Press Release
January 3, 2014
Contact: Larry O'DellOklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-6676
Cell: 405-213-7521
Fax: 405-521-2492
lodell@okhistory.org
New Oklahoma National Register Listings
Oklahoma City, Okla., -- The Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce five new National Register of Historic Places listings. The National Register of Historic Places is our nation's official list of properties significant in our past.
The Cherokee Terrace Apartments, located in Enid, Garfield County, was constructed as a low-rise, multifamily residential development by the Housing Division of the Public Works Administration (PWA) to provide affordable housing for those cast into poverty by the Great Depression. Constructed between 1936 and 1938, Cherokee Terrace embodies the theories of site planning and design dictated by the PWA.
The Larkin Hotel, constructed between 1923 and 1924, is located in downtown Blackwell, Kay County, and was the first four-story building and the only four-story hotel constructed in downtown Blackwell. For its day the hotel was thoroughly modern, with not only hot and cold running water in each room but also a telephone. In recognition of the building's significance and the precarious status of the building due to lack of use, the Larkin Hotel was included on Preservation Oklahoma's 2012 Most Endangered Properties List.
The James H. Bounds Barn, constructed c. 1890, is significant as a rare four-crib log barn that remains in excellent condition in the Kingston vicinity in Marshall County. This is the only known example of this archaic barn type in Oklahoma and one of only a few west of the Mississippi River.
The final two nominations are both located in Muskogee, Muskogee County. The first is the Muskogee Municipal Building, constructed in 1931 and located at 229-231 W. Okmulgee Ave. It is significant as the city's first-ever formal city hall, as a formally established meeting place for local patriotic groups and as a venue for large public events. The second is the St. Philip's Episcopal Church at 502 N. Ninth St. Constructed also in 1931, it is significant for its role in the history of African Americans in Muskogee as one of a few historic church buildings remaining that represent African American community activities. It is the city's only example of full-scale application of Tudor Revival architectural form and detailing.
Listing in the National Register is an honorific designation that provides recognition, limited protection and, in some cases, financial incentives for these important properties. The SHPO identifies, evaluates and nominates properties for this special designation.
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Editor's Note: Photographs to accompany the story can be acquired by contacting the State Historic Preservation Office at 405-521-6249. Any questions can be sent to Lynda Ozan at lozan@okhistory.org
