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 | |
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 Interactive map showing the location of Oklahoma County Courthouse | |
| Location | 321 Park Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°28′8″N 97°31′14″W / 35.46889°N 97.52056°W |
| Area | 1.3 acres (0.53 ha) |
| Built by | Manhattan Construction Co. |
| Architect | Layton & Forsyth |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| MPS | County Courthouses of Oklahoma TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 92000126[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 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
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ 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).
- ^ "A Brief History of Oklahoma County Government." OklahomaCounty.org. Accessed 2009 September 17.
- ^ a b c John Parker The Oklahoma County Courthouse Oklahoma County website (Originally published in the June 2004 issue of Oklahoma City Downtown Monthly
- ^ Oklahoma County Courthouse[usurped] Emporis