Villa Teresa Catholic School – Oklahoma City

Frank & Burdine Anderson Home 1918-1933

The architecture of the Villa Teresa Catholic School – Oklahoma City has always caused some to raise an eyebrow. That’s because, before it was ever a school, it was a stately home owned by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Anderson.

Classen Boulevard was an up-and-coming development in the late 1910s, and the development of these jaw-droppingly beautiful homes was booming. The Classen Co. lists the site for $4,500 and shortly after Frank E. Anderson and his wife purchased it in 1918 to establish their family home.

The Andersons loved to host and entertain. With a home this big, you have to. Mrs. Frank E. Anderson would often host friends, family, and visitors in the home, but one of her favorite events to host was the Art Renaissance Club. She was also known for hosting the Afternoon Tea and Reading Clubs.

The Andersons, to run their large home, relied on cheap labor to keep things running. They were often seen advertising in the newspapers, “WANTED-Good colored or white cook for family, references required. 1300 Classen Blvd”.

Villa Teresa 1933-2012

The Following Information was taken partially from the Villa Teresa Historic District National Register Nomination Form Prepared by Catherine Montgomery AIA, President; Matthew Pearce, Ph.D., Historian.

In April 1933, the Carmelite Sisters, looking to establish a home base, thought the home of Frank and Burdine Anderson would be the perfect place. They purchased the spacious mansion for $40,000.

An open house was held in August 1933, the community showed up and showed out to welcome the Sisters to the community. Taking the name Villa Teresa Catholic School, its initial focus was on a kindergarten program. Although kindergarten programs existed in every major city in the country by this time, most offered only half-day programs, which limited opportunities for socialization among children and hindered interactions between parents and teachers. Cognizant of the benefits of prolonged interaction between children and teachers, Villa Teresa offered a full-day kindergarten program—the first of its kind in Oklahoma City.

The kindergarten program became so popular that parents soon requested that Villa Teresa offer additional grades. In response to this demand, the Sisters added a new grade each successive school year and increased the amount of space within the convent for educational purposes. By 1941, the school was staffed by eight Sisters and offered classes to girls and boys from kindergarten through the eighth grade. In addition to academic and spiritual instruction, students received training in dance, drama, music, and French.

To accommodate an ever-growing number of students, the Carmelite Sisters expanded the boundaries of Villa Teresa School by purchasing adjacent lots in Block 2. On December 31, 1940, the Sisters purchased the former James Anderson residence at 1228 Classen. The Sisters promptly converted it to a nursery for two-year-old children and below.

James & Margaret Anderson Home 1927-1930 Later Residences 1930-1940

Son of the couple, James Anderson, wanting to stay close to home, decided to officially settle down two lots down from his mother. James had already gone off to live in other states and was ready to start a life in Oklahoma City.

Popular architecture firm Layton, Hicks, and Forssyth designed a $50,000 dwelling. Smiser Construction carried out the plans in 1927. But construction didn’t go so smooth. Joe Blair, a carpenter working on the home, suffered a terrible accident while working on the home. A board from the scaffolding Blair was standing on broke, and he attempted to catch himself but instead fell about sixteen feet to the ground. Blair suffered a broken back and would have a few months in the hospital to recover.

With a similar style to his parents’ home but on a smaller scale, it fit right into the area. With the erection of this second Anderson family home and the last lot owned by them as well, this was the final home to be built on the block.

Once his mother sold her home to the Carmelite Sisters, he had little loyalty to the area and established a home in Houston. The home was then sold to James S. Gladdish in 1930, Col. W.S. Keys in 1931, Arthur E. Pearson in 1933-1941. Pearson suffered a bad fall in the home in 1938, resulting in a broken ankle. It was around then that the Pearsons began looking to and listing their home.

Villa Teresa Nursery 1940-2012

It would seem that after several unsuccessful attempts to do so, the neighbor Carmelite Sisters look to step in and purchase the property. Newspapers reported that the sale officially went through in 1941 for a measly $10,000.

The purchase was a result of surmounting pressure to find additional space for the work of the Carmelite Sisters. The newly purchased building was immediately transformed into an adequate nursery and classroom space, and an opening date of March of that year. This would allow the original Villa Teresa to be used exclusively for the motherhouse and the Catholic women’s center.

The nursery would provide a safe and convenient place for working mothers to leave their children during the day or parents wanting to take weekend trips. It provided 2-3 meals per child and a nap as well. The grade school was fully accredited with state-recognized teachers. Courses included preschool through eighth grade for the school, with enrollment around 80 and by largely non-Catholics.

Villa Teresa Catholic School 1951-2012

In 1951, the Sisters embarked on a $145,000 project to construct a dedicated school building on Lot 10 (1216 Classen). They commissioned prominent local architect Charles Lester Monnot to design the building, known officially as Villa Teresa Catholic School.

A devout Catholic, Monnot had designed several churches in Oklahoma and Texas. The interior of Villa Teresa’s new school building accommodated up to 225 students and was modern in every respect. The building’s exterior was designed in the Colonial Revival style. Much like its neighbors at 1228 and 1300 Classen, Villa Teresa School featured red brick veneer exterior walls, a side gabled roof with front gabled dormers, and a façade with cast stone columns and an entablature framing the front entrance. Such characteristics ensured a uniform appearance across all the buildings then owned by the Carmelite Sisters.

Subsequent additions to the Villa Teresa campus continued to emphasize a unified appearance across the individual school buildings. In 1966-1967, local architecture firm Reynolds and Morrison designed a large addition to the former Frank and Burdine Anderson residence, which was now known as Villa Teresa Convent (1300 Classen).

Built by J. J. Cook Construction Company, the addition is three stories in height plus a full basement. The spacious basement contained a recreation room, hobby room, mechanical room, and additional storage. The first story featured a cafeteria, additional living space, and a library. The second and third stories provided space for eighteen bedrooms, which made it possible for all the Sisters to reside in the same building. In August 1970, the Sisters acquired the former Wiley Lowrey residence at 1212 Classen (Lot 11) and converted it into a pre-school.

By the late twentieth century, up to thirty Sisters actively served at Villa Teresa School. Nevertheless, the school still required additional space even though it only offered instruction through the fourth grade by the end of the 1980s. For example, in September 1989, the Sisters purchased a medical clinic located at 522 Northwest 13th Street (no longer extant) and converted the 6,000-square-foot building to classroom and storage space.

Abandonment 2012-2017

The Carmelite Sisters announced the closing of Villa Teresa School in 2012. The Sisters citing rising costs for health insurance, salaries, increased building maintenance and aging Sisters. At the time of the school’s closure, Villa Teresa served approximately 230 children between the ages of 2 and 10 years old. It was a terrible blow for the community.

“We were one big family.” Sister Veronica said in tears. “It’s too hard to drive by…” Sister Veronica continued, “Even though it’s closed, we’ve all gone out and made that same spirit elsewhere. We did good.”

Restoration Effort 2017-Present

And in a fantastic turn of events, the property is being redeveloped by a group, lead by local preservationist Marva Ellard. The first step to ensure preservation of the property was to purchase it. Partners Marva Ellard and Billy Woodring put down $5.51 million with a vision to reimagine the campus into a hotel. Then move to get it listed on the National Register of Historic Places to open the project up to Historic Tax Credits, an effort that was successful in 2020. The Villa Teresa Historic District was created.

Focus was shifted from the historic buildings temporarily to construct a row of townhomes on the property to bring in revenue to aid in supporting the project. With the townhomes now complete, all work has been diverted to the Villa Teresa buildings.

1216 classen drive home

Gallery Below of Villa Teresa Catholic School – Oklahoma City

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