Webster High School, 1936

1919 W 40th Street
(photo courtesy of Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society)



Tulsa Central High School had grown to nearly 5000 students by the early 1930s prompting the city of Tulsa to to build 2 new schools to open in 1938. On the east side was Will Rogers High School, and on the west side was Daniel Webster



This school, designed by Arthur M. Atkinson, John Duncan Forsyth, Raymond Kerr, and William H. Wolaver, opened in September 1938, on a beautiful 20-acre campus. Built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds, the long, horizontal, buff brick school has two large wings which angle forward.

Cast aluminum plaques above the three entry doors present classic Greek motifs. The central plaque contains a Greek column ringed by a laurel. One of the side plaques contains a female figure and the other contains a male figure, each holding a torch lighting the way to knowledge. Two large metal torch lanterns also flank the front entrance.


The school's main entrance is flanked with large rectangular columns which frame the school's name and large clock. The clock still works.
(Excerpted from the Tulsa Preservation Commission)

Adah Robinson Residence, 1927

1119 South Owasso Avenue
View of the front on the west side.

Teacher and designer Adah Robinson, with the help of her student Bruce Goff and Joseph Koberling, built her house and studio facing Tracy Park. This hollow tile and stucco Art Deco house has leaded glass windows, terrazzo floors and contemporary spaces decades ahead of its time. The two-story living room has an open balcony running the length of the room and a sunken conversation pit with a fireplace. The home was originally designed by Goff with only a two-burner kitchenette unit at the end of the dinning room. When this was discovered by Robinson, she insisted that Koberling build a kitchen. A small kitchen was inserted into a north corner of the house without disturbing the rest of the plan.
(Excerpted from the Tulsa Preservation Commission)


View of the north side.


View of the south side.


View of the front entrance.

Adah Matilda Robinson was a painter, printmaker, and art teacher in Tulsa art circles for three decades. Born July 13, 1882, in Richmond, Indiana, to Francis Wills and Catherine Robinson, she studied at Earlham College, at the Chicago Art Institute, and with Charles Hawthorne, George Elmer Browne, and John Carlson. In 1905 her family moved to Oklahoma City, where she taught art privately, then briefly at Epworth University, and afterward in the public schools. In 1916 or 1917 she moved to Tulsa to teach her specialty at Central High School and then privately. She founded the University of Tulsa Department of Art in 1928 and thereafter served as its chair. There she was instrumental in founding Alpha Rho Tau art fraternity, and she helped establish the Tulsa Art Association.

During Robinson's career, in addition to painting and printmaking, she articulated the intellectual concepts that guided the overall design of Tulsa's Boston Avenue Methodist Church, now a National Historic Landmark, and she is widely credited with responsibility for the elaborate decoration of the interior. She also redesigned the interiors of Tulsa's First and Second Churches of Christ, Scientist, when those buildings were renovated in 1935 and 1950, respectively. Adah Robinson died in Tulsa on March 10, 1962. (Excerpted from Oklahoma State digital library)

Tulsa Central High School, 1917

Tulsa High School, 1906, Fourth and Boston

The original Tulsa High School was erected in 1906 at Fourth and Boston in downtown Tulsa. In 1913 it became the third school in the state to win accreditation.


Tulsa Central High School, 1917, Sixth and Cincinnati

A new building opened in 1917 at the corner of Sixth and Cincinnati, and was enlarged in 1922. The Manual Arts building at Ninth and Cincinnati was added in 1925. Tulsa Central was at one time said to be the second largest high school in the country, and included indoor Olympic-size and lap pools, an indoor track, an extensive art collection, and a large pipe organ.


Central was Tulsa's only public high school for white students, and by 1938 it had grown to its peak enrollment of more than 5,000 students in grades 10-12. Finally, in 1939, Tulsa opened two new high schools: Webster High School in West Tulsa, and Will Rogers High School east of downtown. Booker T. Washington High School was established for African American students in 1913. Tulsa's schools were legally racially segregated by race until 1955, and remained segregated de facto at least into the 1970s, due to population patterns and school policies.


The construction of Tulsa's Inner Dispersal Loop freeway impaired the school's access to the outdoor physical education facilities at Central Park and Tracy Park. The cost of downtown parking was also a problem. These factors led to the decision to move the school out of downtown. The new 47 acre campus was opened in 1976, at 31st West Avenue and Edison Street, in the portion of northwest Tulsa that is located in Osage County.


The old Central High School building at Sixth and Cincinnati was acquired by Public Service Company of Oklahoma ("PSO"). After a complete renovation and extensive interior modifications, it now serves as PSO's headquarters. The renovated and adapted building has been named a Tulsa landmark by the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. The former Manual Arts Building at Ninth and Cincinnati is now part of the downtown campus of Tulsa Community College.

When I compared my photo of the main entrance with the old night view above it I noticed that the front doors have been lowered and the double set of steps eliminated. The old school was not handicap accessible, the remodeled PSO building is.

