McBirney Mansion

The McBirney Mansion in Tulsa, Oklahoma was the home of James H. McBirney, co-founder of the Bank of Commerce in Tulsa in 1904. He was the original owner of the mansion, built by architect John Long in 1928, and lived there until 1976. The mansion contained 15900ft2 and sits on a 2.91acres lot. The mansion was bought by a law firm that turned it into a law office. By 2007, was purchased by former American Airlines President George Warde, who had plans to transform it into a boutique hotel. In the meantime, the McBirney Mansion was used as an event center. Warde died in 2012, and events stopped being held at McBirney. By February 2012, the Pauls Corporation, a Denver real estate management company, acquired the mansion as part of the suit’s settlement. Tulsa attorney, Gentner Drummond, bought the mansion from Pauls Corp. in 2014, announcing his intention to make it his family's home.DescriptionThe Gothic Revival mansion was designed for James McBirney by John Long, a Kansas City architect. Its site was in Childer's Heights, a residential area located near the Arkansas River, south of downtown Tulsa. The site is at 1414 South Galveston Avenue. Its coordinates are latitude 36.14171 and longitude -95.99183.Childers Heights Addition is now a part of the Riverside Historical District. This land had been allotted to Wiliam Childers, a member of the Creek tribe, in 1905, when the tribal lands were allotted to individual members of the tribe. In 1918, after Childers' death, his daughter, Nola Childers Tracy, prepared plats for developing the 160acres that she had inherited from her father.The house has four levels and is constructed with a steel beam frame under hollow tile. The exterior is covered with brick, stucco and stone. It is decorated with copper gutters and stained glass windows. The foundation is 18inch thick reinforced concrete. A separate two-level building contains a four-car garage plus quarters. The basement has a separate entrance at ground level and includes a club room with a fireplace, a biliard room with billiard table, furnace room, two storage rooms and a general purpose room. There is also a laundry and a half bath.