First Sister Cities Sign Dedicated at Tulsa Ports
In 2020, Tulsa Global Alliance and the City of Tulsa celebrated 40 years of Sister City partnerships with the dedication of the first Sister Cities directional sign at Tulsa Ports. This inaugural installation marked an important milestone in Tulsa’s long history of international friendship and community diplomacy.
The directional sign displays Tulsa’s eight international Sister Cities at the time of installation, including each city’s emblem, the year the partnership was established and the distance from Tulsa in both miles and kilometers. Tulsa’s Sister Cities are Amiens, France; Beihai, China; Celle, Germany; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; San Luis Potosí, Mexico; Tiberias, Israel; Utsunomiya, Japan and Zelenograd, Russia.
The Tulsa Ports sign was generously sponsored by Advance Research Chemicals, Inc., whose support helped launch the broader initiative to place directional signs throughout the city.
Tulsa has a history of recognizing its Sister Cities in public and visible ways. In 2005, the City dedicated a portion of Main Street in downtown Tulsa as the “Avenue of the Sister Cities” during the Sister Cities Summit. New street signs were installed along the route to honor Tulsa’s global relationships and celebrate the city’s longstanding commitment to international friendship.
The Tulsa Ports installation builds on this earlier effort and marks the beginning of a new chapter in making Sister City connections visible across Tulsa. It became the first of several planned signs located throughout the city, each serving as a reminder of the global partnerships and people-to-people diplomacy that continue to shape Tulsa’s international connections.
