Gilcrease Museum
Tulsa, Oklahoma · Museum
Address: 1400 N Gilcrease Museum Rd Tulsa, OK 74127
Phone: (918) 596-2700
About
Gilcrease Museum in north Tulsa holds one of the largest collections of American Western art and Native American artifacts in the country, more than 300,000 objects assembled by oilman Thomas Gilcrease, a Muscogee (Creek) citizen. He opened it as a private museum in 1949, and Tulsa voters approved a bond to buy the collection for the city in 1954.
The museum closed to the public on July 5, 2021, so the city and the University of Tulsa, which manages it, could replace climate-control systems that had outlived their usefulness. Rather than retrofit the old patchwork of five connected buildings, they demolished it and are building a new six-story, 95,000 square foot museum on the same site. The project costs $140.9 million and is scheduled to reopen in spring or early 2027, about a year later than first planned.
When it reopens, the new building will have galleries organized by theme rather than a fixed path, a floating staircase at its center, and windows facing the Osage Hills and downtown Tulsa. Formal gardens are being redesigned between the museum and the on-site Helmerich Center for American Research, and an amphitheater is planned for the north side of the campus. More than 14 miles of hiking and biking trails run through the surrounding 460 acres.
The site sits about ten minutes northwest of downtown Tulsa at 1400 N Gilcrease Museum Rd, on the edge of the Osage Hills. Until the museum reopens, its collection of paintings, maps, and archival documents can be browsed online, and the main phone line, 918-596-2700, is staffed for questions.
Accessibility
Gilcrease Museum isn't open to visitors right now, so there's no current building to check for wheelchair access. The museum closed in July 2021 for a full rebuild and doesn't publish accessibility details for the new facility, which is expected to open in spring or early 2027. Its online collections site has an accessibility page, but that page covers screen readers and keyboard navigation for the website, not the physical museum. News coverage of the construction describes a new six-story building and gardens but says nothing about parking, entrances, restrooms, or elevators. Call 918-596-2700 as the reopening nears to ask about accessible parking and entrances before you plan a trip.
More accessible places in Oklahoma
- Woody Guthrie Center (Tulsa)
- Gathering Place (Tulsa)
- Philbrook Museum of Art (Tulsa)
- Tulsa Zoo (Tulsa)
- Tulsa Botanic Garden (Tulsa)
- Topgolf Tulsa (Tulsa)
Photo credits
- Skylit gallery hallway with paintings and an arched doorway at the Gilcrease Museum.: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source)
