Harmon Stadium - Okmulgee, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 37.044 W 095° 57.880
15S E 231478 N 3945561
This was quite an undertaking when it was built in 1936. It was the pride of the town of Okmulgee.
Waymark Code: WMBJ8P
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 05/25/2011
Views: 2
HARMON STADIUM, 600 E. 12th St., is a modern amphitheater, enclosing a softball field, cabpable of seating 5000 spectators; it is also used for track meets. [A Guide to the Sooner State, 1941].
Harmon Athletic Field was a WPA project, begun in 1935 and completed in 1936. Spectators enter the field through a south entrance. A 24 ft. wide archway reads "HARMON FIELD." The arch is supported by two stone-covered posts.
On either side of the entry are two ticket booths, and as you walk into the area on a 25 ft. wide flagstone walkway, you pass a concession stand on either side. These stands are currently used for storage. Beyond that is a concrete grandstand, 96 ft. deep and 242 ft. wide, set in 31 tiers.
On either side of the entrance are two stone field houses. Originally, these were dressing rooms, but are now used as rest rooms. These buildings and the ticket booths have buff-colored, rough-cut native stone blocks from the ground to the water table. with smooth, randomly shaped stones in varying natural colors above. On the front of the east field house, darker stones have been set above each window to read "W P A".
The hipped roof which originally had asbestos shingles now has metal roof siding, orange in color. In 1940, additional WPA work was completed, adding a stone wall, an additional concession building and a band shell which no longer exists.
This was quite a treasure when first built, and it is still used today by the Okmulgee High School.