320 South Boston Building

Coordinates: 36°09′11″N 95°59′23″W / 36.1530°N 95.9898°W / 36.1530; -95.9898
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

320 South Boston Building
Weary & Alford Company

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

Oil Capital Historic District
.

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

Weary & Alford Company. 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.[4] 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.[a]

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 in 1977. The NBT Building reverted to its former 320 South Boston Building name and became a general office building. Among the tenants are 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.[6] 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

U.S. Navy Zeppelin moored there in the 1930s.[8]

The top of the building was illuminated for weather alerts, with flashing red lights in the event of an approaching storm.[9][10]

The architect was George Winkler, who also designed the Mayo Hotel.[2]

See also

  • List of tallest buildings in Tulsa

Notes

  1. ^ A postcard published before 1967 showed that green light meant fair, flashing green indicated that rain was approaching, red indicated that a sudden temperature change was coming, and flashing red signified a severe storm alert.[5]

References

  1. ^ "320 South Boston Building". Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Historic Tulsa: The Bank at 320 South Boston
  3. ^ Emporis
  4. ^ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Oil Capital Historic District. Archived 2014-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  5. ^ "Tulsa Banks:The Farmers/Exchange/NBT/BOk." Tulsa Gal blog. January 22, 2012. Accessed July 15, 2015.
  6. ^ "Tulsa TV history thesis, Chapter 2".
  7. ^ Underwood, Bill (February 26, 1997). "320 South Boston." Tulsa World.
  8. ^ Clark, Richard. "Throwback Thursday: The Legend Of Tulsa's Airship Mooring Mast." Newson6.com. (April 16, 2015) [1]
  9. ^ "Throwback Tulsa: Weather Teller beamed color-coded forecast over downtown".
  10. ^ "Tulsa TV Weather".

External links

36°09′11″N 95°59′23″W / 36.1530°N 95.9898°W / 36.1530; -95.9898

Preceded by
Tallest Building in Tulsa

1928—1967
122m 		Succeeded by
Bank of America Center
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