I spent five days in Bartlesville, an old oil field town an hour's drive north of Tulsa, in February 2004 as part of an early retirement program my company was conducting for one of our corporate clients. While not a big city, Bartlesville has benefited from the headquarters of the Phillips Petroleum Corporation being located here in a downtown corporate campus since the early twentieth century. While Phillips has since merged with Conoco, the company still has a very large presence here, resulting in an extremely attractive and economically healthy downtown area. The blocks around the Phillips offices are filled with a number of very good restaurants and nice locally owned shops. On the edge of downtown is the unique Price Tower, a nineteen story building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the HC Price Company. The tower now houses an art museum, fine restaurant, and boutique hotel and is one of the city's top attractions. Adjacent to the Price Tower is the Bartlesville Community Center, an outstanding performing arts center housing the city's ballet, symphony, and dramatic performance companies. Other attractions include the historic Frank Phillips mansion and Woolaroc, Phillips's ranch located outside of town. Overall, Bartlesville provides an amazing number of opportunities for a city of its size.${QuickSuggestions}

• The city has a tourism website at www.visitbartlesville.com that has complete listings of things to do, restaurants, and hotels. Information is also available on the performing arts and cultural opportunities available.
• Woolaroc, one of the area's top attractions, requires an entry fee paid in cash or with a check (no credit cards) at the gate. The attraction is located about 15 miles out of town in a rural area -- do not make the mistake I did of driving all the way out there with no cash in your pocket!
• Do not miss the Price Tower, a one-of-a-kind tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Also for architecture buffs, the Bartlesville Community Center, designed by famed Oklahoma architect Bruce Goff, is a very interesting facility. It is located downtown very close to the Price Tower.