Yes, yes, I know it’s in downtown Tulsa, not in downtown Oklahoma City. And yes, I realize there are those of you who might take this post as a sign that OKC Central is being taken over by the Tulsa World. Now, relax, and take this as it’s intended – an interesting glimpse at the renovations underway at the Mayo Hotel in Tulsa. It’s a cool project, and the Mayo is to Tulsa what the Skirvin is to Oklahoma City. Both hotels share glorious pasts through the 1960s, only to be sadly neglected in the 1980s and 1990s. We all know about the Skirvin’s rebirth; it’s interesting to compare it to what’s underway at the Mayo.

The player, by the way, is a bit weird. Just hit the first button on the left bottom row that says “Mayo.”

Some observations:

- The convention center is badly outdated and wireless Internet is non-existant. I suspect it’s easier to get a wireless signal in the mountains along the Afganistan-Pakistan border (it must be from all the posting those folks do online!)

- Getting around downtown Tulsa is a lot easier with the new wayfinding signage, designed, I believe, by the same folks who worked on downtown OKC’s signs. For some reason, I like Tulsa’s better. What do you think?

I also noted that property owners in downtown Tulsa seem to do more to let people know at street level what buildings they are passing – even if it involves a simple banner as shown below:

I’m still stunned by BOK Center. The area around it, however, is desolate.

Tulsa’s downtown garages also seem to have more character than most of what’s found in OKC:

As I mentioned yesterday, with all that’s going on in downtown Oklahoma City, there seems to be some really cliche OKC/Tulsa bashing going on. And that’s really just sad. Neither city can truly prosper for long if the other is in a death spiral. Both cities should be rooting each other on, cheering on each other’s successes and appreciating differences between the two.

OKC residents should be traveling up to downtown Tulsa to marvel at the Art Deco architecture, catch a concert at Cain’s Ballroom, stroll through the Brady District and enjoy a drink at Arnie’s (yes, I know it’s not the most glamarous bar in Blue Dome, but that’s why I like it. It’s real!). And politics aside, if experience of OKC is any indicator, the construction of a ballpark in downtown Tulsa’s Greenwood District will pay off dividends to the city for years to come. And if I get the chance, you can bet I’ll catch a concert at BOK Arena, which is truly stunning to look at.

So, in the interest of going against the OKC/Tulsa bashing wars of the week, I suggest you visit The Tulsa World and read today’s update on development around BOK Center.