Qualla: The Outsiders House Museum

The Outsiders House Museum: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0. 'Stay gold, Ponyboy.' The line from S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel became a cultural touchstone when Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film The Outsiders brought it to the screen with a cast that reads like a who's who of future stardom: Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell, and Diane Lane. The house in North Tulsa's Crutchfield neighborhood that served as the Curtis Brothers' home was just a private residence at 731 North St. Louis Avenue, estimated to have been built around 1920. After filming wrapped, it went back to being a regular house. Then a hip-hop artist from House of Pain came along and refused to let it stay that way.

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The Outsiders House Museum: Bought Sight Unseen

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0. Danny Boy O'Connor, known for his work with the hip-hop group House of Pain, had been a lifelong fan of The Outsiders. In 2009, during a three-day layover while on tour, he explored Tulsa's filming locations and rediscovered the house. He kept visiting on subsequent trips, and in...

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The Outsiders House Museum: The Ribbon Cuts on Curtis Brothers Lane

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0. On August 5, 2019, the street signs at the corner were officially changed to 'The Outsiders Way' and 'The Curtis Brothers Lane.' Four days later, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the museum's opening. The interior spans the entire house: front porch, living room, dining room, bat...

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The Outsiders House Museum: A Cult Following Grows

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0. By 2022, O'Connor estimated approximately 20,000 visitors had come through the museum. That same year, the group Upward Sperry completed restoration of the now-inoperative DX gas station in nearby Sperry, Oklahoma, where a scene from the film was shot. O'Connor published The Outs...

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The Outsiders House Museum: Stay Gold, Tulsa

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0. On December 14, 2024, the 98th annual Tulsa Christmas Parade adopted the theme 'Stay Gold, Merry, and Bright,' with O'Connor serving as Grand Marshal. The honor captured something about what the museum has become: not just a shrine to a film or a novel, but a piece of Tulsa's ide...

Image: TheDoctorWho | CC BY-SA 4.0