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SCHOLARLY ARTICLE An Architectural Icon The Oklahoma Western District’s Federal Courthouse By Barbara Snow Gilbert ts construction survived politics, brothel busting and a little 1950’s style prudery. Now nearing its 50th anniversary, IOklahoma City’s federal courthouse is an underappreciated reflection of its times. 1959 – Only in retrospect is it possible to see in Cuba, putting U.S. soil within easy missile that relatively quiet year as a tipping point. On range of a communist bloc state. And the first the surface, 1959 was all about style, speed and two Americans died in action in Vietnam. progress. “Barbie” made her debut. Cadillacs In short, while on the surface 1959 seemed to sported fins suggesting supersonic speeds. The be all about stylish exuberance, it was in fact a microchip was invented. year in which the first “Old Glory” added two tremors of the monumental stars. Oklahoma City — political and cultural shifts with its endless acres of which would soon openly annexed land for the fracture American society anticipated suburban sprawl could be felt. Perhaps more which was mostly still to than any other governmen- come — perfectly tal body, it would fall to the exemplified America’s federal courts to preside optimism. over the fractious ’60s. Thus, But 1959 had a more sober it was appropriate for rea- side, too. Downtown Okla- sons which no one attend- homa City was at the mid- ing dedication ceremonies point of the country’s longest could then have guessed, running racial sit-in.1 Choices that in 1959 the cornerstone for half the population were was set in Oklahoma City extremely limited: in 1959, for a new United States the University of Okla- courthouse. homa’s law school graduat- Funding ed a class of 88, only two of whom were women; “girls’ By the mid-1950’s, Okla- sports” was an oxymoron. homa City’s federal courts had completely outgrown Not only domestic issues their home in the tradition- threatened the status quo in al, Corinthian-columned 1959. Castro came to power “Unity” figures at east entrance building still known as “the Vol. 78 — No. 2 — 1/13/2007 The Oklahoma Bar Journal 151 old post office building.” But needs are not Cook lived in fear of a news story announcing always met, and the memories of those working “The federal government’s newly acquired with the federal courts at the time confirm the brothel business....” Fortunately for Judge Cook, consistent impression that it was Tenth Circuit the headlines never materialized and the hotel Court of Appeals Judge Alfred P. Murrah who was eventually condemned and boarded up. was the real mover behind the new courthouse.2 ARCHITECTURE Of course, funds for federal courthouses are appropriated by Congress, not judges. It was Bill Gumerson, now owner of his own “design fortunate for the new courthouse’s chances that and build” firm and son of courthouse architect in the mid-’50s, Oklahoma Dow Gumerson, was 11 or 12 was a solidly “blue state.” The years old when his father closed Democrats were running his Enid office and moved his Congress and not only was the only problem family and architectural firm to Oklahoma’s congressional Oklahoma City to work on the delegation almost thoroughly with this plan was that courthouse project. With 157,757 Democratic, it was also thor- square feet of floor space,4 the oughly powerful. A list of the one of the businesses “ building had a 1959 price tag of Democrats representing Okla- $7 million, the equivalent of homa at the time makes the “operating on the land $46,900,000 in today’s dollars.5 point: Sen. Robert S. Kerr and Architect Dow Gumerson Sen. Mike Monroney; repre- included a hotel of designed and engineered the sentatives Ed Edmondson, building, working with Dave John Jarman, Toby Morris, questionable repute. Benham of Benham Engineering Tom Steed and Carl Albert, Company and Affiliates.6 the latter already a member of the House leadership, serving According to the younger from 1952 until 1962 as major- Gumerson, the original architec- ity whip.3 tural plans showed no windows. A windowless building might have been cut- Even after the money was appropriated for ting-edge architecture at the time but more real- the courthouse, however, there were real fears istic heads prevailed and the plans were revised that the building might not materialize. The to include windows although, as built, the win- Republican administration (Eisenhower) was dows are small given the scale of the building. pushing economization measures and the court- The final architectural plans are dated April 23, house’s appropriation was set to expire auto- 1959. A whopping 25 contractors took them out matically if condemnation proceedings were not with an eye toward submitting bids which were finalized within a certain period of time. With