Hotel Bryan - Durant Downtown Historic District - Durant, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 33° 59.429 W 096° 22.561
14S E 742378 N 3764204
Located on the southwest corner of 1st and Main, the Hotel Bryan has a long and illustrious history.
Waymark Code: WMYQXG
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/13/2018
Views: 1
Item No. 57 on the Durant Downtown Historic District nomination is the Hotel Bryan. This is a four-story red brick building, designed by the famous architects Layton, Hicks & Forsyth who also designed the Oklahoma State Capitol building. The hotel has seen many well-known visitors over the years. Bryan County Heritage Library writer Lorna Flangsburg has written about these times:
"The Bryan Hotel was southeastern Oklahoma's center for social and political activities. In the early 1930's when politicians campaigned by rail many local,
state, and national politicians stayed here-Elmer Thomas, Robert Kerr, Carl Albert, Alfalfa Bill Murray, and William Jennings Bryan. The hotel ballroom was the scene of many dances and receptions, and a regular Saturday night poker game was held on the second floor. Nashville entertainers Roy Acuff and Uncle Dave were guests at the hotel in the early 1940's, and Durant's own Pinky Tomlin, known for his hit song "The Object of My Affection" was a guest, on one occasion
driven here from Hollywood by Clark Gable's chauffeur. Pretty Boy
Floyd was a frequent customer in the hotel coffee shop."
The main entrance of the hotel is on the East, facing 1st Avenue. Off-centered in the center bay, the projected entrance has two wood doors with 8 glass panes, under a flat copper canopy. Above this is a stone panel reading "HOTEL BRYAN". This projection is topped with a stone ledge and two cast stone urns. There are nine large fixed triple window units with brick arches. Windows on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors are 1/1 single hung units. All windows on the other elevations are similar. On the north side, however, decorative rows of standing bricks outline each window, with stone blocks at the corners.
Decorative use of two tone colored brick has been used for embellishment. Three-row belt lines encircle the hotel between the first and second levels and beneath the cornice. Groups of three bricks in alternating colors forms a checkerboard design. On the ground floor there are two storefronts which are currently occupied. These each have wood-framed segmented display windows and glass-paned doors. A second hotel entrance divides the storefronts, and is similar to the main entrance.
Within the past few years, the hotel has undergone considerable remodeling and is currently in use as an apartment building.
