Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building, Oklahoma City Oklahoma

The completion of the Administration Building established the first permanent home for the administrative offices of the Oklahoma City school system and served as a physical reminder that public education in Oklahoma City had come of age.

With its brick facade, limited design elements, portico with recessed front entry, and cast stone accents, it is typical of school construction in Oklahoma City during the 1920s. The building portrays a maturing school system, established less than thirty years prior in the nascent town of Oklahoma City. The original 1919 building was designed by noted Oklahoma architect, Solomon Andrew Layton. The 1928 addition was designed by another notable Oklahoma architect, Guy C. Reid.

Opening of Oklahoma Territory

On March 3^rd, 1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a House bill officially opening the Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma to settlement. The bill's language had been attached to an appropriations bill, aiding its passage in the Senate. Rep. Samuel Peel's amendment allocated $1.9 million for the United States to purchase over 2 million acres of land previously allotted to the Creeks and Seminoles. Congressman William Springer attached another amendment granting the president the authority to open the resulting Oklahoma lands to settlement by proclamation.

With President Cleveland's term of office expiring the day after the bill was signed, the duty of signing the proclamation opening the Oklahoma lands to settlement fell to his successor, President Benjamin Harrison. On March 23^rd, 1889, President Harrison signed the proclamation, which established April 22^nd, 1889, as the date settlers could stake claims on the land.

The federal government tasked the U.S. Army with maintaining law and order during the ensuing land run. Captain David F. Stiles, who had previously served as provost marshal in Waco, Texas, during Reconstruction, was selected to preside over the Oklahoma Station. Just before noon on April 22^nd, 1889, as Captain Stiles surveyed the landscape, the only people in sight were soldiers, deputy U.S. marshals, and railroad workers. Stiles anticipated it would take over an hour for the first settlers to arrive at the Oklahoma Station and begin staking claims. As the trumpet rang out over the land to announce the arrival of the noon hour, Captain Stiles realized his projection was quite inaccurate. A.H. Dunham remembered that "people seemed to spring up as if by magic as far as the eye could reach. I could see them racing in every direction … Some of the people who were supposed to aid in keeping order such as the deputy marshals and even Stiles' own quartermaster abandoned their duties in search of free land."

Within a matter of hours, Oklahoma Station was transformed from a quiet spot on the prairie to a bustling city. Brigadier General Wesley Merritt estimated there were between 10,000 and 12,000 people at the site by the end of the day. Harper's Weekly noted that the landscape resembled "a handful of white dice thrown out across the prairie." With no civil or territorial government in place, the scene over the next few months was chaotic as rival town site companies fought over lots and the accusation of "sooner" was thrown around liberally. As individuals jockeyed to gain control over the throng, one person compared the atmosphere to "a carnival with more politicians and orators per acre than had ever been assembled on a half section of land."

The Military Reservation

On April 20^th, 1889, 160 acres east of the Santa Fe railroad tracks was quarantined by President Harrison to be the base of the Army's peacekeeping force at the Oklahoma Station. This quarter-section of land was to be known as the Military Reservation or Military Hill. Today, the area encompasses much of Bricktown and the Deep Deuce District, including the plot of land where the Irving School (1896) and later, the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building, were constructed.

With the Oklahoma City civic government becoming more organized, the need for a military presence began to diminish. Educators in Oklahoma City wanted to convert the Military Reservation into land that could be used for schools. Oklahoma's territorial representative in Congress, Dennis T. Flynn, worked to get the School Reservation Bill passed. On the last day of the 1893 session, the legislative language authorizing the transfer of land to Oklahoma City for school use passed as an amendment to an appropriations bill.? This transfer of land set the stage for Oklahoma City's modern school system to be constructed from the ground up.

Public Education in Oklahoma City

Even after the dust had settled from the April 22^nd, 1889 land run, citizens of Oklahoma City had to contend with the fact that there was no formal city or state government. Consequently, there was no mechanism for the establishment of a public school system. Nevertheless, industrious residents of the new city did not waste any time in forming subscription schools for their children. Subscription schools charged families a monthly fee per child and operated wherever they could find space to do so - in businesses, tents, and even underneath trees. President Harrison's signature on the Organic Act on May 2^nd, 1890, officially designated Oklahoma as a territory of the United States, thus establishing a framework for laws to be passed. This allowed for the first public school to be opened in March 1891 with 15 students.

