Skirvin Hotel - Oklahoma City, OK
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member hamquilter
N 35° 28.129 W 097° 30.832
14S E 634838 N 3926050
Built in 1911, the Skirvin Hotel is the oldest existing hotel in Oklahoma.
Waymark Code: WMB5P5
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 04/08/2011
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 7

The Skirvin Hotel was designed by Solomon Layton, the foremost Oklahoma architect in his time. It is in the Classical Tall-Building style. It was originally constructed as a ten-story U-Shaped building with 225 rooms. In 1923, an identical 12-story addition was built to the east. Then, in 1929, both sections were raised to 14 floors, with interior remodeling, for a total of 525 rooms. It is now an E-Shaped building, which allows each room to have an outside window.

This is a brick and limestone building with three identical wings, each separated by a rounded bay. The "Base" of the building consisting of the bottom two floors is covered with marble up to 5 feet, with limestone to the base of the third floor. The "Shaft" consisting of floors 3 to 10 has brown brick in the Flemish bond pattern. Differing shades of brick are used to form decorative patterns. Above this is a beltcourse of limestone separating the shaft from the top four floors. The "Capital" section of the building consists of floors 11 through 14. Floors 11 and 12 are brick with limestone pilasters in a Corinthian style between the windows and at the corners. An elaborate cornice separates these floors from the 13th and 14th floors, which are set-back slightly and have stone parapets with a flame and torch pattern. The 14th floor has a penthouse and roof garden.

After the death of Mr. Skirvin in 1944, the building has had numerous owners and renovations. It was renovated in 1944 and again in 1959 and 1969. An $8 million remodel was conducted in 1974, with remodeling again in 1979. Details of the remodeling work can be found in the Registry nomination. The Skirvin Hotel closed in 1988 and the building stood vacant and deteriorating for many years until the City of Oklahoma City purchased the building, and in partnership with private ownership, arranged for funding for a complete makeover of the hotel. The hotel is currently owned by Marcus Hotels and Resorts and is operated as the Skirvin Hilton. It opened in February 2007 and has 235 rooms and 25,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space. The City retains ownership of the land which it leased to the hotel, so the City can recoup the public funding for the remodeling.

This building is one of the showplaces of Oklahoma and its restoration and current use as a top-class hotel speaks of Oklahoma City's desire to maintain its historic roots as it moves forward into the future.
{Details of the history of this building were obtained from the Registry nomination, and local news articles.]
Street address:
One Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK US
73102


County / Borough / Parish: Oklahoma County

Year listed: 1979

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person, Architecture/Engineering

Periods of significance: 1900-1924

Historic function: Domestic

Current function: Domestic

Privately owned?: yes

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Season start / Season finish: Not listed

Hours of operation: Not listed

Secondary Website 2: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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