McKinley Park Castles – Oklahoma CIty

Current Usage:

City Park

Description:

Located on each side of the main drive into the park, these structures offer a fascinating view in WPA construction projects. Constructed of native red sandstone, above the first floor walls, four rows of horizontal stones were laid and above these rows, castle battlements line the roof line. 

McKinley Park was named after McKinley Avenue which runs adjacent to the park and McKinley Avenue was named not for the 25th president but for Margaret McKinley who was the first successful businesswomen in Oklahoma City’s history, she made her fortune in real estate development. The park originally was a site for a brick pit own by the Oklahoma Brick Company, but was abandoned in 1913. It had a 60 foot deep pit that had become hazardous for the children in the neighborhood since Oklahoma City had already by 1920 begun to build residential neighborhoods in the area. The Oklahoma Brick Company agreed to sell the land to the city with the agreement that it would become a park. Many issues arrived during the following years after the city bought the land, with bond issues and municipal politics that cause the park to not be built until it finally opened as a park in August 1932 that included playground equipment, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and a wading pool.

Sources:

1. The Living New Deal
2. Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
3. Oklahoma City Website, McKinley Park

Supported Documents:

Chronicles of Oklahoma – Vol 90, Number 4, Winter 2012-13 Page 473 – Oklahoma City’s McKinley Park: The Little Park that Raised a Ruckus

Photos:

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