Following the passage of the Organic Act, Congress allocated $50,000 for public schools in Oklahoma and established the salaries for teachers. The president of the State Normal School in Edmond, T.H. Thacker, drafted legislative language to establish a school code, which was then passed in the territorial legislature. Despite passage of the funding measure, schools in Oklahoma City had to make do with rudimentary building accommodations until the mid-1890s. The tide turned in 1893 when Congress was persuaded by the city council to deed the Military Reservation to the Oklahoma City for school use. The sale of lots on the Military Reservation provided the necessary funds for construction of the Washington and Emerson schools, the first two to be constructed in Oklahoma City.

In 1893, the first school bond issue was passed by citizens of Oklahoma City. The election provided $45,000 in funding for new school construction. The construction of the Irving School (1896) was one of the new buildings funded by the bond election. Completed in 1896 on the site of the former Military Reservation and the future site of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building, it served as the first high school for the city. From 1910-1917, the Irving School (1896) also served as the state capitol. Tragically, the building was destroyed by fire in 1937.

By 1898, 1,300 students were enrolled in Oklahoma City public schools with that number increasing to 2,400 in 1900. Due to overcrowding at the Irving School (1896), Solomon Layton's architecture firm was enlisted to design the Central High School on Robinson Street. Students reported to Central in September 1910. A thriving economy in 1919, along with an increase in students, precipitated an expansion of school building projects. In August 1919, the Daily Oklahoman noted, "The enormous increase in the number of children attending schools during the past two years has been so great it has become a problem to care for them." By 1920, there were 17,000 students enrolled in Oklahoma City schools.

The May 14^th, 1918, bond election that provided funds for the construction of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building also provided for additions to the Eugene Field School, Culbertson Heights School, and the Willard School. A new school, the Woodrow Wilson School, was also constructed. Upgrades to the heating and ventilation at the Irving School (1896) were also made with funds provided in the bond package. The completion of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building in 1919 allowed the Irving School (1896) to be converted to a vocational school for those who were not able to complete the curriculum at the regular schools or who were not able to attend school regularly because of work requirements.

The Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building

The Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building is a Classical Revival red brick building located in northeast Oklahoma City near the historic Deep Deuce District. The building is an excellent representation of Classical Revival school architecture in Oklahoma City during the early 20^th century. The building was constructed at the start of a building boom for Oklahoma City Schools that lasted throughout the 1920s.

On April 20^th, 1918, the Oklahoma City Board of Education authorized a bond election to be held on May 14^th, 1918, to ask voters to fund several building projects, including the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building at a cost of $25,000. The building was to be placed on the grounds of the Irving School (1896). While the new Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building would serve as meeting space for the Board of Education and office space for the school superintendent and school employees, it would also house the power plant for the Irving School (1896), which was to be designated a vocational high school when the administrative offices were relocated.

The bond election was successful and on May 20^th, 1918, the Board of Education certified the results. At the same meeting, renowned Oklahoma architect Solomon Andrew Layton, of the firm Layton and Smith, addressed the members encouraging them "to lose no time in starting their improvements." At the next scheduled board meeting on May 27^th, 1918, the Layton and Smith firm was awarded the design contract for the new Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building and E.P. Boyd was named construction superintendent. From 1914-1917, Boyd had served as superintendent of construction for the Oklahoma State Capitol.

On June 24^th, 1918, the Oklahoma City Board of Education approved the design plans submitted by Layton and Smith. The final piece of the puzzle was added in December of that year when the Lisle-Dunning Construction Company was selected as the contractor after submitting the low bid. Despite the absence of a few floor coverings and a telephone system that was not yet operational, the board of education moved into the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building on July 12^th, 1919.

A 3-story addition to the east side of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building was completed in the Classical Revival architectural style in 1928. In 1927, the Oklahoma City Board of Education's Committee on Building Programs recommended the addition as part of a larger construction package, which would realize the completion of several new schools because "the present school buildings in the school district of Oklahoma City are not adequate to accommodate the pupils enrolled in the Oklahoma City Schools." The proposed 1927-1928 building program recommended $40,000 be allocated for construction of the addition and a resolution was approved setting the $1.7 million bond election for November 29^th, 1927.

