Mid-Continent Tower

Mid-Continent Tower
Mid-Continent Tower (right) in 2005
General information
Type	Office
Location	401 South Boston Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma
Coordinates	36°09′09″N 95°59′20″W / 36.152603°N 95.989006°W / 36.152603; -95.989006Coordinates: 36°09′09″N 95°59′20″W / 36.152603°N 95.989006°W / 36.152603; -95.989006
Completed	1984
Height	513 ft (156 m)
Technical details
Floor count	36
Cosden Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Built:	1918
Architectural style:	Sullivanesque[2]
NRHP Reference#:	79002029[1]
Added to NRHP:	February 1, 1979

The Mid-Continent Tower is a 36-story skyscraper located at 401 South Boston Avenue in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. At 156 meters (513 ft) in height, it is the fourth-tallest building in Tulsa and in Oklahoma. Faced with bright white terra cotta and crowned with a distinctive copper roof, it is one of the city's most recognizable buildings.

History

Cosden Building

The Mid-Continent Tower started out as the 16-story Cosden Building, built for oil baron Joshua Cosden in 1918. The Cosden Building was built on the site of the first Tulsa schoolhouse, which was established as a mission in 1885 on Creek Indian land.^[2] The Cosden Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.^[1]

Conversion to Mid-Continent Tower

The building was restored in 1980, and in 1984 a new 20-story tower was cantilevered over it, bringing the total number of floors to 36. The tower appears to rest on the Cosden Building, but it is actually supported by an addition built onto the east side of the older structure. The entire project was designed to resemble the style of the Cosden Building as closely as possible, giving the impression of a unified whole even though the two sections of the building were constructed 66 years apart.

The building was the home of energy company Reading & Bates until it moved to Houston in 1989. The company's departure led the building into foreclosure, receivership, and an extended legal dispute that was resolved only in 2011, when the building was sold to Tulsa real estate investors John and Chris Bumgarner.^[3][4]

Images

The Cosden Building prior to 1984  The Mid-Continent Tower in 2006

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Cosden Building". Tulsa Preservation Commission. http://tulsapreservationcommission.org/nationalregister/buildings/index.pl?id=15. Retrieved 20 June 2011. 
3. ^ Kirby Lee Davis, "Mid-Continent Tower, a highlight of Tulsa's nighttime skyline", The Journal Record, January 14, 2008.
4. ^ Robert Evatt, "Mid-Continent Tower's sale ends litigation in Tulsa", Tulsa World, October 6, 2011.

External links

• Official site
• Emporis.com
• Tulsa Preservation Commission

Preceded by Petroleum Building

Tallest Building in Tulsa 1918—1925 56m

Succeeded by Mayo Hotel