Broken Arrow, OK

As the largest suburb of Tulsa, Broken Arrow has more than 90,000 residents-and is projected to have a population of more than 100,000 in the coming years. The city has seen tremendous growth as of late, with several new commercial developments targeting Oklahoma Highway 51 as a prime location. City officials have also begun a massive downtown renovation project that involves the building of new commercial and cultural centers, residential improvements, and new development standards to give downtown Broken Arrow more of a residential look and feel.

All this effort has brought recognition. In 2006, Broken Arrow was ranked among the 100 best places to live by Money magazine, and Business Week magazine has called it one of the "Top 25 Affordable Suburbs in the South." The city has also been named one of the best towns for families by the editors of Family Circle magazine.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

As one of the top manufacturing centers in Oklahoma, Broken Arrow is home to companies in the medical, technology, construction, and food production industries. Major employers include Tulsat, Montag Fine Candle Company, MicahTek and Oklahoma Healthcare Services.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

The city of Broken Arrow accommodates a mostly urban population of more than 90,000. Neighborhoods and districts of Broken Arrow accommodate around 27,000 houses of which more than 26,000 are occupied. Of the occupied houses, more than two-thirds are owner-occupied. The median home price in Broken Arrow is much higher than the statewide median.

The city of Broken Arrow is taking steps to revitalize its downtown residential areas. Many of the neighborhoods on the northern and western edges of downtown, along Kenosha (71st Street) and Elm Place (161st Street), have been labeled "transitional" by the city. Transitional areas include some of the oldest housing stock in the city, much of which suffers from lack of investment or has fallen into disrepair. The southern and eastern neighborhoods in the downtown perimeter, along Washington (91st St.) and Lynn Lane (177 E. Ave.), are more stable areas that have preserved their historic character.

BEST BETS

• Broken Arrow Historical Museum: Housing a unique collection of artifacts from the city's history, this museum, located on South Main Street, includes items from the Native American Creek tribe that date back to the 1800s.
• Safari's Animal Sanctuary: Located on East 58th Street, this attraction allows visitors to see such exotic wildlife as jungle cats, wolves, birds, bears, reptiles, and more.
• Broken Arrow Community Playhouse: The only live entertainment facility in Broken Arrow, this playhouse has recently been honored as the "Theater of the Year" by the Oklahoma Community Theater Association.
• Statues in Broken Arrow: The town is also home to several works by well-known sculptors such as Alan Houser and Glenna Goodacre. A nine-foot statue of local war hero Ernest Childers is located at Veterans Park. The "Crossing the Prairie" statue is in Jackson Park, while a set of statues depicting characters from Broken Arrow's past is located at Centennial Park on Main Street.
• Broken Arrow is also home to several local golf courses, as well as a skate park located at Nienhuis Park on North 9th Street.

EVENTS

• Blue Bell Creameries' Taste of Summer: A popular summertime event sponsored by one of the city's more well-known businesses, the Taste of Summer features an ice-cream eating contest, live entertainment, and tours of the Blue Bell manufacturing plant, not to mention all-you-can-eat ice cream at no extra cost.
• Miss Broken Arrow Pageant: This annual contest is open to all local female high school seniors who are at least 17 years of age. Pageant winners and runners-up receive cash scholarships.
• Rockets over Rhema: This Independence Day event, held at Rhema Bible Church on West Kenosha Street, features games, live music, a car show, mechanical bulls, and a rock-climbing wall, not to mention one of the biggest fireworks displays in the region.
• Rooster Days: The oldest festival of its kind in the state of Oklahoma, this four-day event takes place each May at Central Park and includes carnival rides, a parade, live entertainment, a petting zoo, and hundreds of arts and crafts booths.
• Tuesdays in the Park: Each Tuesday during the month of June, the city's Arts and Humanities Council sponsors a free concert. Held in Broken Arrow's Central Park, the concerts attract locals and visitors who frequently bring picnics and lawn chairs.

EDUCATION

The city is served by two educational systems: Broken Arrow Public Schools (with an enrollment of nearly 16,000 students attending more than a dozen elementary schools and an array of intermediate schools and academies, as well as a senior high) and Union Public Schools. In addition, there are also options for higher education:

• Tulsa Technology Center (Broken Arrow Campus): The city is home to one of the seven main campuses of the Tulsa Technology Center, the oldest and largest post-secondary technological institute in Oklahoma. It offers full- and part-time education programs for a variety of business and industrial careers.
• Northeastern State University Broken Arrow: Despite opening less than a decade ago, this satellite campus of Northeastern State has already more than doubled its original size. NSU has been honored by Oklahoma Living magazine and is the fourth-largest university in the state. The Broken Arrow campus provides a total of 37 undergraduate and graduate-level degree programs.

LOCAL MEDIA

One public television station and one cable channel, which broadcasts municipal information, are located in the town, while two FM radio stations transmit to the community. There is one twice-weekly newspaper, the Broken Arrow Ledger, which is published every Wednesday and Saturday.