The December 5^th, 1927, Board of Education meeting minutes noted the November 29^th bond election was approved by the voters and the board members subsequently voted to certify the election results. At the same meeting, the Committee on Architect recommended Guy. C. Reid (incorrectly spelled Reed in the meeting minutes) to be the architect for the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building addition. His contract was approved at the January 3^rd, 1928, Board of Education meeting. The Harmon and Mattison Construction Company was selected as the builder of the addition at the July 9^th, 1928, Board of Education meeting based on their bid amount of $35,356 for the project.

When the Irving School (1938) was constructed in 1938 after the original Irving School (1896) was destroyed by fire in 1937, it was connected to Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building with an underground tunnel for utility purposes. An auditorium was added onto the Irving School (1938) in 1940, which allowed for that building to be connected to the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building. The connection to the former Irving School (1938) was sealed with a wall just inside the door on the north wall of the basement at an unknown date.

In 1956, a small building was constructed with concrete blocks on the southeast corner of the property.

The Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building was utilized by the Oklahoma City School District until 1950, when the administrative offices were moved to the former Jefferson School at 2317 North Western Avenue. In 1952, the building was put up for sale. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority bought the Administration Building in 1955 for $106,000 to serve as its headquarters.

In August 1956, the Turnpike Authority was subjected to an embarrassing raid by State Senator George Miscovsky, who entered the building and directed his personally-hired locksmith to open a "handsome refrigerated liquor cabinet" in the conference room. Miscovsky alleged the bar was purchased with $476 in taxpayer funds. The result of the raid was the seizure of two bottles of whiskey with about two shots of alcohol in each.

Soon after the raid, the Turnpike Authority returned the bar to the stationary firm from which it had been purchased and was reimbursed for the cost.

During the Cold War, the Administration Building was used as a civil defense center. Betty Thornton, a longtime employee of the Opportunities Industrialization Center, reported finding barrels of food and dry goods labeled "CD" for civil defense when her organization moved into the building. The building had been purchased in 1974 by the Opportunities Industrialization Center. In 2013, the building was sold to Walnut Partners, LLC, and in 2014, it was sold again to Walnuts, LLC. In 2018, the building was purchased by Walnut 1919, LLC, to be rehabilitated and used as offices for the Ryan Whaley Coldiron Jantzen Peters & Webber law firm.

Solomon Andrew Layton

The Oklahoman wrote this about architect Solomon Andrew Layton in 2006: "No one can talk about early Oklahoma architecture without talking about Layton. His name is burned into history and into the collective memory of the state's architecture-engineering fraternity."

Solomon Andrew Layton was born in Lucas County, Iowa, in 1864. After his schooling was completed, he apprenticed for an architect in Red Oak, Iowa, before moving to Omaha, Nebraska, to continue his work in the field. He worked in architecture in Denver before participating in the 1893 Oklahoma Land Run to claim land in the Cherokee Strip. He stayed in Oklahoma for a few years and then moved briefly to Texas and Colorado again before taking up residence in El Reno in 1902. He moved his business headquarters to Oklahoma City in 1905.

Over the years, Layton had several business partners, starting with S. Wemyss-Smith. Layton and Wemyss-Smith designed the Oklahoma State Capitol, the crown jewel of a career marked with numerous significant buildings sprinkled throughout Oklahoma. Later partners included George Forsyth, Jewell Hicks, and James W. Hawk. Altogether, they produced over one hundred buildings and twelve homes. Among those buildings were sixteen county courthouses and forty-six structures for Oklahoma City Schools. The Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building was one of the forty-six buildings created over a long career in school architecture. Other notable Layton designs are the Skirvin Hotel, Oklahoman Building, Oklahoma City Central High School, the Creek County Courthouse, and the State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Solomon Layton passed away on February 6^th, 1943, in Oklahoma City.

Guy C. Reid

Guy C. Reid was known as "one of the leading architects of Oklahoma." He was born in Des Arc, Arkansas, on December 22^nd, 1892. Reid graduated in 1916 with a bachelor's degree in Architecture from Oklahoma A&M College (today known as Oklahoma State University). After graduation, he worked in several architecture firms around Oklahoma before serving his country as a Field Artillery officer in World War I. Upon his return from the war, he went into private practice.

