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Leon B. Senter

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Leon B. Senter
Born
Leon Bishop Senter

March 5, 1889
Morris, Johnson County, Kansas
DiedSeptember 16, 1965
Tulsa
NationalityU.S.A.
Other namesLeon Senter, Sr.
Occupation(s)Architect, building designer
Years active1912-1965
Known forArt Deco and modern styles

Leon Bishop Senter (1889-1965) was an architect in the United States who was born in Johnson County, Kansas to James and Emma Senter, and received his basic education in schools there. He continued to learn basic drafting and building design through correspondence schools and actual practice under local draftsmen and architects. [a] In 1910, he married and began to raise a family. [b] By 1912, he had secured a position with the Smith, Rae, and Lovitt architectural firm in Kansas City, Missouri as a draftsman and office manager. [c] When the partners decided to open a new office in Okmulgee, Oklahoma in 1915, Senter was named manager there while the other partners remained in Kansas City between 1918 and 1924.[1] In 1918, he was made a full partner in the firm and remained in Okmulgee.[2]

After one partner died in 1920, the partnership was dissolved. In 1924, it was reformed as Smith & Senter. Senter became the first architect in Oklahoma to become a Registered Architect in 1925. He relocated the firm to Tulsa in 1928, and began designing a number of structures that brought him international recognition. He renamed the firm as Senter and Associates in 1933, and continued to remain active until his death in 1965.[1][2]

Career in Okmulgee

According to the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, Senter was credited with the design of at least three major building projects during his residence in Okmulgee. These were:[1] <Indent>

  • Orpheum Theatre (1919)
  • Commerce Building (1921)
  • Carnegie Public Library (1922)

</Indent>

The three structures listed above are not the only Senter-designed buildings that still stand in Okmulgee. There are the McCullough Building (1926), a six-story, red brick and terracotta office building at the corner of 5th and Grand in the Okmulgee Downtown Historic District (ODHD). The sixth floor has served as the Masonic Temple for much of the building's history.[3]

The Kennedy Building (1902) is a three-story structure that stands at the corner of 6th and Grand Streets in the ODHD. According to Waymarking, Leon Senter was the designer, and incorporated many elements of Italian Renaissance Style. It was the headquarters of the Okmulgee National Bank for many years.[4]

According to an article in The Oklahoman, the Okmulgee Country Club and Golf Course, was designed by Leon Senter in 1920. As of 2018, it still stands at 1400 S Mission Lane in Okmulgee, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). When it opened, the facility had a clubhouse, golf course, tennis courts and croquet ground. The article said the State Historic Preservation Office described it as,"... an exceptional example of the Bungalow/Craftsman style clubhouse.[5]

Frank Rea died in 1920, but business was still flourishing, so the former partnership was dissolved, and reformed in 1924 as Smith and Senter, headquartered in Okmulgee. In 1925, Senter became the first licensed architect in Oklahoma, after the state enacted a law requiring registration of architects and requiring licensing and procedures. He carried License Number 1 for the rest of his career. In 1928, he relocated to Tulsa, and in 1933 formed Senter Associates that included his son, Leon B. Senter, Jr., who had also become an architect.[2]


Career in Tulsa

Smith & Senter moved from Okmulgee to Tulsa in 1928, where it immediately began working to design a multi-purpose, indoor arena (initially named Tulsa Coliseum )for Walter Whiteside, a Minnesota millionaire. [d]

Whiteside specifically wanted the arena to be suitable for a wide variety of cold-weather entertainments. Later, he made it known that he wanted to introduce ice hockey to sports fans in the southern states. One of Senter's biggest challenges was to design the ice rink so that it could be easily changed into a sturdy dry floor with additional seating to handle non-ice events like circuses, musical performances, etc.

The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture compiled the following list of projects completed by Leon Senter after he moved his office to Tulsa:[1] </Indent>

  • Tulsa Coliseum (1930) Saracen Revival style (Destroyed by fire after a lightning strike in 1952)
  • Philcade Building (1929-1930) Art Deco style
  • Skelly Stadium University of Tulsa - Skelly Stadium (1930)
  • Tulsa Fire Alarm Building (1931)
  • Tulsa Municipal Airport Administration Building (1932, Smith & Senter)
  • Union Bus Depot (1935) Art Deco style
  • Will Rogers High School (1939) Art Deco style
  • Stanolind/Service Pipe Line Building (Atlantic Richfield Building) (1949) Streamline/Art Moderne style
  • Booker T. Washington High School (1950)
  • Mayo Motor Inn (1952)
  • Downtown Tulsa YMCA (1953) International style
  • Page Belcher Federal Building and United States Post Office (1967), International style

<Indent/>

Professional honors and recognition

Senter was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture in 1957. He also served as a member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, as a member of the licensing board for Oklahoma architects and as a member of the board of design for the Tulsa Civic Center.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ No source indicates he attended any university or college. However the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture biography credits Senter with earning a certificate in Architectural Engineering from International Correspondence Schools (ICS).[1]
  2. ^ Senter married Maudean Houghton in Missouri in 1910, and the couple had three children. One was a son named Leon B. Senter, Junior, who also became an architect.[2]
  3. ^ The individual partners were: Charles A. Smith, Frank S. Rea and Walter Y. Lovitt.[1]
  4. ^ It is unclear what role Smith was playing by this time, and even whether he had moved to Tulsa himself, since it seems that Senter was rapidly becoming credited with all of the firm's designs.

See also


References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Tulsa Foundation for Architecture (TFA). "Leon Bishop Senter, FAIA. 1889-1965." Accessed March 4, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Everette, Dianna. "Senter, Leon Bishop, Sr.(1889-1965)." The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed March 3, 2020.
  3. ^ WMBXEH_McCullough_Building_Okmulgee_Downtown_Historic_District_Okmulgee_OK "McCullough Building" Waymarking. Posted July 1, 2011. Accessed March 6, 2020.
  4. ^ "Kennedy Building" Waymarking. Posted June 11, 2011. Accessed March 6, 2020.
  5. ^ "Real estate briefs from The Oklahoman for April 28, 2018." The Oklahoman. April 28, 2018. Accessed March 6, 2020.


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