Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District To Be Listed On National Register Of Historic Places

Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District will now be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This listing comes after several decades of applying.

Business owners said they hope it will bring more people in to learn about the area.

Isaiah Harris is one of the owners of Black Wall Street T-Shirts and Souvenirs on Greenwood Ave. He said it’s important to him to keep the history alive of Black Wall Street and the Greenwood District.

"There's a lot of history down here, there's a lot of untold history down here,” said Harris. “And for my generation, I believe it's important that we learn these things. We have a lot of customers that come from all around the world, that have never heard this information."

Freeman Culver, President of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, said a listing on this registry will open the door to more resources for Greenwood.

"It helps us qualify for national grant opportunities,” said Culver. “It kind of lets everyone know how important it is and how critical it is for resources to come to this area. We love the growth around us, but we want to preserve the Greenwood District Not just for tours, but for the local community."

Culver said preserving the buildings is an important step in letting the younger generation know about the success of Greenwood.

"And for the local small business community that we have here, we have 42 businesses housed in these 10 historic buildings and so that means a lot to a lot of people,” said Culver. “But we have to find a way to preserve the property if we want to keep the dream alive."

Not only are the buildings meaningful to Culver, but also, the history they hold.

"This is about preserving history,” said Culver. “I want my children and their children to know that this is historic. This means a lot not just to Tulsa or Oklahoma, it means a lot to our nation. It means a lot to our international community."

Harris said what really matters to him is sharing the history of Greenwood with others.

"I believe that it would bring in a lot more recognition, money as well,” said Harris. “Us business owners here on Black Wall Street, we're not too much worried about the money. We're worried about getting the information out there, telling the truth."

Some of the buildings in Greenwood like the Vernon AME Church were already on the registry, but now the entire Historic Greenwood District will be on there.