In 1930, Guy. C. Reid and George Winkler formed the architecture firm of Winkler and Reid. They were partners until 1952 when Winkler retired. For the next ten years, Reid worked in the company he founded, Guy C. Reid and Associates.

Reid's notable buildings the Aldridge Hotel in McAlester, the Main Public Library in Oklahoma City, and the Seminole Municipal Building. Reid was also one of the eleven-member group of Allied Architects that designed the Oklahoma City Municipal Building.

Guy C. Reid passed away on November 22^nd, 1962, in Oklahoma City.

Building Description

The Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building, located at 400 North Walnut Avenue in Oklahoma City, was built in the Classical Revival style in 1919. An addition to the east side of the building was constructed in 1928. Both the original building and the addition is a reinforced concrete post-and-beam structural system with brick walls and a brick veneer. The historic main entry to the building features a recessed portico with two round Georgian columns framing the single-door entrance. A cast stone wreath is centered on the pediment in a red brick field above the historic main entrance. The original 1919 building contains one floor with a basement while the addition contains two floors and a basement. The original 1919 building resembles a basilica without the semicircular apse. The main entrance staircase was dismantled in 2015, concrete window infills at the basement level, an access door on the south elevation of the original 1919 building was infilled with brick, and the addition of modern aluminum windows. The interior of the building was gutted by previous ownership. A small concrete block building constructed in 1956 is situated at the far east end (back) of the property, east of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building.

The pediment on the west facade contains a cast stone cap. Directly below the cap, in a field of red brick, a decorative cast stone wreath is centered on the pediment. Below the pediment, on the architrave, there is a non-historic sheet metal sign denoting the "Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc.," a former owner of the building. There are cast stone caps on the parapet wall in addition to a cast stone belt course a few inches below the caps. The facade is primarily comprised of red brick cladding.

There are four double-hung windows on this facade. Directly above the windows, is a horizontal band of bricks extending the length of the facade with quoins at the corners of the building laid in a basket-weave pattern. On the north side of the elevation, a double-hung aluminum sash window is centered on the first floor with a concrete subsill. There is also a double-hung aluminum window centered on the south side of the elevation. The windows were originally double hung 6/6 with wood sash. At the basement level, on both the north and south sides of the facade, above the ground level cast stone band, there are concrete infill patches that once contained windows. Photographic evidence suggests these were double-hung 6/6 windows with wood sash.

The west facade of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building contains the historic main entrance to the building. The historic main entrance is centered on the facade. The entrance door is a non-historic aluminum frame storefront entry recessed from the front of the portico. Inside the portico, there is one double-hung window with aluminum sash on each side of the entrance door. Each window sits on a cast stone subsill. Originally, the windows under the portico were double-hung 6/6 with wood sash. The entrance is framed by round, Georgian-style cast stone columns. On each side of the Georgian columns, at each end of the portico are classical square cast stone columns. On the south square column facing Walnut Avenue is a plaque placed by the 89ers organization noting that the building is on the site of the military post established by the War Department as a base for soldiers maintaining order until the formation of the territorial government.

In 2015, the staircase to the front entrance was removed by previous ownership without permission from the Oklahoma City Downtown Design Review Committee. The brick from the staircase was salvaged and is currently stored inside the vacant structure. The staircase was not rebuilt and there is not currently a viable way to access the front door of the building. It should be noted that, prior to demolition, the staircase had been modified from its original configuration.

Photographic evidence suggests this occurred sometime between 1954 and 1957.

The south elevation, along Northeast 3^rd Street, contains the original 1919 structure (west) as well as the 1928 addition (east). The original building is composed primarily of red brick cladding. There are cast stone caps on the parapet wall in addition to a cast stone belt course a few inches below the caps. On the original building, there are five double-hung aluminum windows, each with a cast stone subsill. It is presumed that these windows were originally double-hung 6/6 with wood sash, although no photographic evidence has been found to provide proof. Directly above the windows in the original 1919 building, is a horizontal band of bricks laid in a basket-weave pattern that extends the length of the elevation with quoins at the corners. There are two aluminum scuppers and downspouts on the elevation. There is a cast stone belt course below the windows.

