Historical high school is architectural treasure
TULSA — Nikki Dennis cried the first time she walked the halls of Will Rogers High School.
“I just knew this was the place for me,” she said.
“I have to pinch myself sometimes. I can’t believe I get to come to work in a museum every day,” said Dennis, in her fourth year as principal.
Rogers, one of the most iconic art deco structures in Tulsa, was recently named in a list of “The Most Beautiful High Schools in Every State in America” by Architectural Digest.
It comes 10 years after the high school was named to the National Registry of Historical Places, and 75 years after it was featured in Time and Life magazines as the home of “progressive education.”
“And it is just as beautiful today as it was when I went to school here,” said Jo Anne Lewis, class of 1955 and a member of the Will Rogers High School Community Foundation.
Pam Lundy graduated from Rogers in 1967, taught there for more than 20 years and is also on the foundation.
“If you walk down the hallways of this school, it is the same now as it was when I was in school and throughout my time as a teacher here,” Lundy said. “It is such an incredibly beautiful school.
“Thankfully, no one has tried to tear it down or change things. It is a great old building.”
It is, without much doubt, a stunning example of art deco architecture.
“We have people coming out here to tour the school all the time,” Dennis said. “Of course, Tulsa has so many wonderful art deco buildings, especially downtown.
“So, when people come to Tulsa to see all of our wonderful art deco buildings, this is one of the structures they want to see.”
By the mid-1930s, the city had outgrown Tulsa Central High School, where there were more than 5,000 students. So Tulsa Public Schools put into action a plan to open two schools, one to the west and one to the east of downtown.
Webster, on the west side, was opened in 1938. Rogers, named for Oklahoma’s favorite son Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash in 1935, opened in 1939 with 1,501 students.
They didn’t know it at the time, but those students went to classes in what would become one of the most celebrated school buildings in the country over the next 78 years.
Rogers was jointly funded by the Public Works Administration and Tulsa Public Schools. The cost was $1.4 million.
The school was designed by a group of five architects including Arthur Atkinson, Leon Senter, Joseph Koberling, John Sand and Alexander Rindskopf.
There have been few changes over the years.
“When you walk through this school these days you will see the original fixtures,” Lewis said. “You will see the original design.
“The legacy of this school is very strong. People who went to school here feel a special appreciation for the school. And the structure of this building is very sound. The appropriate upgrades and repairs have maintained the beauty of the school.”
Dennis said the construction of the building is one of the more amazing things about the school.
Even though the building is now approaching 80 years old, it is still in “fabulous condition.”
She said the changes that have been made are few, and steps were taken to avoid any modernization not absolutely necessary.
Of course, modern conveniences have been added over the years. The ceilings in some offices and classrooms have been lowered.
The original blackboards are no longer used. The old school clock and public address system has been replaced, although the original has been saved in storage. And the telephone operator’s board is no longer needed but has also been saved.
“There are so many interesting things about this structure,” Lundy said. “For instance, we’ve been able to maintain the colors of the classrooms and tiles in different parts of the building. They used more stimulating colors for the science classrooms. They used more calming colors in the library.”
Rogers does have a lengthy list of successful alumni including musicians Leon Russell, David Gates and Elvin Bishop; author S.E. Hinton; actor Gailard Sartain; television personality Anita Bryant, and a long list of professional athletes such as Lee Mayberry (NBA), John Ward (NFL) and Don Chandler (who played in the first two Super Bowls for Green Bay).
Today, 815 high school and 486 junior high students walk the halls at Rogers.
They sit in the same classrooms with huge windows that allow them to look out on one of Tulsa’s oldest and most historic neighborhoods.
“Sometimes you see a historic building with the interior completely renovated,” Dennis said. “Not here. The outside view of this school is just as amazing as the interior. This school building has maintained its dignity. It is a very sound architectural structure. In fact, it was so well designed that the classrooms fit into modern education just as well as when it opened in the 1930s.
“I love it here. I didn’t graduate from here. I didn’t grow up in Tulsa. But I absolutely love this school. I love that the alumni are so passionate about it.”
As education funding continues to be cut, the foundation works to find additional revenue so that it can do many of the jobs that have been cut in recent years. There are just four custodians at the school, and maintenance crews are busy throughout TPS.
“But if you look around this school, it is obvious that a long list of students and teachers have a special reverence for it,” Dennis said. “I often tell our students, when we gather in the auditorium, to look up at the ceiling at this magnificent wood carving. I remind them of the hours and dedication it would take to make that one wood carving.”