TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa’s latest public art installation is complete. City leaders unveiled new murals under the overpasses on 3rd Street in the Crosbie Heights neighborhood.
“Welcome to Crosbie Heights,” the new art says. Crosbie Heights is the neighborhood in the shadow of downtown, sometimes overshadowed by its controversy.
“We have people that set up tents on the front porch, or around,” Stephen Buford, a real-estate investor with properties in Crosbie Heights said.
He spoke with the media while the city council toured the neighborhood. It’s near the site of the weekly City Lights feeding and resource event.
- 2 NEWS WAS THERE >>> See the coverage from the February city council tour
Buford said his property values tumbled as more homeless Tulsans made their way into the area.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen some really meaningful changes and investments in the neighborhood,” neighborhood association president Fletcher Stewart said, while unveiling the new artwork.
The murals are part of a larger re-investment into the neighborhood; part of the city’s ‘Vibrant Neighborhoods’ initiative.
“No matter where you go across the city, everybody would consider this one of the more cherished neighborhoods in Tulsa,” Mayor Monroe Nichols said.
2 News walked through the artwork with Stewart.
“I love it,” Stewart said, “Just some of the things that make Crosbie Heights beautiful, the sunflowers, the skyline … I think the art is really a great reflection.”
The murals are the product of artists ‘V-Nice’ and Jamie Pierson.
“A project like this is rooted in community,” Pierson said, “This is what gets me out of bed; this is what fuels my creativity, is getting to do work like this.”
The artists say they took a lot of input from the neighborhood.
“Everything is specific to the neighborhood; these are all things off of people’s homes that you can find,” Stewart said.
As Stewart admires the art – he looks to the future.
“There’s a strong case for our neighborhood being a big part of solving the housing crisis that faces this city,” Stewart said, “We have a huge amount of undeveloped land vacant lots, that are ready for houses, apartments … we have so much capacity and we're in this wonderful location.”
The art is located under overpasses on 3rd between Nogales and Heavy Traffic Way.
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