Oklahoma City is home to an exquisite array of architectural styles, and all you have to do to see them is step outside and look around. You’ll find stunning, landmark buildings throughout downtown and the State Capitol campus, as well as neighborhoods filled with masterful architectural specimens, from ornate Victorian to sleek contemporary and everything in between. Hop on your bike or plan a Sunday drive, and enjoy the diverse and beautiful architecture that tells the story of Oklahoma City.
Art Deco
Most popular from about 1925 to 1940, Art Deco architecture has a sleek, linear appearance with stylized, usually geometric embellishment. Rectangular forms are often broken up by curved elements. Simple, clean and streamlined are terrific descriptors for Art Deco.
In Oklahoma City, the majestic First National Center, built in 1933 and located at 120 N. Robinson Ave., is one of our state’s crown jewels. Another, just a few blocks away, is City Hall, 200 N. Walker Ave. Residential examples in the Art Deco style are scattered through the Urban Core and include 801 NW 40th St. and a pocket of homes in the 2500 block of NW 24th St.
Art Deco with Neoclassical Features
Constructed in 1937 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016, the Civic Center Music Hall is a six-story hub for performing arts of every description. Inside are two theaters and gorgeous event spaces, including the Meinders Hall of Mirrors, with its lovely parquet wood floors and well-preserved 1930s styling.
Beaux Arts
The Oklahoma State Capitol is classically designed in the Beaux Arts tradition, completed in 1917, just three years after its groundbreaking ceremony. Beaux Arts architecture is named for the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where this popular style was taught in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many government and institutional buildings were built in this style. It’s regal, a little imposing and symmetrical, with graceful proportions. The Capitol is a great example and is open to the public for free tours on weekdays.
Brutalist
This style, easily recognizable by its use of concrete in bold, monolithic shapes, often embellished with stamped designs, has become a recent source of fascination thanks in part to the 2024 period drama The Brutalist. A great example of Brutalist architecture in OKC is St. Patrick Catholic Church, 2121 N. Portland Ave. In 1958, the congregation had no sanctuary. They hired Tulsa architect Robert Lawton Jones, who designed a concrete building, embellished with stamped angels and surrounded by a glassed-in sanctuary. The St. Patrick congregation worked together on evenings and weekends for two years to build their church, which opened in 1962.
Contemporary
Like many architectural terms, “contemporary” is an umbrella term used to describe a multitude of modern styles. Contemporary buildings might be brand new, or they might be nearly a century old. Some key elements of contemporary architecture are large, abundant windows, asymmetry, free-form shapes, straight lines, unconventional structure systems and strong geometry.
An award-winning contemporary structure, which also happens to house a world-class art museum, is Oklahoma Contemporary, 11 NW 11th St. A terrific neighborhood to take in a variety of contemporary homes is the SoSA/Cottage District neighborhood, bound roughly by Classen Boulevard, Walker Street, NW 6th Street and NW 10th Street. In SoSA, a keen eye will also spot some Brutalist homes.
Googie
Googie is a style that’s all about daring shapes, bold colors, dramatic angles and a space-age vibe that reached its zenith in the 1950s and 60s. Motifs include atoms, boomerang shapes, neon signage and exuberance. Gas stations, coffee shops and other everyday spaces were frequently executed in Googie style. It was intentionally designed for the everyman as approachable and whimsical.
Great examples of Googie style in Oklahoma City are Founders Tower, Classen Inn & Superette and Arvest Bank. A smattering of Googie and Googie-inspired office buildings can be found on North Classen, between NW 23rd St. and Northwest Expressway.
Mid-Mod
Midcentury modern style, also referred to as mid-mod, took root after World War II, from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. Mid-mod is characterized by clean, sleek lines and an open feel, with a dash of Atomic Age flair. It’s a style enamored by the possibilities of the future.
Great examples of midcentury modern design in Oklahoma City include St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 222 NW 15th St., and the Gold Dome building at NW 23rd St. and Classen Boulevard, soon to be preserved and reimagined as a performance venue.
Spanish Mission/Spanish Revival
The most recent addition to OKC’s collection of Spanish Mission-style buildings is the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. Inside the 6,000-square-foot pilgrim center, visitors will find its museum and gift shop, both open daily. The museum highlights the story of Blessed Stanley Rother’s life and mission. Also referred to as Spanish Colonial Revival or Spanish Revival, this style is most often associated with Southern California and Florida. However, pockets of this curvy, stucco-clad genre exist around the country. Painted tile, curved stairways, terra cotta roof tiles, belfries and turrets, and arched doors and windows are hallmarks of Spanish Revival style.
A fun, walkable example of Spanish Revival architecture is Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District, specifically Paseo Boulevard between NW 29th Street and N. Walker Avenue. An added bonus is the plethora of restaurants, artists’ galleries and shops now housed there, making the Paseo a great place to spend an afternoon or evening.
Traditional
This is an umbrella term used to describe architectural styles like Colonial, Federal, Georgian, Dutch Revival, Greek Revival and Tudor Revival. Homes articulated in traditional architectural styles are most often two stories. Hallmarks include symmetry, columns, friezes and relatively steeply pitched roofs.
Oklahoma City neighborhoods filled with exquisite traditional specimens include Heritage Hills, Mesta Park and Crown Heights.
Victorian
Victorian architecture, whose heyday was between 1830 and 1910, is ornate. We mean REALLY ornate. Scalloped details, patterned brickwork, wide porches, intricate millwork and embellishment on top of embellishment are all components of Victorian style, which encompasses a number of sub-genres: Folk Victorian, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Chateauesque, Second Empire and Gothic Revival.
A terrific example of Victorian architecture, specifically the Chateauesque/Queen Anne iteration, is the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, 405 NW 15th St. Another is the Maney Historic District, 725 NW 11th St. and 1200 and 1224 N. Shartel Ave., which consists of three homes: Maney House, the Day House and the Smelser House. It’s the Maney House lovers of Victorian architecture will want to focus on. The others are significant but are executed in bungalow style (Smelser) and simple two-story frame (Day).
Experience OKC’s architectural history firsthand by staying in one of our historic hotels and other unique places to stay.
