Ever walked through downtown Tulsa and felt a sudden, weird sense of deja vu? You’re staring up at this massive, silver-grey monolith with those distinct vertical lines, and your brain starts screaming "New York City."
Honestly, you aren't crazy.
The BOK Tower Tulsa Oklahoma—originally known as One Williams Center—isn't just a skyscraper. It is, quite literally, a half-scale ghost of the original World Trade Center.
It's 1973. John Williams, the CEO of the Williams Companies, is visiting Manhattan. He looks up at the brand-new Twin Towers and decides he wants that. Not something like that. He wants that. So, he does what any oil-era mogul would do: he hires Minoru Yamasaki, the same architect who designed the World Trade Center, and tells him to build a version for Oklahoma.
Originally, the plan was even wilder. Williams wanted four small replicas. Eventually, they settled on a single 52-story tower that stands 667 feet tall. If you took one of the original WTC towers and basically sawed it in half, you’d have the BOK Tower.
Why the BOK Tower Tulsa Oklahoma looks so familiar
It’s all in the "skin."
Most skyscrapers use a "curtain wall" where the glass hangs off the frame. Yamasaki did the opposite. He used a tube-frame design where the exterior steel columns actually carry the weight.
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That’s why the windows are so narrow. You’ve probably noticed they’re only about 22 inches wide. Yamasaki famously had a fear of heights—acrophobia—so he designed buildings where you could lean against the window without feeling like you were about to plunge into the abyss.
The Eerie Connections
Walking into the lobby is where it gets really spooky for anyone who remembers the pre-2001 New York skyline.
- The white marble walls are a direct match to the WTC aesthetic.
- The wall hangings were designed to mirror the decor of the North Tower.
- The bi-level lobby layout follows the exact same architectural DNA.
Executives used to joke that the architects just took the blueprints for the World Trade Center and put them through a Xerox machine at 50% reduction. It’s not far from the truth. The BOK Tower is essentially a 1/4 scale model in terms of total volume, even if it's half the height.
The Architecture of an Oil Boom
Tulsa in the 70s was a different beast. Money was flowing like, well, oil. When the tower was completed in 1976, it wasn't just a building; it was a statement that Tulsa was the "Oil Capital of the World."
It was the tallest building in Oklahoma for decades.
It held that title until 2011, when the Devon Tower in Oklahoma City finally beat it out. Even now, it dominates the Tulsa skyline. It’s the anchor. If you’re lost in the Pearl District or looking for your car after a show at Cain’s Ballroom, you look for the BOK Tower.
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Modern Life in a Vintage Giant
Today, it's more than just a historical curiosity. It’s a functioning hub. BOK Financial has a massive presence there, obviously. But the tower has adapted.
A few years ago, the lobby got a $16 million facelift. They fixed up the pedestrian bridges and added a granite coating to the base. They even modernized the "Center Court" food hall, which is basically the heartbeat of the building for the thousands of people who work there every day.
You've got everything from QuikTrip (an Oklahoma staple) to Rib Crib and Senor Pablo down in the plaza levels. It’s a vertical city.
Things People Get Wrong About the Tower
There’s a common myth that the tower was built after 9/11 as a memorial.
Nope.
It was finished in 1976. The connection is purely architectural, though the emotional weight of the building changed forever after 2001. Keith Bailey, the former CEO of Williams, once mentioned that he and a team of employees were actually at the World Trade Center on September 10, 2001. They flew back to Tulsa just hours before the attacks.
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Standing at the base of the BOK Tower Tulsa Oklahoma today feels a bit like stepping into a time machine. It is the last place on Earth where you can see Yamasaki's vision for a "Great Tower" at this specific scale and style.
Visiting the BOK Tower Today
If you're planning to check it out, don't just look at it from the street.
- Start at the Center of the Universe: This is a famous acoustic anomaly on a pedestrian bridge just north of the tower. If you stand on the brick circle and talk, your voice echoes back at you, but no one outside the circle can hear it. From here, you get the best "low-angle" view of the tower's height.
- Explore the Plaza: The lower levels are open to the public during business hours. You can see the marble work and the scale of the columns up close.
- The Skybridge Network: Tulsa has an extensive "underground" and skybridge system. The BOK Tower is a major node in this network, connecting you to the Hyatt and other major downtown buildings without having to deal with the Oklahoma wind.
Actionable Next Steps
To truly appreciate the architecture, visit during the "Golden Hour"—about 30 minutes before sunset. The silver exterior catches the orange Oklahoma light in a way that makes the vertical columns look like they're glowing.
Afterward, walk two blocks over to the BOK Center (the arena, not the tower). It was designed by César Pelli, the guy who did the Petronas Towers. Seeing the 1970s "Twin Tower" style of the BOK Tower right next to the swirling, futuristic glass of the BOK Center gives you the perfect snapshot of how Tulsa’s identity has evolved from the Oil Capital to a modern cultural hub.
Check the local downtown Tulsa partnership maps for guided architectural walking tours; they often include the BOK Tower as the centerpiece of their "Deco District" or "Modernist" routes.