Pierce Block
National Register of Historic Places

Pierce Block

Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Listed
December 11, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Colonial
Ref No.
79002033

About this property

The Pierce Block is a historic building in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma on the northeast corner of Third Street and Detroit Avenue, that was constructed as a hotel in 1909. According to the Tulsa Preservation Commission, it is the oldest remaining post-statehood hotel in Tulsa. Originally it was a few blocks west of the Midland Valley Railroad passenger station, which was at Third and Greenwood Avenue. The building architecture is Plains Commercial style. According to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) application, it was used continuously as a hotel for seventy years. The hotel was on the second and third floors. The ground floor was largely devoted to retail space and housed the Mammoth Credit Company clothing store until 1929. The Midland Valley station was closed and subsequently demolished after all passenger railroad services transferred to the Union Depot in 1931. Building tenants included primarily a succession of printing companies after 1948. Later, the retail space was occupied successively by a paint and wallpaper store, a vending machine company and a billiard parlor. From 2005 to 2013, it contained the sales offices of KOTV and KQCW television, owned by Griffin Communications; KOTV's Tulsa studios were not large enough to house the entire operation until new facilities were completed in 2013. Mimosa Tree Capital Partners acquired the Pierce Block in late 2012, shortly before Griffin vacated the premises. The building is a utilitarian design, with a painted brick exterior. The ground level has store-front windows with clerestories (which have since been enclosed), and a recessed entrance with a single door and fanlight for the hotel. Over the doorway is a stone inscribed "Pierce Block 1909". A stone string visually divides the first and second floors. The second story has nine arched windows, while the third story has rectangular windows that are defined by horizontal bands. Horizontal brick bands create a false front for the flat roof. The Detroit Avenue elevation has two openings, a freight door and a store display window (now covered with boards. The Pierce Block is the second oldest structure in Tulsa listed on the National Register of Historic Places (the oldest being the Dawson School). Its NRIS number is 79002033.

Location

301 E. 3rd St.
Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma
36.15505, -95.98731

Categories

COMMERCEARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Mincks-Adams Hotel
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Southwestern Bell Main Dial Building
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Blue Dome Historic District (Additional Documentation)
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0.2 mi
Tulsa Municipal Building
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Questions about this property

When was Pierce Block listed on the National Register?

Pierce Block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Pierce Block?

Pierce Block is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Pierce Block?

The period of significance for Pierce Block is recorded as the colonial era, specifically around 1909.

Can I research the history near Pierce Block?

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