The 320 South Boston Building (formerly known as the National Bank of Tulsa Building) is a 22-story high-rise building located in

downtown Tulsa Downtown Tulsa is an area of approximately surrounded by an inner-dispersal loop created by Interstate 244, US 64, and US 75. The area serves as Tulsa's financial and business district, and is the focus of a large initiative to draw tourism, wh ...

, Oklahoma. It was originally constructed at the corner of Third Street and Boston Avenue as a ten-story headquarters building for the Exchange National Bank of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1917, and expanded to its present dimensions in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

.Historic Tulsa: The Bank at 320 South Boston
/ref> The addition brought the building's height to 400 feet (122 m), making it the tallest building in Oklahoma. It lost this distinction in 1931, but remained the tallest building in Tulsa until Fourth National Bank (today Bank of America Center) was completed in 1967. It is now included in the

Oil Capital Historic District The Oil Capital Historic District (OCHD) is an area in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma that commemorates the success of the oil business in Tulsa during the early 20th century. During this period, Tulsa was widely known as "The Oil Capital of the Worl ...

Description and history

The building sits on the west side of Boston Avenue and extends a full city block between Third and Fourth Streets. The Beaux Arts-style building was designed by

Oscar Wenderoth Oscar Wenderoth (1871–1938) was an American architect who served as director of the Office of the Supervising Architect from 1912 to 1915. He is identified as the architect of many government buildings built during that period, including some li ...

of the Chicago architectural firm of the

Weary & Alford Company Weary and Alford Company was an American architectural firm with partners Edwin Delos Weary and Willam Headley Alford. The firm was known for its design of office buildings and bank buildings and was headquartered in Chicago. The firm also emplo ...

. It is covered in brick with terra cotta trim. The lower two stories are covered in terra cotta. The central tower is stepped at the 20th floor, with a two-story arcade section, which is topped by a temple fronted section. A cupola tops the section.National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Oil Capital Historic District.
Retrieved June 19, 2014. For many years, the cupola was illuminated by floodlights whose color changed according to the latest weather forecast. Green light meant a fair weather forecast, while red lights signified an approaching storm. In 1933, Exchange National Bank reorganized and renamed itself as the National Bank of Tulsa. Thereafter, the building was known as the National Bank of Tulsa Building (or NBT Building), until the bank renamed itself as Bank of Oklahoma (BOK). The BOK moved to its newly constructed

BOK Tower BOK Tower (named for the Bank of Oklahoma; formerly known as One Williams Center) is a skyscraper in Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. At 203 m (667 ft) in height, the 52-story tower was the tallest building in Oklahoma until surpassed by Devo ...

in 1977. The NBT Building reverted to its former 320 South Boston Building name and became a general office building. Among the tenants ar
Hall Estill
one of Oklahoma's largest law firms. In 1949, Tulsa television station KOTV erected its first transmitter atop the building. During construction, a worker's wrench fell and struck a woman on the street below, killing her. KOTV continued to broadcast from the building until a taller tower was constructed in 1954. A longstanding urban myth regarding the pinnacle of 320 South Boston Building erroneously reported that the tower was designed as a

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

mooring. The myth, often propagated by local media, stated that the pinnacle was used at least once when a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

Zeppelin moored there in the 1930s. The top of the building was illuminated for weather alerts, with flashing red lights in the event of an approaching storm. The architect was

George Winkler George Winkler (1869 – 1962) was an American architect who practiced in Pennsylvania, Florida and Oklahoma from 1903 to 1953. Background and career Winkler was born in Donegal, Pennsylvania, in 1869 and was educated at Curry College in Pittsb ...

, who also designed the

Mayo Hotel The Mayo Hotel is a historic hotel opened in 1925, located at 115 West 5th Street in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. History Early years The Mayo Hotel was built in 1925, designed by architect George Winkler, and financed by John D. and Cass A. Mayo.R ...

Notes

References

External links

Official siteEmporis
{{Tulsa skyscrapers Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Tulsa, Oklahoma Historic district contributing properties in Oklahoma National Register of Historic Places in Tulsa, Oklahoma Office buildings completed in 1917 Skyscraper office buildings in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Description and history

See also

Notes

References

External links