Parker Building

McBirney Building 1929- 1969

The fascinating McBirney Building, more widely known as the Parker Building, has an extensive history to share. Dating back almost a century, the construction of this building first began with the destruction of another. A wrecking ball met a three-story brick building that sat on this corner back in 1927 to make way for the new venture.

The brainchild of the McBirney Investment Company, it was to be a ten-story Gothic architectural icon. James McBirney, the cofounder of the National Bank of Commerce that was just next door made the interesting decision to connect the buildings on every level. The building was estimated to cost around $800,000 which is $13.8 million today.

Architect E.W. Sippel had changed his original plans for the building to match the artistic structures that were popping up all over downtown Tulsa. It was to share some of the same features as its connected counterpart like marble and terrazzo floors and marble-lined lobbies.

By the end of the year, The Tulsa Tribune was reporting exterior work was mostly done, and that workmen were focused on finishing up the interior for an early 1928 opening. Immediately upon opening the building flooded with leases as many wanted to be in the premiere building of Tulsa.

The McBirney Investment Co. sold the building in 1947 for $700,000 to David S. Chesrow. Chesrow was a real estate and investment guru so having a building this massive wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Plaza Building 1970-1974

After nearly 30 years the building was renamed to the Plaza Building for only a few short years. By 1972 it was announced that the NBT Corp. had entered into an agreement to purchase the building from the Chesrow estate. NBT Corp. owned every other building on that block and with the purchase of the Plaza Building, it would finally be complete.

Parker Building 1974-Present

Only owning it for a short while, the following year Parker Drilling Co. had announced that they had entered into an agreement with NBT Corp. for an undisclosed amount to purchase the building for cash. Parker Drilling at the time was one of the largest international contract drillers of wells for the oil and gas industry. The purchase of this building marked a transition of the company as their first real estate investment. At the time the building was said to only be 40 percent occupied. Parker Drilling planned to take up to five floors for their offices alone so the lacking in occupancy was somewhat of a perfect storm.

Immediately Parker began working with Olsen and Coffey architectural firm to create plans for a complete makeover of the building. This decision will continue to be criticized for decades to come. The renovation included adding an ugly metal facade to most of the structure, covering up many historical details and removing all of the pointed ornamentals at the top of the building for more ugly metal facade. Upon the removal of the ornamentals, some of them were salvaged and ended up being utilized for a fence at a house near the 1700 block of S Gary Road.

One popular tenant of the building was the Ramekin Restaurant-Club which started up on the ground floor in 1975 during the renovations. Partners Jan Vail and Sally & Miller Williams took on the venture together. Jody Walls was made head chef at the Ramekin and was named as a ‘pioneer in a mans field.’ But after four years Vail decided to sell it so he could ‘see his wife and child.’ John Craig, a parking lot guru in Tulsa, purchased the restaurant from Vail.

The Parker Building ultimately closed around 2001 after the company moved their headquarters elsewhere and then underwent a foreclosure. The Parker Drilling Co. reacquried it in 2012 and  sold it to Anish Hotels for $85,000. They had plans to make the building into one of their luxury properties.

But the venture never came to fruition and was placed back on the market in 2015 for $1.65 million. Over the last few years it and its adjacent partner of sorts have struggled to sell. Even as other historic and vacant buildings in Tulsa have been wonderfully redeveloped these two continue to sit vacant. But all hope may not be lost. In 2024 conversations about renovating the Parker Building have picked back up with architectural renderings being released to try and reel in a potential buyer. Will we finally see this landmark restored to its original beauty?

Gallery Below of Parker Building

If you wish to support our current and future work, please consider making a donation or purchasing one of our many books. Any and all donations are appreciated.

Donate to our cause Check out our books!