Mid-Continent Tower facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mid-Continent Tower
Mid-Continent Tower (right) in 2005
General information
Type	Office
Location	401 South Boston Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma
Coordinates	36°09′09″N 95°59′20″W / 36.152603°N 95.989006°W / 36.152603; -95.989006
Completed	1918 (first 16 stories) 1984 (top 20 floors)
Height	513 ft (156 m)
Technical details
Floor count	36
Cosden Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Built	1918
Architectural style	Sullivanesque, Neo-Gothic
NRHP reference No.	79002029
Added to NRHP	February 1, 1979

The Mid-Continent Tower is a tall, 36-story building called a skyscraper. You can find it at 401 South Boston Avenue in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. It stands 156 meters (513 feet) high. This makes it the fourth-tallest building in Tulsa and the fifth-tallest in all of Oklahoma.

The tower is easy to spot because it's covered in bright white terra cotta (a type of baked clay) and has a shiny copper roof. What makes its design special is how it was built. The first 16 stories were finished way back in 1918. Then, 66 years later, another 20 stories were added on top! The new part looks like it's floating over the old part. The architects did such a good job matching the old design that it looks like one single building. It's also part of Tulsa's important Oil Capital Historic District.

Building History

The Original Cosden Building

The Mid-Continent Tower began its life as the 16-story Cosden Building. It was built in 1918 for a rich oil boss named Joshua Cosden. The Cosden Building was built on a very old spot. It was where Tulsa's first schoolhouse stood, which started as a mission in 1885 on Creek Indian land. The Cosden Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. This is a list of places important to American history. The building was designed by an architect from Kansas City named Henry F. Hoit.

Becoming the Mid-Continent Tower

The building was fixed up in 1980. Then, in 1984, a new 20-story tower was built right over it. This brought the total number of floors to 36. The new tower looks like it's sitting on the old Cosden Building. But it's actually held up by a new section built on the east side of the older part. The whole project was planned to look just like the original Cosden Building. This makes it seem like one building, even though the two parts were built 66 years apart. It is still on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building was once home to an energy company called Reading & Bates. They moved to Houston in 1989. After they left, the building faced some financial difficulties. It was later sold to new owners, John and Chris Bumgarner, in 2011.

Sometimes people think the Mid-Continent Tower is an Art Deco building. Tulsa has many famous Art Deco buildings. However, the Mid-Continent Tower is actually built in a modern Gothic style. This style was popular before Art Deco became famous.

Images for kids

See also

In Spanish: Mid-Continent Tower para niños