Wednesday Walk Among The Street Art of Tulsa - The Raccoons of Sixth Street

Tulsa is a city that is changing fast. There are many neighborhoods that have been gentrified and turned into a place you want to visit instead of avoiding. Sixth Street and Peoria is an area I avoided before we moved. There was nothing more than abandoned buildings, prevalent drug dealings, and an outrageous crime rate causing this to be a very undesired place to be.

In 2018 we moved back to Tulsa and found that the area we once avoided was changing. There was now a couple of coffee houses, a restaurant, a yoga studio, and a cleaned up park. We ventured through the area and found the old gas station was being cleaned up. Unfortunately, that meant the interesting street art would be destroyed soon.

The painting on the building is referred to as "The Sixth Street Raccoons" and is just an adorable scene. This momma and baby raccoons are almost realistic to the drive-by eye. The painter (unknown to me or any of the places I went for information) took the time to do the shading giving it the look it of dimension. Can you almost see the little guy wiggling around while the momma is trying to pull him up? The funny part to the whole story is that, as told to me by the Tulsa Historical Society, the area had been having issues with a large gaze of raccoons. The city had gone in to deal with the situation when this painting showed up, literally, overnight. I just love this story and painting.

I am wondering if you even noticed the best part of this mural. Over to the right in the window, you will see a man working away inside while the momma raccoon is trying to save her baby. He doesn't seem to realize the pair is active just outside the window. If you were to walk up to the window, you would see the only thing painted on that glass is the man and the details are blurry at best. The building behind him is the actual building inside. This blows my mind every time I see it. I often wish I could meet the artist and ask so many questions.

As of the end of January the raccoons were still in place, but the man was missing from the building. There has been a business purchase the property and they will eventually destroy the artwork that some will say is graffiti. I find this very sad, but it is what gentrification is all about. So for now, I have the photos to document that it was there on the northeast corner of Sixth Street & Peoria for all to be amazed by.

Granted this was not from one of my Wednesday Walks this week, but it was a piece that I really wanted to bring to you. I feel it is a piece that shows that not all graffiti is tagging or bad art, sometimes it is just a way to document happenings that will some day be forgotten.