Tulsa Tunnel Tours

1.5 hours · 0.25 miles · $30

Enjoy fascinating oil boom stories on our guided tour inside and below historic office buildings!

Tulsa tunnels are underground corridors and street-level interior hallways. They connect office buildings, hotels and parking garages. They’re open to tours until 4:00pm on business days. We can only tour the underground tunnels during the week — not Saturday, Sunday, or holidays when they are locked. Self-guided tours are not welcome by the building owners.

Public tours:

• Friday afternoon and some Thursdays

• $30/adult or child (includes processing + new tunnel access fee)

• 10 people max per guide (often sells out)

• Starts at Hyatt Regency (100 E 2nd St), ends at Philcade (511 S Boston)

Full tunnel tours sell out; however, the new Heart of Downtown + 1 Tunnel is a cheaper alternative that still goes inside the best tunnel.

Confirmation by text and email is sent after booking. Read tunnel tour details like where to park and meet. Because we pass through working office buildings, we cannot accommodate loud children or obnoxious adults (sorry, Uncle Jed).

Private tours: Fun for team building and family outings! Please contact us for availability. Tours can be Mon-Fri starting by 3:00 due to restrictions that also limit size to 10 people per guide — unless you want the Heart of Downtown + 1 Tunnel alternative.

Where are the tunnels in Tulsa?

Downtown Tulsa’s tunnels are located along South Boston Ave between 2nd St and 5th St. The tunnels connect historic skyscrapers built when Tulsa was Oil Capital of the World. Tunnels pass thru 320 South Boston, Kennedy Building, Mid-Continent Tower, Atlas Life Building, Philtower and Philcade, along with parking garages and Hyatt Regency hotel.

You can walk the underground tunnels on weekdays during business hours, but the best experience is on a tour with us! Approved guides wear color-coded badges so it’s easy for security to tell that you’re touring with permission.

Why does Tulsa have underground tunnels?

Tulsa’s tunnels were built for the convenience of workers to get between office buildings and parking garages. Most corridors we pass through were built after WWII and therefore not used to smuggle booze. Tulsa did have whiskey caves and bootlegger tunnels, but after Prohibition they fell into disrepair and no longer exist. Oilman Waite Phillips built two tunnels that he used for his safety because kidnapping for ransom was a real threat in the 20s and 30s. We’ll visit one of his tunnels at the end of the tour.

How to see the Tulsa tunnels on your own

The tunnels connect private office business, so exploring on your own is not recommended. To avoid getting lost or being asked to leave, please book a guided tour above.

To see the Tulsa tunnels, we suggest starting from the north end at Hyatt Regency Hotel. This is where we begin our tour with an overview of Tulsa history to set the stage for what’s to come.

TULSA TUNNEL: Hyatt Regency to 320 South Boston Building
From the lobby of the Hyatt, take escalators down to street level. Follow signs to the 3rd Street Tunnel. You’re now in an historic building named after its address, 320 South Boston. This building does not allow photos inside.

Built in 1917 for the Exchange National Bank, this became the largest office building in the state after expansions in the 1920s. On the tour we explain how oilmen founded this bank and show photos of how it grew to its current size.

The bank reorganized after the Great Depression and became known as the National Bank of Tulsa (NBT). The name remains above the doors on the Boston Av entrance that leads to a beautiful vaulted ceiling with classical motifs. The name changed to Bank of Oklahoma in the 70s. A branch remains in the lobby, but its headquarters are now across the street in the BOK Tower that was designed by the same architected as the original World Trade Center.

On the tour we see the impressive vault and explain how and why it was constructed.

TULSA TUNNELS: 320 South Boston to Kennedy Building to Mid-Continent Building
Leaving the vault area, we pass through a long corridor that goes uphill and turns left.

Make another left to reach the Kennedy Building, named after Tulsa pioneer and early physician Dr. Samuel Kennedy. Go upstairs to reach an atrium with the statue of an 80s businessman (no, not Dr. Kennedy). See what he’s reading and take a selfie before retracing your steps back to the main tunnel that will take you under 4th Street to the Mid-Continent Building.

An escalator goes up to the lobby of the Mid-Continent Building. Admire the marble walls and stained glass of the skyline. Here we explain the fascinating story of how this building — actually, two buildings in one — was constructed. By the elevators is a model of the Mid-Con and a painted penguin designed in a 2002 fundraiser for the zoo’s new African black-footed penguin habitat.

CONCOURSE: Mid-Continent to Atlas Life Building
Pass through the door to reach the Atlas Life Building, built for Tulsa’s first life insurance company. Today it’s a Courtyard by Marriott hotel with retail shops on the ground floor. Admire the statue of Atlas shouldering a clock on the back wall. Sadly, the Tulsa Press Club for journalists closed their clubhouse and bar in 2023. A new burger and fried fish lunch spot called 415 Grille now occupies the old Atlas Grill space.

CONCOURSE: Atlas Life to Philtower Building
Pass through a short hallway with photos of old Tulsa to reach the Philtower Building that opened in 1928. The lobby feels like a cathedral and that’s exactly what the locally made chandeliers look like. Getting hungry? Rose Rock ice cream and a toffee shop will satisfy your sweet tooth. The Philtower locks at 5:00pm on weekdays and there’s no public access on weekends.

TULSA TUNNEL: Philtower to Philcade
Now is the time you’ve been waiting for! We’ll visit the semi-secret private tunnel that Waite Phillips and his family used to travel between their two buildings, the Philtower and Philcade. On our tour we explain why the tunnel was built and how there’s another super secret tunnel that’s not accessible to the public.

The door to get downstairs is locked so you can no longer access this tunnel on your own.

Cross the street: Philtower to Philcade

Since you’re not an oil tycoon, you’ll have to cross 5th street to enter the Philcade Building. Waite Phillips built it to be a sister office building to Philtower with a shopping mall on the ground floor. Admire the golden ceiling with geometric patterns popular with early Deco. Phillips built a penthouse residence on top and lived there after Philbrook.

The lobby is home to the Oil Capital Pop-Up Museum that we at Tulsa Tours created. Visitors are welcome to browse the free exhibit. This building is open until 6:00pm Mon-Sat and 1:00 Sun.

For more info, a laminated sheet about the Philcade is at the security desk. Better yet, learn all about Art Deco and the Phillips family on our top-rated Art Deco Tour on Saturdays March to December.

Celebrate your Tulsa Tunnel Tour with a hot or iced beverage at Topeca Coffee and visit our Tulsa Tours office at the entrance on Boston Avenue.

From here it’s a 5-minute walk on Boston back to the Hyatt Regency.