Kingfisher Memorial Hall -Kingfisher, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 51.720 W 097° 56.030
14S E 596259 N 3969167
Built in 1921, this building is a World War I memorial, and still in use for various town uses.
Waymark Code: WM14M2R
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/24/2021
Views: 2
Memorial Hall stands on the southeast corner of W. Miles and N. 7th. It was constructed in 1921 for a cost of $74,000, funded by a citywide bond issue. It was built as a war memorial for World War I military. It was designed by well-known Layton, Smith & Forsyth, architects for many important buildings in the state, including the Oklahoma state capitol building in Oklahoma City.
This is a two-story brick building. The north end of the building is two stories and consists of offices. To the south of this is a large auditorium/meeting room. Over the years, the building has housed the city offices (from 1922-1876), Kingfisher County offices (1959-1960), the fire department from 1922-1976) and the American Legion. Today, it houses the Chamber of Commerce, the Probation and Parole office and the American Legion. The auditorium area was used for high school basketball games until the 1930s, and plays, dances, concerts and lectures into the 1970s.
The main entrance to the office section has a single glass door, with sidelights and transom, beneath an arched cast concrete entabulature reading "Erected A. D. 1921". All windows on this elevation are set in doubles and are wood-framed 6-over-6 double hung units. This part of the building has a flat roof with a concrete cornice. Beneath the cornice, the frieze is engraved "MEMORIAL HALL". A concrete belt course runs across the facade above the second floor windows. The entrance is accessed by an 8-step staircase with iron railings. On the east side of this elevation is a one-story attached portion that once housed the fire department. The overhead door has been infilled and is now part of the office space.
On the west elevation, the slightly higher two-story office section is attached to the two-story auditorium, which has a slightly gabled roof. Windows on this side are also set in double with 6-over-6 panes. The 7-step entrance stairs lead to double doors recessed into the brick face. The south side of this auditorium has similar windows which have been painted over.
The office lobby has marble flooring, and has a decorative bronze plaque honoring the Kingfisher area veterans who served in World War I. The American Legion meets upstairs in the building, and also has a meeting room with displays in the auditorium section. The building was placed on the National Register in 2006.