Mid-Continent Tower
Encyclopedia
The Mid-Continent Tower is a 36-story skyscraper
located at 401 South Boston Avenue in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma
. At 156 meters (513 ft) in height, it is the fourth-tallest building in Tulsa and in Oklahoma. Faced with bright white terra cotta
and crowned with a distinctive copper
roof, it is one of the city's most recognizable buildings.
in 1979.
The building was the home of energy company Reading & Bates until it moved to Houston in 1989. The company's departure led the building into foreclosure
, receivership
, and an extended legal dispute that was resolved only in 2011, when the building was sold to Tulsa real estate investors John and Chris Bumgarner.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
located at 401 South Boston Avenue in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. At 156 meters (513 ft) in height, it is the fourth-tallest building in Tulsa and in Oklahoma. Faced with bright white terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
and crowned with a distinctive copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
roof, it is one of the city's most recognizable buildings.
Cosden Building
The Mid-Continent Tower started out as the 16-story Cosden Building, built for oil baron Joshua Cosden in 1918. The Cosden Building was built on the site of the first Tulsa schoolhouse, which was established as a mission in 1885 on Creek Indian land. The Cosden Building was listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979.
Conversion to Mid-Continent Tower
The building was restored in 1980, and in 1984 a new 20-story tower was cantilevered over it, bringing the total number of floors to 36. The tower appears to rest on the Cosden Building, but it is actually supported by an addition built onto the east side of the older structure. The entire project was designed to resemble the style of the Cosden Building as closely as possible, giving the impression of a unified whole even though the two sections of the building were constructed 66 years apart.The building was the home of energy company Reading & Bates until it moved to Houston in 1989. The company's departure led the building into foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
, receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
, and an extended legal dispute that was resolved only in 2011, when the building was sold to Tulsa real estate investors John and Chris Bumgarner.