Oklahoma County Courthouse

Oklahoma County Courthouse in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma was designed by prominent Oklahoma architect Solomon Layton and partners George Forsyth and Jewel Hicks[2] of the firm Layton & Forsyth, and was built in 1937. It replaced the original courthouse that was built with $100,000 in bonds issued and located at the intersection of California and Robinson at 520 West Main Street in the 1900s.

Oklahoma County Courthouse
Location321 Park Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Coordinates35°28′8″N 97°31′14″W
Area1.3 acres (0.53 ha)
Built byManhattan Construction Co.
ArchitectLayton & Forsyth
Architectural styleArt Deco
MPSCounty Courthouses of Oklahoma TR
NRHP reference No.92000126[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 5, 1992

The building is located at 321 Park Avenue[3] It cost $1.5 million paid for with a bond issue and money from the Public Works Administration (PWA), "a federal program to create jobs in The Great Depression.[4]

The 11-floor concrete courthouse building is considered art deco / art moderne and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[5] Quotes are inscribed in the "sandy-brown Indiana limestone" and a carved mural depicts "a scene of Oklahoma friendship" between a Native American figure and a Mountain Man.[4]

The building is said to be "loosely abstracted from stepped-back Mayan temples" and includes a two-story lobby with terrazzo floor with a compass design as well as abstracted wagon wheel chandeliers and third story overlooks.[4] In 1967 a modern architecture building was constructed next to the courthouse and connected by a walkway.

The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1992.[1]

See also

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Carla Breeze, American Art Deco: Architecture and Regionalism (W. W. Norton & Company, 2003), ISBN 978-0-393-01970-4, pp. 19, 113 (excerpts available at Google Books).
  3. "A Brief History of Oklahoma County Government." OklahomaCounty.org. Accessed 2009 September 17.
  4. John Parker The Oklahoma County Courthouse Oklahoma County website (Originally published in the June 2004 issue of Oklahoma City Downtown Monthly
  5. Oklahoma County Courthouse Emporis
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