Tulsa Store Owner Preserves Tulsa's History Through Century-old Photographs

William Franklin is a natural-born collector.

“I’ve been collecting photographs, even magazine articles, and advertisements, little pamphlets, brochures, or anything that kind of has to do with the Jazz Age or the Deco era of Tulsa,” he said. 

Franklin owns Tulsa's Decopolis.

He was excited when he came across this photo album at an auction online. Open it up, and more than 30 black and white photographs of Green Country buildings, streets, and lifestyles from over a century ago can be seen.

“There’s some more Tulsa photos over here…I love the ones with the streets, and it’s really neat to see, with the old cars and the horses and buggies,” Franklin said. 

The photos chronicle the growth of the city. 

“It’s wonderful because it really reveals a lot about the history that maybe is forgotten and stuff,” said Franklin. 

These old images can now be seen with more clarity than ever before, thanks to Franklin's high-resolution scanner. 

“Say, like an average photo or a low-res photo might be 72 dots per inch. I’m scanning these in at 1,600 dots per inch,” he said. 

Franklin says the public has been very helpful in identifying exactly where in Tulsa some of the pictures were taken.

“Some people have described some of the different buildings that are on, some of the different streets and things,” he said.

Now, he's beginning to put the pieces together to discover exactly who took the photos.

“In the photo album, there’s some that says ‘home,’ and next to it, there’s some that says ‘Muskogee,’ and so I’m gathering that his home was in Muskogee,” said Franklin.

The photos will be available for viewing online.