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Boulder Towers
East Tower & West Tower
General information
Type Office
Location 1437 South Boulder Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Completed 1960 (West Tower)
1980 (East Tower)
Opening 1960 (West Tower)
1980 (East Tower)
Height
Roof 253 ft (77 m)
Technical details
Floor count 15

The Boulder Towers are a pair of tall office buildings in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This complex includes two similar high-rise towers, called the Boulder Towers East Tower and the Boulder Towers West Tower. Both towers stand 253 feet (77 meters) tall and have 15 floors each.

The first tower, the West Tower, was built in 1960. The East Tower was added later in 1980. Today, the Boulder Towers are the tallest twin towers in Tulsa and the entire state of Oklahoma. They are also among the tallest buildings in Tulsa overall.

Discovering the Boulder Towers

The Boulder Towers are an important part of the Tulsa skyline. They are known for their modern design. These towers are a great example of how cities grow and change over time.

How the Towers Were Built

The first tower, the West Tower, was finished in 1960. It was originally built for the Skelly Oil Company. This company used the tower as its main office. Later, in 1974, Skelly Oil Company became part of another company called Getty Oil Company. Because of this, the building was then known as the Getty Building.

In 1980, Getty Oil decided to build the second tower, the East Tower, right next to the first one. This created the twin tower look we see today. A few years later, in 1984, Texaco bought Getty Oil. So, the complex became known as the Texaco complex for a while.

Boulder Towers in uptown Tulsa
Boulder Towers in 2007, after the second tower was added.
Cities Services, Skelly Building, Tulsa. OK
Boulder Tower #1, showing the old Skelly and Cities Service logos.

A New Name and a Fresh Look

In 1997, a company from California bought the Texaco complex. They paid $7.25 million for the buildings. A new owner, CB Richard Ellis Inc., then took over the property. They decided to give the buildings a new name: Boulder Towers. This name was chosen because the two towers look like a pair.

After buying the towers, the new owners spent about $3 million to make them look new again. This renovation project took almost two years. The improvements helped attract more businesses to the towers. Before the renovations, only about 35 percent of the office spaces were rented. After the updates, about 75 percent of the spaces were filled! This shows how much the renovations helped the buildings become popular again.

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