Don’t you love getting to see what Oklahoma looked like over 75 years ago? Although times were tough during this period in history, the major cities in Oklahoma were far better off than the rural towns we’ve featured in previous articles. Here are what some of the major cities looked like in the 1930s:

  1. These men were waiting to attend a morning movie in Oklahoma City. Taken in 1937.

Dorothea Lange/Photogrammar

  1. Downtown Tulsa streetcar in 1931.

downtowntulsaok/Facebook

  1. Liberty Finance Company offering finance loans from $5-$50. Taken in Oklahoma City in June 1937.

Dorothea Lange/Photogrammar

  1. The OCPD Raiding Squad with shotguns and tommy guns. Front center is Detective “Jelly” Bryce.

Oklahoma City Police Department/Wikimedia

  1. The White Star Gulf Oil Station was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the station attendant lived upstairs in the dome itself. Photo courtesy of Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society.

downtowntulsaok/Facebook

  1. Main Street Muskogee with a migrant’s car passing down the middle of it. Taken July 1939.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. Looking down Lincoln Boulevard toward the state capital. Oklahoma City. August 1938.

Dorothea Lange/Photogrammar

  1. This nicely dressed gentleman is looking up a phone number before he makes a call in the phone booth. Taken in Oklahoma City in July 1939.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. A Streetcar terminal with people waiting for cars, Oklahoma City. July 1939.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. The main drag in Okmulgee. Haircuts were $0.40 and shaves were $0.20. 1939.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. The Tulsa Skelly Building. It was demolished by the Tulsa World for a parking lot.

army.arch/Flickr

  1. The worker at this tobacco stand is helping this customer in Oklahoma City. 1939.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. People getting on and off the streetcar in Oklahoma City. 1939.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. This man is drinking a malted milk at a stand in Oklahoma City. He doesn’t appear to be fond of getting his picture snapped.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. A junkyard for oil supplies in Oklahoma City. August 1939.

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

  1. The Tulsa Union Depot, completed in 1931.

Tom Baddley/Flickr

Which one was your favorite? Do you have any memories of riding the street cars in Tulsa or Oklahoma City? Please share your experience in the comments below.

Dorothea Lange/Photogrammar

downtowntulsaok/Facebook

Oklahoma City Police Department/Wikimedia

Russell Lee/Photogrammar

army.arch/Flickr

Tom Baddley/Flickr

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.