Holy City of the Wichitas - Lawton, OK
N 34° 44.560 W 098° 35.467
14S E 537428 N 3844582
The Holy City of the Wichitas has the longest running Easter Pagent in America.
Waymark Code: WMNT1F
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 04/28/2015
Views: 6
The Holy City is a great place to visit while in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. It is open year round from 8 a.m. to sunset. You can visit the chapel and climb around the buildings while learning the story of Jesus. There is a gift shop and restrooms available as well. There is also a museum under the chapel.
Excert from website:
This Holy City started as an Easter Passion Play in the Wichita Mountains in 1926. The impetus behind both the pageant and city was the late Reverend Anthony Mark Wallock. He was born in 1890 in Austria. He immigrated to the United States with his parents at two years of age. After completing ministerial studies at the Garret Biblical Institute, Wallock served at several churches before coming to Lawton as pastor of the First Congregational Church. In 1926, he took his Sunday school class up a mountain where a tableau of the Resurrection was presented. The popularity of this service led it to become an annual event. In 1927, the service became nonsectarian, and was referred to by the Lawton Constitution as "Oklahoma's Oberammergau."
Each year the Passion Play expanded its cast and worshipers. In 1930, it attracted 6,000 people. By 1931, the congregation has swelled to 15,000 with 150 cast members, and by 1934, 40,000 worshipers came. Because of the event's popularity, it received a grant of $94,000 from "federal funds [that were] unconditionally set aside for the Wichita Mountains Easter Pageant." The first buildings were completed by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA); they included walls and gateway to Jerusalem, Calvary's Mount, the Temple Court, Pilate's Judgment Hall, Watch Towers, Garden of Gethsemane, dressing rooms and rock shrines. A ceremony to dedicate the Holy City was held in 1935, when the cast for Easter Sunrise Service had grown to 1,200, which included an a capella choir, and Knights Templar from all over the state.
In 1936, more facilities were completed: The Lord's Supper Building, Herod's Court, a lodge, control room, and others. The chapel was built to resemble America's oldest church, Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, where George Washington worshiped. Irene Malcolm donated several years of her life to create Biblical murals and paintings on the ceilings and walls.
A radio broadcast of the pageant took place in 1936, during which a telegram from President Franklin D. Roosevelt was read. That year 2,000 cast members came from 65 cities and towns, and there was a congregation of 100,000. Thousands of tourists have come each year to see the city and the chapel, where various types of chapel services are held, including weddings.
The citizens of Lawton elected Wallock as the Outstanding Citizen of 1938. The following year, the state of Oklahoma included Wallock in its Hall of Fame. He died in 1948. Following Wallock's last wishes, a white marble statue of Christ, eleven feet high, was erected in 1975. The Oklahoma Historical Society nominated the Holy City for the National Register of Historic Places. A new use permit was issued in 1996, not expiring until 2021.
Project type: Park structure/building (other than lodge)
Date built or created: 1936
Location: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
City: Lawton
Condition: Good upkeep with a little wear and tear
Website for additional information: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
To help give a different perspective and to better the waymark for future visitors please tell us about your visit and upload a favorite photograph you took of the waymark.
Although visiting this waymark in person is the only thing required of you to receive credit for your visit, taking the time to add this information is greatly appreciated.