City Place is a mixed-use tower skyscraper in downtown

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of Oklahoma. At 440 ft (134m), it is the 4th tallest building in the city and has 33 floors. Finished in 1931, it was Oklahoma City's tallest building for a short time before it lost the title to

First National Center First National Center, formerly known as First National Bank Building, is a prominent mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City. The art deco tower is 406 feet (136 m) tall at the roof, and is 446 feet (150 m) at its spire and contains 33 ...

in the same year. In 2010, the top seven floors were converted into six

condos A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

; the penthouse condo occupies the top two floors. It is currently the 8th tallest building in Oklahoma.

History

Constructed as the Ramsey Tower in 1931 by oilman W.R. Ramsey, City Place was involved in the "Great Race" with the First National Tower to become the first to top out, a race that Ramsey won. The building was constructed in nine months by the

Starrett Corporation Starrett Corporation, formerly known as Starrett Brothers, Inc. and Starrett Brothers and Eken, is a real estate development and construction firm known for having built the Empire State Building, Stuyvesant Town, Starrett City and Trump Tower in N ...

, known for the construction of the Empire State Building. Ramsey's fortunes were short-lived, victim of the Great Depression, and the building was soon leased to the Anderson-Prichard Company ( APCO) and the APCO Tower Corporation was formed where J. Steve Anderson served as President. The building was later leased to Liberty National Bank, who remained its primary tenant until completion of the Liberty Tower in 1971. During Liberty's tenure, a skybridge was constructed at the 16th floor, connecting it to the Dowell Center. The bridge was, at the time, the highest such structure in the world. After Liberty Bank moved out, City National Bank moved in and constructed what was once the building's most distinctive feature, a rooftop marquee, which was removed when the building was renovated in the 1980s. Another unique feature of City Place is the original fire escape, which is still in use. It consists of a spiral slide traveling the full height of the building. This was supplemented by a traditional staircase during Liberty Bank's tenure. Previous names of the building are: Ramsey Tower, APCO Tower, Liberty Bank Tower, City National Tower, Sonic Plaza, and First City Place.

Architecture

Although it was constructed in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style in 1931, the building was renovated in the 1980s, modifying its architectural style by giving it a massive rooftop marquee, now removed. The building was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager and Claire Drury.

Notable tenants

Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort, a real estate firm with ties to

Cantor Fitzgerald Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. is an American financial services firm that was founded in 1945. It specializes in institutional equity, fixed income sales and trading, and serving the middle market with investment banking services, prime brokerage, an ...

and

BGC Partners BGC Partners is an American global financial services company based in New York City and London. Originally formed as part of the larger Cantor Fitzgerald organization, BGC Partners became its own entity in 2004. History 1945–1990 In 1945, ...

.About Us
newmarklsb.com (Accessed August 16, 2018) Anderson Prichard Oil Corporation

Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office The Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office is an agency of the government of Oklahoma. The Land Office was created by the Oklahoma Constitution and is responsible for managing and controlling lands and funds granted to the state under the pro ...

Oklahoma Department of Securities

UMB Financial Corporation UMB Financial Corporation is an American financial services holding company founded in 1913 as City Center Bank and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It offers a number of financial services from checking and savings accounts, credit services inclu ...

, based in Kansas City, Missouri, has offices in the building.

References

External links

City Place Official Website
{{Oklahoma City skyscrapers Art Deco architecture in Oklahoma Art Deco skyscrapers Office buildings completed in 1931 Skyscraper office buildings in Oklahoma City Residential skyscrapers in Oklahoma City 1931 establishments in Oklahoma

History

Architecture

Notable tenants

See also

References

External links