Original SHS Nominated for National Registry Listing
By Ken Childers
Editor, The Seminole Producer
One of the most iconic buildings in central Oklahoma, if not the entire state, is one step away from being recognized as a national treasure. The original Seminole High School building on Timmons Street has been nominated for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as well as the Oklahoma State Register of Historic Places. The nomination was made Thursday by the Historic Preservation Committee, which meets four times per year in Oklahoma City.
Final approval rests with the National Park Service, which within 45 days from the date of nomination, will either list the property in the NRHP, find it ineligible, issue a formal determination of eligibility, or return the nomination for revision.
The building has been vacant since 2015 when the school board, citing safety issues, voted to move students to what was then known as the Dan Boren Business Development Center on Strother Avenue.
In the fall of 2017, voters approved a $21.66 million bond proposal to build a new high school on Highway 9, just west of Seminole State College. The new school opened its doors in January 2020.
The “old” high school still holds a special place in the hearts of SHS alumni, including Dr. Larry Inman, who graduated in 1972. “I am delighted to hear that the SHS building on Timmons has been nominated to be listed on the historical building registry,” Inman said. “Thousands of people, including many of our family, have walked through those hallowed halls since 1930. I will always remember more than the building, those educators that influenced me through their academic teaching and their life example. But now, because of the building’s preservation, others can draw on its rich past, knowing that from these classrooms went forth SHS alumni that influence this world in so many ways.”
In June 2020, the building was declared a surplus asset by the school board and was put on the market via an open bid process. GuRuStu Communities, a real estate development company located in Tulsa, submitted the sole bid of $150,000. The company hopes to renovate the former educational space into a loft-style apartment complex. Inclusion on the national registry could mean funding in the form of state historic and housing tax credits for the developer.
“I think this is another positive step closer to launching the [GuRuStu] project at the Seminole High School building,” said Dr. Bob Gragg, Superintendent. GuRuStu would keep the school auditorium intact and open it for public events, Gragg added.
The former high school was designed by the architectural firm of Hawk and Parr, which also designed the Seminole Municipal Building. Other properties located in Seminole that are listed on the NRHP (as of Dec. 31, 2021) include the Grisso Mansion, the Home Stake Oil & Gas Company Building, the Seminole Municipal Building and the Strother Memorial Chapel.
