Oklahoma City Police Headquarters and Jail

This building was constructed in 1935 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program under President Roosevelt during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The Police Headquarters and Jail building plays a key part in keeping the story alive. From an architectural standpoint it has beautiful Art Deco details, a style celebrated by design enthusiasts as the golden era of architecture, a style which was demolished all too often in Oklahoma City amidst the Pei Plan. The building is the western-most building of the city’s Civic Center, which includes the County Courthouse, Municipal Building, and Civic Center Music Hall. With the recent construction of a new Police Headquarters, the fate of the original building is uncertain. The police proposed demolishing it for additional parking to City Council in 2019, however a recent City Council meeting deferred any decisions until the end of the 2021.