© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tulsa Holds The Mayo

The historic Mayo Hotel at 115 W. Fifth in downtown Tulsa
KWGS
The historic Mayo Hotel at 115 W. Fifth in downtown Tulsa

By John Durkee

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-840015.mp3

Tulsa, OK – Welcome to the Mayo.

Downtown at 115 West 5th Street, the hotel was built in 1925 and was once the tallest building in Oklahoma. It has always been among the grandest.

Listed on the National register of historic places this hotel has hosted President Kennedy, Bob Hope, Charles Lindbergh Babe Ruth, Charlie Chaplin, Mae West and of course---this is Oklahoma---Will Rogers. Abandon for 20-years and stripped of most of its original ornamentation, the Mayo seemed to be headed for the wrecking ball until the Snyder family bought the building for $250,000 and then started pumping millions of dollars into the renovation.

When you walk in the 5th street doors---you enter the grand hall. The sweeping staircase is being reinstalled. The area will be used for formal receptions, weddings and the like.

At the top is the Crystal ballroom. This room once was the home of parties hosted by J. Paul Getty. There is the reception area, coat check, barred and then you enter the ballroom. The original floor is being restored as is the plaster on the walls and ceilings.

The upper seven floors are being converted into 70-loft apartments with the lower floors used as a hotel. A one-bedroom apartment will cost about $1,200 to 1,300 a month.

It is hoped the project will be finished by this fall.