Southwestern Bell Main Dial Building
424 South Detroit Avenue
Built: 1924
GPS
N 36 09.210
W 95 59.211
The first two floors of this well-maintained building were built
in 1924 when the Gothic Style was popular. They were erected to house the new
telephone dial equipment which was first used in Tulsa in November of 1924. Six
years later, in 1930, when Zigzag Art Deco had supplanted the Gothic style, a
four story addition was made. The addition held the division offices and the
toll terminal equipment for the Oklahoma City-Tulsa underground cable.
The facade of the first floor of this light brown brick building is broken by a
series of large, arched windows. These windows are framed in terra cotta,
matching the color of the rather narrow terra cotta quoins and foundation of the
building. The second floor windows are rectangular and separated by brick panels
decorated with ornate terra cotta torches. A vertical pair of terra cotta
shields is located above the torches. Above the second floor the building facade
is broken into a series of stepped-back panels terminating in pinnacles above
the roof line. The windows appear to be recessed panels. The spandrel area,
constructed of buff-colored terra cotta tile with art deco designs, has strong
vertical lines. The pinnacles are also faced with terra cotta tile, as is all of
the building’s ornamentation. Northwestern Terra Cotta Tile Company of Chicago,
the leading manufacturer of these tiles, was the supplier.
the short description was prepared by the Tulsa Preservation Commission
