TULSA — How does it feel to enter the Bob Dylan Center?
Not like you're going to be scrounging for something to see and hear, that's for sure.
Unlike the lyrics of the fabled songsmith's 1965 classic "Like a Rolling Stone," Dylan's vast archives now have a home in Tulsa's burgeoning arts district.
Housed in the former Tulsa Paper Factory, the 29,000-square-foot Bob Dylan Center, which opened to the public May 10, is the primary public venue for the expansive Bob Dylan Archive collection that includes rare photographs, memorabilia, personal effects and other items spanning the Nobel Laureate's influential 60-year career.
"I've just always been so fascinated by the man and his work. Here, we have an opportunity to look at it so deeply and then also bring in the works, the voices, of other curators, other artists (for) a rich dialogue," Bob Dylan Center Director Steven Jenkins told The Oklahoman.
Acquired by the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation in 2016, the Bob Dylan Archive consists of more than 100,000 items spanning decades. Although the center displays a fraction of the collection at any one time, that still meant thousands of objects were on view May 7 during the VIP Grand Opening Weekend.
"(Dylan) liked the folks he met from the George Kaiser Family Foundation and felt that they could be entrusted to steward this material appropriately," Jenkins said.
"Dylan also felt Tulsa was the right place. ... He liked the vibe of the city."
Whether you go in the "jingle jangle morning" or shortly before "the night comes falling from the sky," here are 12 highlights to explore in the new Bob Dylan Center:
1. Enter through the gate Bob Dylan made
Just a few steps inside the doors,Bob Dylan Center visitors pass the Jenny Norton and Bob Ramsey Entry Gate, a 16-foot-tall ironwork gate depicting a series of wheels and gears.
The entry gate was designed and built by Dylan last year at his Black Buffalo Artworks studio. The singer-songwriter grew up in the iron country of Hibbing, Minnesota, so the iron gate makes a fitting start to the Bob Dylan Center journey.
The gate isn't the only visual artwork by the multi-talented musician: A second-floor gallery displays a 2012 series of his pastel on paper portraits as well as an "Untitled" 1968 oil on canvas painting.
2. Legend points the way into an immersive film space
A large-scale vintage photograph of Dylan points the way into the center's first gallery, an immersive, innovative space designed to showcase an 18-minute biography directed by respected Dylan chronicler Jennifer Lebeau. Pages of lyrics that seem to be flying out of a piano and typewriter form a series of screens showing the film.
"We don't want to assume that everybody who comes in is a Dylan expert; that's a rarefied crowd," Jenkins said. "This must be — and should be — accessible to anyone who has any level of knowledge — or lack thereof — about the figure at the heart of all of this."
The film emphasizes the influence on Dylan of legendary Oklahoma singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie, whose own center is just down the block.
3. Hits keep coming in 'The Columbia Records Gallery'
Spanning much of the center's first floor, "The Columbia Records Gallery" spins out like an interactive timeline of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's life and career. Be sure to pick up an audio tour guide at the front desk to play the plethora of audio and video clips that pepper the timeline.
Displayed among many photos, newspaper clippings and album covers are treasures like the leather jacket Dylan donned for the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where he famously went electric, along with quirky keepsakes like the reproduced contents of the musician's wallet circa 1966, including contact info for Otis Redding and Johnny Cash.
Using handwritten lyric sheets, telegrams and instruments, the gallery takes a deep dive into the troubadour's seminal songs“Chimes of Freedom,” “Like A Rolling Stone,” “Jokerman,” “Not Dark Yet,” “Tangled Up In Blue” and “The Man In Me.”
"'The Man in Me,' a sort of deep album cut from 'New Morning,' shows up 30 years later on 'The Big Lebowski' soundtrack, and it's fun tracing of the life and afterlife of a song. But give us a few months, maybe six, and you'll see a different half-dozen songs that we have equally rich and relevant materials from the archive to help illustrate," Jenkins said.
4. No quarters needed for the virtual jukebox
Grammy winner Elvis Costello, who performed at Cain's Ballroom during the VIP Grand Opening Weekend, curated the "Perspectives Jukebox Experience."
"It's a very strange thing and a very, very great honor to be asked to be involved," Costello said from the ballroom's stage, calling the new center "a beautiful thing."
