Remarkably good Tulsa street gets historic marker

Historic marker describes the site of Tulsa Commercial Airport, operating 1940-1952, in what is now an established neighborhood. An unusually wide street, Urbana Avenue, was the North-South runway at the airport.

Monday, July 21st 2025, 5:28 pm

By: Emory Bryan

TULSA, Okla. -

South Urbana Avenue in Tulsa now has a historic marker that explains why a 2,500-foot-long stretch is unusually wide and flat - it used to be an airport runway.

The marker was placed for a Troop 153 Eagle Scout project of Barrett Prather, a Bishop Kelley High School graduate, now in college.

What was Tulsa Commercial Airport operated on 150 acres near 61st and Yale, from 1940 - 1954, according to the Museum of Tulsa History, which has several historic photos of the airport in operation. What's left of it is a 50' wide stretch of asphalt from 61st to 56th Place. The history is well documented, but there was no marker at the site until Prather took on the project.

"Tulsa has a really profound history, and realizing that there was a runway here, it just seemed like something that would be cool to tell the rest of Tulsa and people coming to visit Tulsa that wow - this road used to be a runway and it hasn't changed a whole lot since," said Prather.

Previous News on 6 Story: Tulsa Street used to be airport runway

Emory Bryan

Emory Bryan is a general assignment reporter for News On 6. He began his news career covering the school board for his hometown radio station and worked on the newspaper staff in college before making the switch to television. Emory joined the News On 6 team in 1994.