960s. The IPE grew and reached its peak attendance in 1966, when the Golden Driller, a large statue symbolic of Tulsa's historical importance in the oil industry, was erected in front of the new IPE Building, then said to be the world's largest building under one roof.[26] By the 1970s, however, the IPE's success, and Tulsa's role in the international oil industry, had both eroded: Tulsa's last IPE was held in 1979,[27] while Houston has become the most prominent hub of the oil industry in the United States. In more recent times, Tulsa's continued use of "oil capital of the world" is often characterized as nostalgic or historical.[28][29] But even today, energy is one of Tulsa's major industries,[30] and many of the city’s professional sports franchises have petroleum-related names such as the Tulsa Oilers (ice hockey), the Tulsa Drillers (baseball), and the Tulsa Roughnecks (now FC Tulsa, men’s soccer).

National Register of Historic Places designation
Main article: Oil Capital Historic District (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

In 2010, Tulsa officially designated the central part of its downtown as the "Oil Capital Historic District" for the purposes of a proposed registration in the National Register of Historic Places.[31] The district, at 36.151°N 95.990°W / 36.151; -95.990, is bounded by Third Street on the north, Cincinnati Avenue on the east, Seventh Street on the south and Cheyenne Avenue on the west. It was officially listed on December 13, 2010 under Criterion A for significance in Commerce. Its NRIS number is 10001013.[32]

References
  1. "Early Tulsa History / Oil and riches". Tulsa Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  2. Hirsch, James S. (2002). Riot and Remembrance: America's Worst Race Riot and Its Legacy. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 11. ISBN 0-618-10813-0. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  3. "The Evolution of the Energy Capital of the World". John Nova Lomax, Texas Monthly, February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  4. Leonard, Kim (October 4, 2009). "Oil boom: Pittsburgh was nation's first petroleum capital". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  5. "OIL: A Real Sentimental Loss". TIME. October 16, 1950. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  6. Joseph G. Haubrich and Brent Meyer. "Peak Oil". Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  7. Rose, William Ganson (1990). Cleveland: the making of a city. Kent State University Press. p. 428. ISBN 0-87338-428-8. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  8. "The Cleveland Story / Decade by Decade / 1880s". Cleveland Museum of Art. Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  9. "Joshua Seney Cosden". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  10. "William Grove Skelly". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  11. "Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  12. "Waite Phillips". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  13. "Gilcrease, William Thomas (1890-1962)". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  14. "No one else comes close: George Kaiser had to be the Tulsan of the Year". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  15. "Throwback Tulsa: J. Paul Getty, world's richest man, got his start in Tulsa". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  16. "Texaco Refinery Shutdown Ends Chapter of Tulsa History". The Oklahoman. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  17. "OU-Tulsa's central location the result of Boren's quick thinking". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  18. "Cities Service Company". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  19. "Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  20. "William Grove Skelly". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  21. "Warren Petroleum Company". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  22. "Williams Companies". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  23. "Kaiser-Francis Oil Company". Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  24. Clinton, Fred S. (Winter 1948–49). "The Beginning of the International Petroleum Exposition and Congress" (PDF). The Chronicles of Oklahoma. 26: 479, 480. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  25. "What Happens When LIFE Hits Tulsa?", LIFE, December 19, 1955. Excerpt available at Google Books.
  26. "Tulsa State Fair". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  27. "International Petroleum Exposition" at Oklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (retrieved March 6, 2015).
  28. Barry, Dan (June 10, 2007). "THIS LAND; A Half Century of Memories That Won't Stay Buried". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  29. Everly-Douze, Susan (August 27, 1989). "What's Doing in Tulsa". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  30. "2018 Economic Profile" (PDF). Tulsa Regional Chamber. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  31. Overall, Michael (November 29, 2010). "Downtown district to get new name". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  32. Tulsa Preservation Commission. "Oil Capital Historic District." Accessed December 25, 2011.
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