Municipal Building - Oklahoma City, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 28.135 W 097° 31.266
14S E 634182 N 3926051
The Oklahoma City Municipal Building was constructed in 1936-37 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and a City bond issue.
Waymark Code: WMJZAF
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 01/21/2014
Views: 7
The Civic Center Music Hall and the Oklahoma County Courthouse were additional buildings constructed under this Civic Center Project. This building was designed by a group of eleven architectural firms known as Allied Architects of Oklahoma City. The building is Art Deco, with Classical Revival stylization, common in public buildings of the era, which came to be known as PWA Deco. It was placed on the National Register in 2007 (#07000521).
This is a four-story buff-colored Bedford limestone building, backed by brick, with a concrete foundation. There is a partially above-ground basement, and the fourth story is recessed and cannot be seen from the street. The building covers an entire city block, flanked by Couch to the North, Hudson to the East, Colcord to the South, with the main entrance facing West on Walker. The east and west elevations are identical, as are the north and south elevations. The grounds are nicely landscaped with trees, shrubs and gardens. On the east side of the building is a large reflecting pool.
The windows are four-panel and the windows above the entrances are covered with cast aluminum grills with geometric patterns. The window sashes were replaced in 2002 for energy efficiency, but retain their original look. The building is embellished with fluted pilasters, highly ornate cornice and high parapets on the east and west. The interior of the building with its marble lobbies and ornate marble stairways is quite a thing to see. Above the entrances the words "MUNICIPAL BUILDING" are etched, as well as these words: "Dedicated to the people of Oklahoma City and for the perpetuation of good government."
The building houses the Oklahoma City offices of the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, Municipal Counselor, City Clerk, City Auditor and the Public Information and Marketing offices.
The WPA-sponsored book, "A Guide to the Sooner State", published in 1941 gives this listing for the building:
THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, between Walker and Hudson Aves., was designed by the Allied Architects of Oklahoma City in harmony with the courthouse and the auditorium both in the use of Bedford limestone for exterior facing and in its modified Romanesque architectural motif. Set, like the other buildings of the group, in the center of a smoothly landscaped square, this three-story-and-basement structure consists of a main section, with six flat fluted columns that rise from the broad steps leading to the first floor lobby to the capitals under the roof, and two perfectly plain attached office sections. In front of the eastward-facing main entrance on Hudson Ave. is a fountain dedicated to the 89'ers, the city's first settlers.