Press Release
September 20, 2017
Contact: Lynda Ozan
Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-4478
Fax: 405-522-0816
lozan@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org
New Oklahoma National Register Listings
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce six new National Register of Historic Places listings in Oklahoma. The National Register of Historic Places is our nation’s official list of properties significant in our past.
Beaty School, constructed in 1926 in the rural Beaty community west of Pauls Valley in Garvin County, is locally significant for its role in education. A standard State of Oklahoma two-classroom school building, Beaty School provided all of the educational amenities that were mandated by state education laws for a proper rural common school and was created as part of the State Department of Education’s Model School program. This program specified standards for buildings, grounds, equipment, textbooks and curriculum.
Saints Cyril and Methodius Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, constructed in 1916, is located at 501 S. Third Street in Hartshorne. The church is significant for its social history as it was built by Slavic immigrants. The building served as an important means of sustaining their ethnic identities. It is also significant as an exceptional example of Byzantine architecture in Oklahoma. The defining characteristics of the building—its three onion domes—can be seen from miles away.
The Church Studio at 304 S. Trenton Avenue in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, is significant in the areas of performing arts and entertainment. Constructed in 1915 as the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, the building was purchased by writer, musician and producer Leon Russell in March 1972 and converted into a recording studio for his record label Shelter Records. The musical talent flowing through the doors of the Church Studio revitalized Tulsa’s performing arts scene and kindled a second era of the Tulsa Sound, characterized by a more relaxed tempo from the distinct rhythm first developed in the 1950s. The Church Studio functioned as a recording studio until 1976 when the studio closed and Russell severed his ties to Shelter Records.
Finally, the City of Enid added three new National Register locations to its ever increasing inventory. The Enid Preservation Commission sponsored the three nominations, all for their modern architecture within the community and other associative histories. Babe’s Package Store at 220 S. Third Street is significant as an excellent example of “Googie” architecture as well as for its association with the end of statewide prohibition and the arrival of retail liquor stores. Eugene S. Briggs Auditorium at 2450 E. Maine is significant for Modern Movement architectural style as well as its association with education at Phillips University. Security National Bank at 201 W. Broadway is significant as an excellent local example of Modern Movement/International style architecture.
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.
The State Historic Preservation Office is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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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.
