Seven New Sites Added to National Register
Contact: Kelli Gaston
(405) 522-2713
Oklahoma City, OK
January 8, 2008
For Immediate Release
The State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce that seven new properties from Oklahoma have been added to the National Register of Historic Places as of December 12, 2007. The National Register is the nation’s official list of places significant to our history. The new listings from Oklahoma include one residential district in Tulsa, a commercial district in Enid, and individual properties that represent a variety of historic themes significant in the state’s history. Additional documentation was also approved for the Okmulgee (Colored) Hospital.
Ranch Acres in Tulsa is Oklahoma’s first post-World War II residential historic district listed in the National Register. Located just outside the downtown area, this district consists almost exclusively of ranch style homes constructed between 1949 and 1962. With young professionals in mind, Ranch Acres was designed as a luxury neighborhood, with generous lots for building larger homes. Properties in the district include a variety of different types of ranch style homes, from simple rectangles to complex L and Y shapes.
The Luke D. Berry House in Cushing was built in 1925 for the locally prominent businessman by the same name. Notable for its architecture, this two-story Italian Renaissance Revival style home is representative of the boom period in Cushing’s history, when the discovery of oil prompted significant population growth and prosperity in the community.
Centered on the Garfield County Courthouse and the United States Post Office and Court House, the Enid Downtown Historic District is a commercial district containing more than eighty properties representative of the development of this important north central Oklahoma community. Most buildings were constructed during Enid’s "Golden Era" between 1916 and 1944 and reflect the architectural styles popular during that period. Contributing properties include the Masonic Temple, a Classical Revival style building on Independence Avenue, and the Shield Building, a Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style building on South Grand.
In Harmon County, The Hollis City Hall and Jail and the Gould Community Building are the best-preserved local examples of Works Progress Administration projects from the 1930s. Built in 1937, the Gould Community Building is a two story native stone building that has served a variety of social and community functions. The Hollis City Hall and Jail is also a two-story Modern style stone building constructed in 1939. The City Hall and Jail was the last WPA project in the city of Hollis and unlike many other WPA constructed properties, the City Hall and Jail remains in use in its original function today.
First Baptist Church (Colored) is Anadarko’s oldest surviving African American church. Built in 1914, this vernacular style church is constructed of concrete block and features a tall, front square tower and pyramidal roof. It also retains its original pointed arch wood windows. The First Baptist Church (Colored) is significant for its architecture and for its connection to the African American community in Anadarko.
In Ardmore, the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad Viaduct is a wooden trestle bridge constructed between 1901 and 1902. For decades, this bridge served as a critical rail link in the area and today is the only pre-1915 rail-related resource in that community.
Originally listed in the National Register in 1984 as the Okmulgee Black Hospital, new documentation accepted by the National Register officially changes the historic property name of this resource in Okmulgee County to the Okmulgee Colored Hospital. In addition to the name change, the additional documentation provides a more complete description of the building’s architecture and its historic significance.
The State Historic Preservation Office continues to strive to gain recognition for those places significant in Oklahoma’s history. The listing of properties in Harmon County brings us closer to our goal of having at least five listings from each county. For more information on these or other National Register properties, contact Kelli Gaston at (405) 522-2713 or email kgaston@okhistory.org.