Address:615 West Doolin Ave, Blackwell, Oklahoma County: Kay
Started: 1936Completed: 1936
Agencies:WPANRHP:September 8, 1988

Current Usage:

City’s Street and Parks department

Description:

The Blackwell National Guard Armory is a two-story, essentially rectangular (126′ x 116′) building constructed of red brick laid in a running bond. Extending north from the central drill floor is a unit of one and two stories. The roof over the drill floor is arched; elsewhere it is flat. Parapets capped by concrete blocks appear over both segments. The central entryway on the north is recessed, while individual windows are fixed and metal encased. Four garage doorways on the north have segmental arches. Pilasters with vertical insets are crowned with molded concrete, attributes of the building that give it an ornate appearance.
The Blackwell Armory is an exceptional resources for the local community and the region. Architecturally, as a WPA building it is unique in its use of brick construction materials, contrasting with armories in the state other than those in the northwest which were generally built of native stone. The use of the building by the Oklahoma National Guard for the past 50 years underscores its significance. There units of the guard have prepared themselves for military action in World War II and Korea and for civil defense and disaster relief. In other ways the structure has also contributed to an improved quality of life in Blackwell. Construction of the armory poured wages from some 68,000 man-hours of labor into the local economy during a critical portion of the depression, materially improving the community’s economic condition and quality of life. Those same wages also enabled the laborers on the project, many of whom were agriculturalists driven to destitution by the drought, to provide for their own families and to tide themselves over the economic slump until better times returned.[1]

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: From the intersection of Sixth and Doolin Streets go 141 feet east, 150 feet south, 141 feet west and 150 feet north in Block 4, Northend Addition, Blackwell original. 

This property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

Sources:

  1. Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
  2. National Register of Historic Places Database
  3. Historical armory transfers to City of Blackwell
  4. Waymarking.com
  5. Department of Environmental Quality Remediation Final Report

Supported Documents:

  1. WPA Properties Kay County – Blackwell Armory
  2. National Register of Historic Places Support Document
  3. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHknb0L5pEg

Photos:

https://goo.gl/maps/5qu5XBaa4Mo