"Everybody in this room could probably come up with a different 150 songs to tell the story. But our esteemed NobelLaureate has kept many a dark night at bay — and many a truth has been told."
A virtual jukebox that simulates the mechanism of a real thing, the first-floor experience allows visitors to listen to famed songs and obscure tracks from Dylan and "kindred artists" like Ralph Stanley, Buddy Holly, Roseanne Cash and many more.
5. Step into the listening booths to hear theicon's "Influences"
Modeled after the listening booths once found in many record stores, the two "Influences" booths on the first floor provide insight into some of the musicians who inspired Dylan, from Joan Baez and Lotte Lenya to Hank Williams and Little Richard.
6. Center takes visitors to The Church Studio
Tucked into a corner of the first floor, "The Church Studio Control Room" invites visitors to experience hands-on the mixing of a rotating selection of Dylan's recordings. The first two are “I Want You,“ from his 1966 album "Blonde on Blonde," and “Knockin‘ on Heaven’s Door," from Dylan’s soundtrack to the 1973 film "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid."
Inspired and sponsored by Tulsa's legendary and recently remodeled Church Studio, the exhibit also shares stories behind the making of Dylan songs like "Mississippi" and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
7. Reading alcove stocked with Joy Harjo selections
The cozy reading alcove at the foot of the stairs to the second floor features an eclectic selection of books curated by native Tulsan and former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. The center's inaugural artist in residence, the Muscogee poet, writer and musician has picked not only the expected tomes on Dylan but also other musicians' biographies, art volumes, literary classics and children's books.
8. 1854 paintingpackedin 'The Gift'
One of the most unexpected sights in the center: Shaker painter Hannah Cohoon's 1854 depiction of "A Bower of Mulberry Trees" at the top of the stairs to the second floor.
Curated by Lewis Hyde, author of "The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World," the small exhibit "The Gift" invites people to ponder "What happens when we consider works of art as gifts and not commodities?" Cohoon's mulberry trees are an example of Shaker gift drawings, considered literal translations of a spiritual experience, vision or directive.
9. Photos immortalize superstars
Designed by acclaimed Seattle-based architectural and exhibit design firm Olson Kundig, the center's two-story facade features a mural of a 1966 photoof Dylan, taken by renowned photographer Jerry Schatzberg.
So, it's fitting that the exhibit "Jerry Schatzberg: 25th & Park" is the inaugural show in the center's second-floor Parker Brothers Creators Gallery.
Along with large-scale reproductions, contact sheets and props from Schatzberg's fruitful photo shoots with Dylan, the exhibit includes his striking 1960s images of Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and more.
10. 'Precious Memories' line a wall
In the 1980s, Dylan became one of the many musicians to cover the hymn "Precious Memories," and those are whatline the wall in the not-to-be-missed "Earl Minnis Gallery."
The second-floor wall cases are packed with all manner of ephemera and memorabilia, from the actual instrument that inspired Dylan's iconic tune "Mr. Tambourine Man" to a selection of get-well cards fans sent after the musician's 1966 motorcycle crash. (Oklahoma music fans should keep an eye out for a display on Steve Ripley and the "Shot of Love Tour.")
Each of the 90 or so objects is accompanied by a detailed description, plus audio or video, so allow plenty of time to peruse this gallery, which Jenkins said will be frequently refreshed with different items from the archives.
11. Catch a show on the big screen
Also on the second floor, the 55-seat Darby Family Screening Room is home to the center's film and video program. The initial offering is a 45-minute slate ranging from Dylan's cover of "Train of Love" on 1999's "An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash" to his take on "Once Upon a Time" from the 2016 television special "Tony Bennett Celebrates 90." Several of the nine selections showing on the screening room's inaugural bill are previously unreleased.
12. Archive reading room is exclusive to scholars
Bob Dylan Center visitors can only peek through the glass doors of the second-floor Douglas and Anne Brinkley Archive Reading Room. The center's more than 5,000-square-foot archive area is open by appointment only and intended for scholarly studies. Think of it as the equivalent of the green room backstage at a Dylan concert.
Bob Dylan Center
Regular hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday.
Where: 116 E Reconciliation Way, Tulsa.
Admission: $12 for adults; $10 for seniors (55 and older), veterans and students (18 and older with ID); and free for children (17 and younger) and kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers.
Tickets and information: https://bobdylancenter.com.