At the basement level, above the horizontal cast stone belt course adjacent to the ground, there are five painted concrete infill patches that once contained windows of an unknown type. In the first painted concrete infill patch at the west side of the elevation, a round aluminum vent has been installed. There is also a brick infill area where a gap exists in the cast stone belt course adjacent to the ground. The architectural rendering by Layton and Smith in the July 21^st, 1918, edition of the Daily Oklahoman confirms there was once a driveway extending from 3^rd Street to the original building where the infill is now located. It is presumed there was once an opening into the original 1919 building at the basement level where the infill is now placed. A visual comparison of the bricks used for the infill and those used on the 1928 building addition suggests the infill was completed in the same timeframe as the construction of the addition.

The 1928 building addition is composed primarily of red brick cladding. There are cast stone caps on the parapet wall in addition to a cast stone belt course a few inches below the caps. There are eleven windows in the addition. Directly above the windows is a horizontal band of bricks laid in a basket-weave pattern that extends the length of the elevation with quoins at the corners of the building. There are two aluminum scuppers and downspouts on the building addition.

Of the eleven windows on the 1928 building addition, ten of them are double-hung with aluminum sash. These ten windows are in pairs. The remaining window, on the first floor on the west side of the elevation, is smaller than the other windows. It is also a double-hung window with an aluminum sash. The composition of the original windows cannot be verified with photographic evidence, although it stands to reason that the windows were double-hung 6/6 windows with wood sash like the facade. All of the windows have cast stone subsills. On the east side of the elevation, at the basement level, above the cast stone belt course adjacent to the ground, there is a painted concrete infill patch that once contained window(s) of an unknown type.

On the 1928 building addition, where the footprint extends past the original building's footprint by 8 feet and 4 inches, there is a door that enters the structure at the half level between the basement and first floor. The door faces to the west and there are three concrete steps leading up to the doorway. There are five concrete steps leading to the three steps adjacent to the door from the sidewalk on 3^rd Street. A metal slab pedestrian door and metal frame is currently installed. The door is surrounded by a decorative faux portico made of cast stone. Cast stone pilasters are on each side of the door with consoles at the top of each. It is capped by a triangular cast stone pediment.

In the center of the building addition at the basement level, there is a non-original aluminum garage door. A concrete driveway extends from 3^rd Street over the sidewalk to the garage door. A concrete retaining wall connected to the 1928 addition flanks each side of the driveway from the sidewalk.

The east, rear, elevation is considered the rear of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building and is comprised entirely of the 1928 addition. There are cast stone caps on the parapet wall in addition to a cast stone belt course a few inches below the caps. Directly above the second-floor windows at header height, is a horizontal band of bricks arranged in a basket-weave pattern extending the length of the elevation with cast stone quoins at the corners.

There are fifteen windows on this elevation of the building. All of the windows are double-hung with aluminum sash. Four of the windows on the south side of the elevation and four of the windows on the north side of the elevation are in pairs. The composition of the original windows cannot be verified with photographic evidence, although it stands to reason that they were double-hung 6/6 windows with wood sash. All of the windows have concrete subsills. At the basement level, below the cast stone belt course, there are four painted concrete infill patches that once contained windows of an unknown type. In the southern-most infill patch, there is aluminum ducting that has been previously installed.

Leading up to the metal slab pedestrian entrance door at the north end of the first floor level is a concrete ramp for disability access to the building. A metal pipe railing exists on both sides of the ramp and around the concrete landing. Above the concrete landing in front of the door, a flat metal awning has been installed with pipe columns on each side to create a small portico. There is an aluminum downspout from the awning to the ground on the south side of the portico. The ramp, portico, and door are not original to the building's construction. It is not known how the doorway looked originally or if the doorway was created where a window once existed.

The north elevation contains the original 1919 structure (west) as well as the 1928 addition (east). The original 1919 building is composed primarily of red brick cladding. There are cast stone caps on the parapet wall in addition to a cast stone belt course a few inches below the caps.

