Tulsa had oil money, even during the Great Depression. So, when the school board decided to build a new high school in 1939, they did not skimp. They hired Leon B. Senter and Joseph R. Koberling Jr. to design it. The result was Will Rogers High School. It cost a staggering $1.5 million. In today's money, that translates to over thirty million dollars. This massive structure remains one of the finest examples of Art Deco design in the entire country. Not just any Art Deco, though. It is a textbook example of PWA Art Deco, a style born out of government-funded relief programs. Walk up to the main entrance. You will see buff-colored brick paired with elaborate, custom-designed terra cotta panels. These panels do not just look pretty. They actually tell stories. They depict scenes of Will Rogers, the schools namesake, alongside Oklahoma history, oil derricks, and Native American motifs. It was a massive statement of civic pride during a bleak era.
The interior is just as wild. The architects installed terrazzo floors that still gleam under modern fluorescent lights. Two massive auditoriums anchored the wings. Students walked past glazed tile murals every single day. But the school was more than just eye candy for the neighborhood. It served as a functional marvel. It accommodated over 1,500 students right off the bat. The school featured cutting-edge science labs, a massive gymnasium, and a sprawling library. Truly futuristic. Locals loved it. When the National Park Service added it to the National Register in 2007, they were not just preserving brick and mortar. They recognized a living artifact. A monument to how Tulsa survived the Dust Bowl and the Depression by investing in its youth.