On a personal note, I did my practice teaching at Tulsa Central High School during the fall semester of 1963 under veteran Math teacher Jack Skelton. When I heard that Central was to be closed I was afraid it would end up demolished and used for a parking lot. Like a lot of Tulsans I was very pleased when PSO did such a fine job of renovating it into office space. I have always wondered what happened to the swimming pool. I guess I should ask.

(Text excerpted from Wikipedia. Black and white photos courtesy of Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society. Exact dates are uncertain. A more complete history of Tulsa Central High School can be found HERE.)

Tulsa Exposition Center (QT Center), 1966

4145 East 21st Street

The Tulsa County Free Fair began in 1903 at the Western Association baseball park at Archer and Boston. With enactment of the Oklahoma Free Fair Act in 1915, a 15-acre tract of land north of Archer and Lewis was purchased to provide more suitable grounds. In 1923, thanks to a land donation from M.E. Crosbie, the fair was moved to a portion of the present Expo Square between 15th and 21st Streets. Passage of a major bond issue of $500,000 provided for the construction of the Fairgrounds Pavilion in 1931. The fair board acquired land adjacent to the gift acreage in later years, and the "state fair" was born.

The International Petroleum Exposition (IPE) was established in 1923 to exhibit the latest oil industry technology and provide a venue for oilmen to purchase up-to-date equipment, while educating workers and the general public. Tulsa, Oklahoma, was chosen as its home, and the first show, called the "International Petroleum Exposition and Congress," was held there on October 8-14, 1923. Tulsa was proudly calling itself "The Oil Capital of the World".

With the exception of 1926, the IPE was held annually from 1923 through 1930 for a week to ten days during October and grew in attendance from a few thousand to over 120,000. Poor economic conditions in the 1930s caused the show to be held less frequently. After 1940, World War II caused activities to be suspended until 1948.

In 1948, when the exposition opened for the first time since the beginning of World War II, it attracted more than three hundred thousand visitors. The exposition's board of directors voted to hold it every five years in a number of buildings on twenty-plus acres at the fair grounds. During the 1950s and 1960s the venue continued to draw in excess of three hundred thousand visitors. If this world class event was to have a suitable venue one would have to be constructed.


(photos courtesy of Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society)

In 1966 a $3.5 million bond issue was passed and all the old IPE buildings were demolished and a ten-acre Exposition Center was constructed. The center provided 354,000 square feet (32,900 m2) of column-free space under a cable-suspended roof. The building spans 448,400 total square feet on two levels, connected by side ramps and stairs, allowing for a variety of show floor plans.The Expo Center became home to the International Petroleum Exposition.

The 1966 IPE housed in the new facility attracted the largest attendance in the history of the IPE. The future of the International Petroleum Exposition seemed assured. But in the early 1970s the oil slump struck. That, combined with competition from the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, caused the IPE to lose money in both 1976 and 1979. After a dismal attendance of twenty-six thousand people in 1979, the fifty-seven-year-old International Petroleum Exposition was canceled for all time.

Over the years the Expo Center has hosted a great variety of shows and events. In my memory it has been used for auto shows, boat shows, home and garden shows. powwows, midgit auto racing, rodeos, tractor pulls, gun shows, anything that needs a large open area.



Standing in front of the Expo Center the Mid-Continent Supply Company placed the eight-story-tall Golden Driller statue which was added as a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Weighing 43,500 pounds and standing 76 feet (23 m) tall, the Golden Driller has become the symbol of Expo Square and a Tulsa landmark



The Golden Driller has it own interesting history. The Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth first introduced the Golden Driller in 1953 at the International Petroleum Exposition. It was temporarily erected again for the 1959 show and attracted so much attention that the company had it rehabilitated and donated it to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority. It was permanently installed at the 21st Street and Pittsburg Avenue site for the 1966 International Petroleum Exposition. His right hand rests on an old production oil derrick moved from an oil field in Seminole, Oklahoma.

The Driller has been ravaged by weather, survived tornadoes, photo sessions with tourists, attacked by vandals, assaulted by souvenir seekers, shotgun blasts, and has even had an arrow in the back. Art critics have even ridiculed the poor old man.

The basic angle-iron structure made of plaster and concrete will withstand 200 mile-an-hour winds. It was refurbished and painted gold by Gibco, Inc. Tulsa, Oklahoma, in time for the International Petroleum Exposition of 1979. Since then the Golden Driller has guarded the main entrance of the Exposition Center where various trade shows, conventions and consumer events are held. He has collected a host of friends, not only in Tulsa, but also from around the world.



Wanenmacher Gun Show, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The largest gun show in the world.
(Photo by Caleb Long)


Recently the local QuikTrip Corporation has joined in a 10-year, $2.6 million naming rights agreement with the fairgrounds. For the duration of the agreement it will be known as the QuikTrip Center.