On the original 1919 building, there are three double-hung aluminum windows, each with a concrete subsill on the first floor level. It is presumed that these windows were originally double-hung 6/6 with wood sash, although no photographic evidence is present of this elevation to provide proof. Directly above the windows in the original building, is a horizontal band of bricks laid in a basket-weave pattern that extends the length of the elevation with quoins at the corners of the building. There are two aluminum scuppers and downspouts on the elevation. There is a cast stone belt course below the windows.

There is one window at the basement level remaining on the original 1919 building, although it has been modified to house an electrical conduit and metal bars have been placed over it. This basement window is the only remaining original double-hung 6/6 with wood sash on the building. At the basement level, between the bottom and middle horizontal cast stone belt courses, there are two painted concrete infill patches that once contained windows of an unknown type, but they were presumably 6/6 wood hung windows like the remaining original unit. Instead of a painted concrete infill patch at the east side of the elevation, an aluminum vent has been installed.

The original 1919 building is bisected by the now-sealed connection to the former Irving School (1938), which is now used as a private office building. The access corridor from the former Irving School (1938) to the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building terminates in the basement and is now sealed. It is not known when the access corridor was sealed. The exterior of the connection is clad in yellow brick and is congruent with the architectural design and materials used on the former Irving School (1938).

The 1928 building addition is composed primarily of red brick cladding. There are cast stone caps on the parapet wall in addition to a cast stone belt course a few inches below the caps. There are eleven windows in the addition. Directly above the windows is a horizontal band of bricks laid in a basket-weave pattern that extends the length of the elevation with quoins at the corners of the building.

There are eleven windows on the building addition in nine window openings. Ten of the windows are double-hung with aluminum sash. These ten windows are grouped in pairs on the first and second floors. One of the windows on the basement level at the west side of the elevation is smaller than the other windows. It is also a double-hung window with an aluminum sash. The composition of the original windows cannot be verified with photographic evidence, although it stands to reason that the ten larger windows were double-hung 6/6 windows with wood sash. All of the windows have cast stone subsills. On the east side of the elevation at the basement level, above the cast stone belt course adjacent to the ground, there is a concrete infill patch that once contained windows of an unknown type, but they were presumably 6/6 wood hung windows with wood sash. On the west end of the first floor, a pair of windows have been replaced with concrete infill, which contains a small aluminum vent. Another former window opening at the basement level has been obscured. The remaining former window opening at the west end of the elevation has been filled with sheet metal.

The existing roof on both the original 1919 building and the 1928 addition is in an advanced stage of deterioration and failure, exposing the unprotected structure to further deterioration from the elements. There are approximately two inches of built up material consisting of plywood substrate solid mopped with pitch onto the concrete roof structure with a rubber membrane capsheet. Parapet walls include integral metal flashings within the masonry under the coping stone. There is a chimney on the northeast corner of the original 1919 building.

A small storage building constructed in 1956 sits at the back of the property to the east of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building. It is constructed of concrete blocks and contains four modern aluminum garage doors on the west facade. The windows are 6/6 and 3/3 with metal frames residing on concrete subsills. The interior is open except for a small bathroom in the southeast corner.

The original 1919 building resembles a basilica without the semicircular apse. The first floor of the original building has an unfinished concrete floor. There are no interior walls present, aside from the shared wall between the original building and the 1928 addition. The exterior walls are comprised of exposed red brick. The concrete support columns for the building are exposed. The ceilings are unfinished concrete and comprise the structure of the building. There are no light fixtures in the building.

There are clerestory windows on the north and south side that allow light and ventilation into the interior first floor. The hopper-style windows have wood sash with six panes of glass in each one. They are grouped into bays of three windows each and there are four bays on both the north and south side. The windows have wood frames and wood subsills and are most likely original to the building.

The basement of the original building has an unfinished concrete floor aside from a large depressed area on the northeast side of the floor, which contains exposed earth. This depressed area is the section of the building that served as the heating plant for the original Irving School (1896) and later, the former Irving School (1938). Concrete steps with a metal pipe railing descend into the former heating plant space. On the north wall of the depressed area is a metal door that opens to an underground tunnel containing metal pipes that once connected the heating plant to the former Irving School (1938). On the northeast side of the depressed area is the chimney, which was once connected to the boiler.

