Press Release
October 15, 2019
Contact: Sara Werneke
State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-4478
Fax: 405-522-0816
swerneke@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/shpo
New Oklahoma National Register Listings
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce the newest National Register of Historic Places listings for Oklahoma. The National Register of Historic Places is our nation’s official list of properties significant in our past.
The Harris Palace Store Building, located at 214 E. Ripley St., is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the history of commerce in Byars, McClain County. Significant from 1904 to 1930, the building represents an era that was also the commercial heyday in Byars during the last years of the Chickasaw Nation and Indian Territory. The building is one of three remaining pre-statehood (pre-1907) commercial resources in the downtown business section. It was one of the first brick commercial buildings, and one of the first buildings overall, erected in the small community, which was platted in April 1903.
The Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its role in education. The completion of the Administration Building established the first permanent home for the administrative offices of the Oklahoma City school system and served as a physical reminder that public education in Oklahoma City had come of age. The building is also an excellent example of Classical Revival architecture used in school construction in the early 1900s. With its brick façade, limited design elements, portico with recessed front entry and cast stone accents, it is typical of school construction in Oklahoma City during the 1920s. The original 1919 building was designed by noted Oklahoma architect Solomon Andrew Layton, who designed 22 buildings currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The 1928 addition was designed by another notable Oklahoma architect, Guy C. Reid.
Trinity United Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its impact on and involvement with the African American community and social history. The period of significance for the church is from the founding of Creston Hills United Presbyterian Church in 1945 through the passage of national civil rights legislation in 1964, particularly 1960 when all-white Creston Hills United Presbyterian Church merged with all-black Bethany Presbyterian Church at the present location. The new, integrated congregation took the name Trinity United Presbyterian Church.
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 Sara Werneke at the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office at swerneke@okhistory.org.
