Williams CEO John Williams, left, and nephew Joe Williams, who would follow him as the company's top executive, look over the scale model of the Williams Center before construction began in 1973.
WILLIAMS CENTER
101 East 2nd Street Tulsa, OK 74172 (918) 573-2000 williams.com
The Williams Center recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Four decades after it forever changed the Tulsa skyline, the Williams Center remains a premier business address in Oklahoma. Opened in 1976, the center’s focal point is its 52-story, 667-foot office tower the second tallest building in the state. The Williams Center was designed to be a “people-planned environment” for the arts, entertainment, green space, retail shops, hotel accommodations and offices. From its upper floors, you can see 40 miles in every direction. There’s more to the Williams Center than a great view, however. A fitness center, cafeteria, bank, Abbey’s Hallmark, coffee kiosk, post office and 300-seat multi-media presentation theater round out its amenities. A skyway conveniently connects the Williams Center to the Hyatt Regency Hotel, ideal for business travelers. The 2.5-acre Williams Green offers workers a scenic patch of nature in the middle of downtown. Across the street, the Tulsa Performing Arts Center hosts a stunning array of local
and national talent from Broadway shows to the renowned Tulsa Ballet, from literary figures to The Tulsa Opera and much more. Tulsa-based energy company Williams broke ground for the Williams Center on December 19, 1973. Brainchild of then CEO John H. Williams, he modified the architect’s original two-tower plan when he stacked one model tower on top of the other during a meeting. On November 1, 1976, the building opened two months ahead of schedule. Bank of Oklahoma employees were the first to move in. Williams employees began arriving in January 1977. Today, the center’s major tenants include Williams, Bank of Oklahoma, Magellan Midstream Partners LP, Newfield Exploration, Phillips+Gomez, Ernst & Young, TXOK Energy Resources Co and the Conner & Winters LLP law firm. The tower is one of only a handful of Class A buildings in the state. Now beginning its fifth decade as a Tulsa landmark, the Williams Center continues to be the center of the city’s vibrant business and cultural scene.