There are no interior walls present in the basement of the original building, aside from the shared wall between the 1919 building and the 1928 building addition. The exterior walls are comprised of exposed red brick. A metal door is located on the north wall of the basement. This door marked the beginning of the passage between the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building and the former Irving School (1938). There is now a wall just inside the door, sealing the two buildings from each other. The concrete support columns for the building are exposed in the basement. The ceilings are unfinished concrete and comprise the structure of the building. There are no light fixtures in the basement.

From the first floor of the original 1919 building, there are three entryways into the first floor of the 1928 building addition through the shared wall between the buildings. There are no doors present in the entryways. There are no interior walls present. The exterior walls are comprised of exposed red brick. The concrete support columns for the building are exposed. The ceilings are unfinished concrete and comprise the structure of the building. In the southwest corner of the first floor, there is a non-enclosed concrete stairway that goes up to the second floor and down to the basement. The handrails for the stairway were removed at some point in the past and replaced with temporary lumber handrails. There are no light fixtures on the first floor of the 1928 addition.

The basement of the 1928 addition has an unfinished concrete floor. There are no interior walls present, aside from the shared wall between the 1919 building and the 1928 building addition. The exterior walls are comprised of exposed red brick. There is a modern aluminum garage door entry on the south wall. The concrete support columns for the building are exposed. The concrete floor has been removed around several of the column footings in an investigatory attempt by previous ownership. At the southern end of the shared wall between the building addition and the original building, there is an entryway to the original building. There is no door in the entryway. The ceilings are unfinished concrete and comprise the structure of the building. There are no light fixtures in the basement of the 1928 addition.

The stairway at the southwest corner of the 1928 addition is used to access the second floor. There are no interior walls present on the second floor. The exterior walls are comprised of exposed red brick. The concrete support columns for the building are exposed. The ceilings are unfinished concrete and comprise the structure of the building. A section of the concrete ceiling on the west side of the second floor has been removed. In its place is a metal roofing structure that does not provide adequate protection from the elements from making their way into the building. Near the stairway landing, an aluminum vent has been installed and a rectangular section of the western brick interior wall has been removed at the floor level and a square section of the same brick wall has been removed a few feet above it. There are no light fixtures on the second floor of the 1928 addition.

There is minimal landscaping around the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building. There is a sidewalk adjacent to Walnut Avenue on the west side of the building, which connects to a set of concrete stairs that once led to the front entrance. However, due to the aforementioned removal of the brick-clad staircase in 2015, the concrete stairs terminate into the lawn. The lawn on the west side of the building consists primarily Bermuda grass. There are no flower beds or planters present. A flagpole is present on the northwest corner of the property.

There is a sidewalk on the south side of the building, which is inset from the street. As previously noted, there is a sidewalk that leads from 3^rd Street to concrete stairs and then up to the doorway in the 1928 addition. There is also a concrete driveway that leads from 3^rd Street to the garage door in the 1928 addition. There is a solitary mature tree present in the south yard. The lawn on the south side of the building consists primarily of Bermuda grass. There are no flower beds or planters present.

An asphalt parking lot covers most of the area to the east of the Oklahoma City Schools Administration Building. On the west side of the area, the asphalt parking lot terminates at the 1928 addition. On the east side of the area, the parking lot terminates at the 1956 storage building. On the north side of the parking lot, there is a band of Bermuda grass that terminates at the property line. There is a line of electrical poles in the grass. On the south side of the parking lot, there is a line of trees next to the asphalt parking lot in the Bermuda grass lawn. The grass carries south down a sloped grade to 3^rd Street. There is no sidewalk along 3^rd Street. A line of electrical poles is in the grass near 3^rd Street. A concrete driveway extends from 3^rd Street into the parking lot. Behind the 1956 storage building, there are four trees and the remains of an unmaintained sidewalk along Central Avenue. The sidewalk is adjacent to a small concrete retaining wall. There are no flower beds on the east side of the Administration Building. Behind the 1956 storage building, there are seven non-decorative wooden raised planters, typical of those used for garden vegetables.

There is no landscaping or grass on the north side of the Administration Building and east of the connection to the former Irving School (1938). On the north side of the building and west of the connection to the former Irving School (1938), there is only Bermuda grass. There are no flower beds or planters on the north side of the building.