Ambassador Hotel
History
In 1836, Muskogee “Creek” Indians, displaced from Florida, settled alongside the Arkansas River and lit their ceremonial fire under an oak tree, naming their settlement “Tallahassee,” meaning “home”. The name later evolved to “Tulsa,” but the meaning held, reaching its apex just under 100 years later when General Patrick Hurley established The Ambassador Hotel a few blocks from the very same ceremonial oak tree. It was originally built as an “extended stay” locale—upscale temporary homes for oil barons and their families while their own mansions were built.
Hurley never got to bask in the elegance of his hotel—about the same time as the opening, he was appointed to the Secretary of War post, becoming the first Oklahoman cabinet member. Tulsa’s oil business continued to grow and in 1960, Kewanee Oil and its subsidiary Delbert Development Company purchased the Ambassador Hotel, making that their fifth commercial property within a half-mile area, earning The Ambassador the reputation of “Little Rockefeller Center.” A $1.25 million overhaul was undertaken to create an apartment hotel targeting commercial occupancy. After the oil business decline, the hotel became senior retirement housing, before closing entirely in 1987.
In 1997, developer Paul Coury and a group of civic-minded citizens purchased the property and began a $5.5 million renovation project which restored this historic structure to its early-day elegance.
