“The Outsiders House” Celebrates Grand Opening

A piece of film history has been brought back to life in Tulsa. The highly-anticipated house used in "The Outsiders" movie opened its doors Friday to guests who bought VIP tickets.

It took three years to make the house a reality, and it will take visitors back in time nearly four decades to 1983, when The Outsiders was released.

"I couldn't imagine a world without this house,” Rapper Danny Boy O’Connor said.

O'Connor made it all happen for fans like 12-year-old Luisa Toruno from Dallas, who has her own sketches of the characters.

"I just do it cause I'm a big fan,” Toruno said.

She described her favorite scene while waiting for the grand opening.

"I love the rumble scene. It's really great. Where they do the flips and the acrobatics. It's my favorite part."

Joe Cervantez can take a personal look back in time. He was an extra in the movie and has the pictures to prove it.

"It's really wonderful. I never thought this would ever happen,” Cervantez said

Thomas Howell spoke to the crowd before helping to cut the ribbon.

"I'm called Ponyboy at least 50 times a day. People sometimes ask me if I ever get tired of that, hell no!” he said.

He said the house catapults him back in time. A simpler time, when everyone wasn't glued to their phones.

"Kids get lost in devices and how many likes they have, when they should be turning pages,” Howell told News On 6.

Wyoming English teacher Jennifer Walsh is making sure the pages are turned.

"My life was pretty much identical to the Greasors’ life. And that book literally changed the course of my life. I decided not to be a hoodlum, and be a hero instead, which is why I teach,” Walsh said.

She requires all her classes to read the book. She took pictures of the house to show her students when school starts on Monday in Casper.

Author S.E. Hinton shared with the crowd tonight the moment O'Connor asked her if she would like to buy the house.

"I said, ‘No!’ I can't keep my own house up,” Hinton said. 

There will be tours going on this weekend, but beyond that, it won't officially be open to the public until the end of the month.

Visitors are asked to plan ahead because tours will be available by appointment only. For more information, visit the museum’s website.