Districts in the National Register of Historic Places
Owen Park Historic District
Representative Sample of Properties
- 1. INDIAN MEMORIAL (Owen Park, Maybelle Avenue and Edison Street) 1935
- The inscription on this monument, erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution, reads:”On June 2, 1825, the Osage Nation, under treaty with the United States, granted certain lands to the Government for the use and benefit of the Cherokee and Creek tribes who were being removed from the Southern States. This monument is to commemorate that treaty and to mark that spot where lands of the three great nations joined.”
- 2. WASHINGTON IRVING MONUMENT (Vancouver Ave. and Easton Boulevard) 1915
This monument was erected and donated to the public by Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Norman Wright to commemorate the visit of the great author to this locality on October 14, 1832, in company with a party of U. S. Rangers from Cantonment Gibson. They camped that night about thirteen miles west of this point, near the present town of Wekiwa. - 3. J. P. GOUMAZ HOUSE SITE (NW corner of Brady Street and Santa Fe Avenue) 1890s
- Though the house is no longer there, the view from beneath the oaks on this site is one of the best of the city. One can imagine seeing the orchard and vineyard on the hillside to the north, the great bend of the Arkansas as it flows toward the Council Oak Tree to the south, downtown Tulsa in its infancy to the east, and “to the west, a ruddy glow flushing up from the sky” as Irving described the afternoon sun descending where the Cimarron and Arkansas Rivers meet.
- 4. TULSA ASSOCIATION OF PIONEERS MEMORIAL (Owen Park, Maybelle Avenue and Edison Street) 1935
- The inscription reads:”This monument was erected by the Tulsa Association of Pioneers in honor of the charter members of the association living in Tulsa, Indian Territory and vicinity for thirty years from 1881 to 1921 and other pioneer families.”
The monument was moved from its original location on the Dr. Sam G. Kennedy farm to the north entrance of Owen Park in 1950. Dr. Kennedy was the first president of the Tulsa Association of Pioneers. In 1947, his heirs donated five acres to the Owen Park grounds. The monument bears the names of scores of pioneer families.
- 5. TULSA’S OLDEST SURVIVING HOUSE (Owen Park, Maybelle and Edison) 1880s
This simple rectangular plan, side-gabled house is of the National Folk style predominant during the late nineteenth century. A centered entry door is flanked by two single-frame windows and covered by a colonnaded, open porch with a shed roof. Originally located on the 400 block of North Cheyenne Avenue, this parsonage home of Reverend Sylvester Morris was moved to the present location in 1976 after intruders set fire to it. The fire brought the house to the attention of historian Beryl D. Ford, who found within its plaster walls letters to Morris dated in 1895 and a photograph of the house. Reverend Morris, a Methodist minister, was reportedly shot and killed by lawmen who had mistaken him for a whiskey peddler. His horses continued on home, bearing his body in the carriage.- 6. TULSA VITRIFIED BRICK COMPANY SITE (Owen Park) 1900s
- Providing many bricks for the original paving of Tulsa’s streets, the plant site produced much litigation after its abandonment, including two Oklahoma Supreme Court cases. The brick pit had 75-foot deep banks when a young boy fell into it and drowned in 1954. The city purchased the property and used it for a landfill before capping it with earth from a roadcut through Standpipe Hill. The property was then added to Owen Park.
- 7. VAN DELDON APARTMENTS (544 North Quanah Avenue) 1923
This three-story brick building was constructed by Fred R. Van Deldon. Each floor is a separate apartment with high ceilings, oak and tile floors, and elaborate molding and trim work. They were constantly occupied until the building’s sale to Dr. William G. and Dorothy Chote, who lived in the upper floors and may have used the ground floor as a clinic. After their deaths, the building was vacant for many years. Tulsa attorney Rabon Martin purchased it in 1980 and began restoration. - 8. HART HOUSE (560 North Quanah Avenue) 1923
This home, which is an excellent example of the simple bungalow style that predominates in the neighborhood, has been renovated. The original lap siding was stripped bare and repainted. This accentuated the clean lines of the structure. The view from the open porch is of the Owen Park Lake. A cooling breeze is provided by an attic fan exhaust vent in the porch ceiling, a feature typical of many homes in this area. A date on the bathtub identifies the year 1923 as the approximate date of construction. - 9. VOSBERG HOUSE (532 North Tacoma Avenue) 1920
The distinctive, columned entrance on the long side of this structure sets this house apart from the typical bungalow. The unique rolled roof edges and trim detail present the craftsmanship of the time. The brick steps and walkway on this corner lot have been restored.
- 10. FAIRCHILD HOUSE (232 North Santa Fe Avenue) 1918
This “Belle of the Neighborhood,” was built by Robert E. Downing and is a massive, three-story brick Prairie School style structure with twenty rooms. It has a pretentious three-story gabled center entry tower with Palladian window in the upper story pediment. Both the entry level and third level roofs have gable returns, with the upper level containing sloped returns. A large south wing projects out over a single bay porte cochere with an inner transition bay for movement of people to vehicles. The home was vacated twice after the 1929 stock market crash, and then was vacated again in the 1970s. The house was declared uninhabitable and condemned by the City-County Health Department, but the structure was saved by the courageous efforts of B. J. Atchison. Atchison renovated the home and resided there for nine years. The home was purchased by the Fairchilds in 1985.- 11. COOKE HOUSE (302 North Santa Fe Avenue) 1928
This Craftsman Bungalow style home, with its wonderful detail work, displays the fine skills of the carpenters of the period. This is one of the first homes built in the area. Its features include four-post columns, tapered window trims and redwood siding.