Whittier Square Historic District Added to National Register - KTUL.com - Tulsa, Oklahoma - News, Weather & Sports

The Whittier Square Historic District has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Whittier Square joins seven other commercial districts, 14 residential districts, and 55 buildings in Tulsa already listed on the National Register.

"Whittier Square is an important piece of Tulsa's history," said Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett, "with Route Sixty-Six passing right through the middle of the district."

The square was Tulsa's first suburban shopping center, dating back to the 1920s.

"The inclusion of Whittier Square on the National Register of Historic Places brings recognition and opportunities for economic development," said Bartlett. "The designation provides incentives for building owners who choose to restore their properties."

Whittier Square received this honorary designation in June through the efforts of Kendall-Whittier Main Street, the Whittier Square Improvement District, and the City of Tulsa Planning Department.

Boundaries of the district are Lewis Avenue, Zunis Avenue, 1st Street, and I-244.

The historic district received more good news as the National Park Service also has announced the award of a Route 66 Corridor Preservation Grant to the Circle Cinema Theatre Façade Restoration project. The Circle Cinema Theatre Foundation will receive $23,261 and match the grant with an equal amount.

The Circle Cinema, located at 10 South Lewis Avenue in Whittier Square, was built in 1928 on land east of Tulsa that would soon become Tulsa's first suburban development.

By the 1980s, the theater was in poor condition and condemned for demolition until it was purchased by the Circle Cinema Foundation in 2003 as part of a community-development grant.

As the only pre-1960s theater remaining in Tulsa, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The foundation has since undertaken extensive restoration work and reopened the theater. The grant project will complete façade restoration, including entry doors and ticket window.

Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.