Fairgrounds Livestock Exchange Building – Chickasha

Address:	500 East Choctaw Avenue Chickasha, OK 73018	County:	Seminole
Started:		Completed:	1940
Agencies:	WPA	NRHP:	No

Current Usage:

Description:

“The Livestock Exchange Building is located on the Grady County Fairgrounds, at 500 E. Choctaw, east of downtown Chickasha. The primary fairground buildings are this livestock arena, and an administration building to the north.

The livestock building was originally constructed as an open air arena, with stalls, offices, and a grandstand. A photo of the arena as it stood for so many years is shown in the gallery. A major renovation was completed in 2000, and a roof was erected over the arena. The native sandstone walls were preserved, inside and out, and the upper walls were finished with stucco and metal siding. The stone building has tall windows – some are 8/1 hung, and some are 18-pane fixed. Glass blocks are used as decoration on curved portions of the wall, and above the entrance on the high facade.

The building contains 69,680 square feet and measures 268 x 260 ft. The dirt arena is 120 x 240 ft. and is the venue for numerous livestock and horse shows throughout the year. It was built with a WPA appropriation of $105,056.

This is a beautiful example of the high-quality WPA construction in Oklahoma. The fairgrounds is the site of hundreds of events throughout the year, including rodeos, performance horse shows, dog shows, concerts, roping events, cutting horse and team penning events, livestock shows, numerous local and statewide educational events, sports activities and the largest antique car swap meet in the nation.

This building is listed in the Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory database.” (waymarking.com)