The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Gold Star Memorial Building

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Gold Star Memorial Building, Oklahoma City University

Institution Name: Oklahoma City University
Original/Historic Place Name: Gold Star Memorial Building
Location on Campus: (west central) 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave.
Date(s) of Construction:

1952	original construction

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Gothic revival, Modern/post-WWII (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, history, religion
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: reinforced concrete

Walls: masonry

Roof: wood shingles

Function:

ca. 1952	other (language lab)
ca. 1952	classrooms
ca. 1952-present (2006)	administration (offices)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	library (law)

Narrative:
During World War II, families of men and women in the armed forces hung stars in their windows for their sons and daughters; a gold star represented the serviceman or woman who had been killed in the line of duty. Methodist churches all over Oklahoma had rosters listing these brave defenders of our way of life. These same churches, as well as many other contributors, saved and donated nickels and dimes to build the Gold Star Memorial Building. The fourteen-story tower is topped with a star that could be seen for miles before the city encompassed it.

Arts & Sciences, the University's backbone, first inhabited the building; then came a language lab, a law school, and finally a law library.

References:

Oklahoma Historical Society. Oklahoma City University. National Register of Historic Places designation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service, 1978.