I wasn’t planning on staying at this historic hotel when visiting Kid #1 for Mom’s Weekend. While searching for a hotel, I came across it as a reasonable option close to the campus, and with an AARP discount, it was cheaper than my usual chain hotel.
While it doesn’t look like the modern, chic hotels of today, it has an interesting past and unique style.
History of the Campbell Hotel
Back in the early 1920s, Max Campbell, a former military officer was selling houses in Tulsa. As an early innovator, he bought bought 10 acres of undeveloped land at 11th Street between Columbia and Birmingham Avenues in Tulsa. This strategy left business leaders scratching their heads. This area was nearly 3 miles east of downtown, which seemed “too far away” for a sound investment.
In 1927, Max built the Casa Loma Hotel with a construction price tag of $100,000, equivalent to $2M in today’s dollars (according to AI). The Spanish Colonial Revival building boasted the “largest and finest ballroom” in the southwest and included 33 extended stay guest rooms upstairs with unusually large closets, lounges, and meeting spaces.
The ground floor housed a grocery store, drug store, barber shop, beauty shop, and other retailers – it was one of Tulsa’s earliest examples of an urban shopping destination.
Luck would have it that in 1932, the famous Route 66 was re-routed to 11th Street, right in front of the hotel. The building now stood on one of the busiest areas in Oklahoma. Guests could park their cars, hop aboard the nearby streetcar, and ride straight into downtown Tulsa.
The success didn’t last long. The hotel closed in 1960, after travelers chose the newly-built Interstate 44 instead of Route 66. Soon the hotel fell in disrepair.
In 2009, an investment group saw the potential and began a restoration project, partnering with 40 local designers to provide a unique style to the building. In 2010, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and reopened as the Campbell Hotel in 2011.
Route 66 and the Campbell Hotel today
You can feel the historical aspects of the hotel upon arriving. The old lobby is cute, and the grand staircase to the upstairs is cool. The rooms have transom windows above the doors, something I have only seen in old movies.
The hardwood floors are original to the 1927 building. My room featured a small sitting room, separate bedroom, and bathroom with claw tub.
The hotel includes a cute little bar on the ground floor.
While not as popular as the heyday of the 50s and 50s, there are reminders along the street.
One Kansas Girl 