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The Bead Merchant Building

Mr. George Ramsey built the two-story brick building that once occupied the Northwest corner of 15th and Delaware Avenue. The Renaissance Neighborhood sometimes called it the “Bead Merchant building.” Mr. Ramsey was born in Missouri in 1895 and was in Tulsa by the mid nineteen teens. He built the building and operated the Ramsey Market out of the first floor. It is believed that he also built and lived in the home directly North of the two-story building on Delaware Avenue (still there today).  The building contained a grocery through the 1950’s. Children attending Wilson School would stop along their way to and from school.


From left to right: John Warren Holderman, George Ramsey and his sister, Safrona Ramsey Holderman.  
Picture from private collection of John Holderman.



Over the years the building housed a variety of businesses. These included a printing business, Rhodes Antiques and the Bead Merchant. The buildings to the west of the grocery, now torn down, were reportedly owned by a family named Kirkman.

The second floor of the building held three apartments. Two apartments were small with one bedroom, the third was larger, with two bedrooms and a front and back door.

Chris Mantle, a Tulsa artist renowned for his infinite representations of buffalo lived and worked in the building at one time. He brought it to life with his art.



Although the neighbors and Renaissance Neighborhood Association tried to save the building, it was razed in September of 2015. At the time of this post, the lot remains empty. See some of our most active neighbors interviewed  here.  (Authors Note: Some have had trouble with the hyperlink. See the full web address in references.)  One neighbor, Carla Robinson, said it best “…it’s our history, once it’s gone, we can’t get it back.”

Photo collage from Carla Robinson. Facebook Post, September 26, 2015.

References:
Holderman, J. (2019, October 5). Personal interview. Also present were C. Holderman and P. C. Morgan.
Mantle, C. (March 2020). Personal Communication.
McKay, L. (December 15, 2019). Personal Communication.
KOTV. Channel 6 News. Retrieved from: https://www.newson6.com/story/30136946/caffey.  
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