This is but part of the work going into improving the functionality and flexibility of the Tulsa Fairgrounds, now more correctly known as Expo Square. The QuikTrip Center is considerably refreshed, the Pavilion has enjoyed a complete remodeling, New livestock show barns have replaced the outdated barns and sheds with help from the Ford Motor Company. Tulsa should be well served by Expo Square far out into the future.

(Excerpts from: Expo Square; OSU Digital Library; Wikipedia.)

Fire Station No. 16, Old: 1947, New: 2009

Old Fire Station No. 16, 1401 North Lewis Avenue, 1947


New Fire Station No. 16, 2412 North Harvard Avenue, 2009


One of Tulsa's oldest fire stations has been replaced with a modern building that uses the latest concepts in fire station design. The $2.75 million station at 2412 N. Harvard Ave. houses Station 16, which previously operated out of an aging building at 1401 N. Lewis Ave. Equipped with a cavernous garage, stainless steel kitchen and dozens of other upgrades, the 11,830-square-foot station opened July 13. At the old station, firefighters squeezed into a cramped building that was built in 1948.

Quoted from an article by Matt Barnard, Tulsa World, Jul. 22, 2009, in the Fire Department Network News.

Christ the King Church, 1928

1530 South Rockford Avenue





In the 1920s, Christ the King Church was considered innovative and, to some, radical. A combination of Gothic, Byzantine and Art Deco architecture, the church was designed in 1926 by Chicago modernist Francis Barry Byrne, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The church sanctuary is almost square and is built around the central carved limestone altar. Emil Frei, Inc. designed the mosaic of Christ which is empaneled behind this altar. Tulsa architect Bruce Goff designed the mosaics at the two side altars. The church’s stained glass windows, designed by Alfonso Iannelli and produced by the Temple Art Glass Company of Chicago, are described in Liturgical Arts Magazine as ranking “among the best to be found in the United States.” These windows depict Kings of the Christian era on the North side of the church and Kings of the Old Testament on the South side. The buff brick exterior includes terra cotta spires. Alfonso Iannelli was responsible for the terra cotta ornamentation on the exterior of the church and also produced the statues of Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary found at the side altars.

The church was dedicated by Bishop Francis C. Kelly in May of 1928, and was the first church in the world to be dedicated with the name “Christ the King.”

Quoted from the Tulsa Preservation Commission.

Meadow Gold is Back

The old at 11th and Lewis. (photos courtesy of Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society)


The new at 11th and Quaker

US Route 66 is the historic highway that ran from Chicago through Tulsa and on west to terminate in Los Angeles, California. It is known as "The Mother Road". During the Great Depression nearly 15% of the population of Oklahoma migrated west to Arizona and California on Route 66 looking for employment.

Route 66 went through Tulsa on 11th Street just south of the downtown area, and there is a lot of history there. In 1934 Beatrice Foods put up a large neon sign advertising Meadow Gold milk. It was a landmark at 11th and Lewis for decades. Over the years Meadow Gold went out of business and the sign fell into disrepair and went dark some time in the 1970s. In 2004 the owner of the building on which the sign was installed wanted to tear down the building and the Meadow Gold sign was endangered. The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture led a campaign to save the old sign and it was carefully dismantled. A few months ago it reappeared on the corner of 11th and Quaker on top of a brick pavilion on a parcel of land donated by the city of Tulsa. A landmark restored.

The "Route 66 News" blog has a nice article about the dedication back in May and some fine pictures showing it lit up at night. See it HERE.

Burtner N. Fleeger Residence, 1937

2424 East 29th Street


This residence was designed by Frederick V. Kershner. As the first monolithic concrete house in Tulsa, this Streamline style residence has walls of reinforced poured concrete, 12-14 inches thick, which were engineered by the Portland Cement Company. The exterior is striated with narrow horizontal bands and the wings are composed of intersecting rectangular blocks. The house is situated on an uneven lot, massed to the highest point above the entry, with banded, flat roof levels stepped down like a series of stairs to the garage. The front location of the garage was very unusual for its time.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation, 1940

1709 East King Place


Built in 1940 as the Tulsa headquarters of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation this has been the home of Empire Roofing for a long time. Other than the stone work around the front entrance there is not a lot of Art Deco to it but it is an attractive functional design.


I searched the internet for the architect and some information about the design but could find nothing. If you know more about this building please leave a comment.

William D. Whenthoff Residence, 1935

1142 S. College Avenue


The building is constructed of bricks over tiles blocks, and then painted to look like stucco. This house at 1142 South College Avenue, built in 1935 for William D. Whenthoff by Joseph R. Koberling, architect, was designed in the streamlined ship style with two-stories of brick laid over tile blocks and painted to look like stucco.

A second story balcony serves as a canopy for the entry and wraps around the house. Its triple railing creates the illusion of a ship’s bridge with an exterior ladder running from the second floor to the flat roof. There are two porthole windows, one on the first floor by the entry and the other above the second floor entry. (Excepted from Tulsa Preservation Commission)