opened in Dallas in June of that year.7 Construc- tension in the air, it fell to Senior United States tion time was estimated at two years.8 District Judge H. Dale Cook, then serving as first assistant United States attorney for the Western And what was the result of all that time and District of Oklahoma, to complete the necessary money? A currently under-appreciated building “takings” proceedings before United States Dis- which today, like much other mid-century archi- trict Judge Stephen S. Chandler. tecture, many people love to hate. Bill Gumer- son is a straight enough talker to put it bluntly: It was a tricky assignment. For one thing, “The ’50s were a time of ugly architecture.” No Assistant U.S. Attorney Cook was under one else polled about the courthouse went that instructions to take title to the allotted half-block far, but comments ranged from “nondescript,” of land in the name of the United States quickly to “concrete box,” to “at least it’s better than so that the appropriation would not expire. He Tulsa’s federal courthouse.” Perhaps Dow was also instructed, however, that the United Gumerson’s own description is the preferred States was not to take actual possession of the one. In a 1959 article he described the building’s property until construction was ready to start. “new look” as “dignified contemporary style.”9 This was so that businesses located on the property could operate as long as possible. The only None of the people interviewed for this arti- problem with this plan was that one of the busi- cle, most of whom were practicing law in one nesses operating on the land included a hotel of form or another in downtown Oklahoma City in questionable repute. Assistant U.S. Attorney 1959, recalls any reluctance on the part of the 152 The Oklahoma Bar Journal Vol. 78 — No. 2 — 1/13/2007 Oklahoma City bench or bar to abandon the modernism was the pre-eminent architectural Beaux-Arts classicism of the old post office design style, and for leaders of the profession it building and move across the alley to the new was really the only acceptable style. Architects federal courthouse.10 Magistrate Judge Ronald L. who worked in the modern movement’s Howland’s memory spans the move from one international, minimalist and brutalist building to the other. As a former clerk for Unit- styles designed simple, unornamented build- ed States District Judge Fred A. Daugherty, ings. Such buildings were often formed with Magistrate Judge Howland recalls that the new blockish, geometric and repetitive shapes courthouse was not yet open for business when like those which compose the federal Judge Daugherty was sworn into service as a courthouse. federal judge in late 1961, but that not long after Love it or hate it, the federal courthouse is that date the Western District moved.11 The undeniably boxy.17 But it is the heft of the build- records corroborate Magistrate Judge How- ing’s mass and its clean, straightforward (okay, land’s memory, showing the courthouse open boxy) lines which give the building its solemn for business by 1962.12 According to Magistrate character, appropriate for a courthouse. Judge Howland, there was Although difficult to appre- no controversy over the ciate unless viewed as a courthouse’s boxy style. whole from a distance, the Instead, he remembers courthouse’s front (north) everyone’s excitement facade is a symmetrical over coming to court in composition consisting of a the state-of-the-art build- center section faced in ing which downtown granite and set off with ver- lawyers referred to as tical limestone dividers. “heading up the hill.” These dividers contrast (Perhaps only in Okla- with the granite and serve homa could the rise as a modern version of between downtown and pilasters.18 The center sec- federal court be described tion is flanked by undeco- as a hill.) rated side sections whose One of the building’s smooth limestone finish is most substantive innova- punctuated by rows of win- tions was that it provided dows. large pre-trial conference Bill Gumerson states that rooms for each district his father was concerned judge.13 In 1959, pre-trial that the large scale of the conferences, with their federal courthouse not potential for streamlining overwhelm the old post cases and settlement, were office building immediate- a relatively new concept Use of polished surfaces at front entrance: ly to the south. The two being pushed by the West- black marble, granite, glass and aluminum buildings share the same ern District judges.14 city block, and architect According to the upbeat Gumerson may have kept patter of one article, the more than the idea was that these large rooms, “[m]uch on the scale of the old post office building in mind order of a library” and “adjoining [each judge’s] when he drew his plans.

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