EnidBuzz showed a fairly new ‘midcentury modern’ store that wasn’t present in the ’70s when I lived there. The building is now on the national historic register, which seems surprising. I got curious and looked up the other Enid sites. Unsurprisingly the WPA project Cherokee Terrace is on the list. I used to see the Terrace all the time and wondered about the inside. When I focused on WPA the wondering resurfaced.
Jackpot! The historic register includes a nice complete PDF with original pics, floor plans, and current pics of the outside and one occupied unit, taken in 2007.
Here’s the most familiar view of the place:
As originally built with flat roofs, a bad idea that got replaced fairly early.
Closer view of the exterior. Original windows and doors, 70s metal storm windows. Note the smart construction of the porches. The usual style is closed on all sides but hollow inside. Note also the original cement doorsill. When Orkin exterminated my termites in 2008, they explained that the usual cement porch was a haven for termites, who came up from the soil inside to consume the leftover mold-boards, then invaded the house through the wooden sill. Sure enough, my wooden sill was nearly gone, later replaced with pressure-treated wood. The WPA method allowed workmen to remove the form-boards and gave no shelter for termites.
Original floorplan for the two-story units, part of a standard WPA setup.
View into the front door of the occupied two-story apt. Note the mail slot, a high-class 1930’s gadget.
The PDF included the highly occupied living room, with a young woman sitting on the couch watching TV. Her dog was sleeping next to her. Peace sign on the wall, 60s metal glasses on the woman, dog toys on the floor, extension cords all over. Combined with choosing to live in the Terrace, I get a Retro feel from the woman. (I’m not including this pic for obvious reasons.)
The heating system was up to date, with registers visible**. The electric was not up to code, pullchain on the kitchen light, along with the extension cords. Possibly the woman was the resident manager, redoing this apt while occupying it? Might explain her willingness to be pictured.
Original high-class plumbing except for new toilet. Note the hex tile floor, another high-class touch. The medicine cabinet with closed part above and open shelf below is another thoughtful feature.
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** In fact I can guess when it was updated. I continued subscribing to the Enid paper for a long time after moving to Spokane. Enid is home, Spokane is just a place where I’m residing (for 34 years so far). Sometime in the early 90s the paper reported that the boilers at the Terrace were starting to fail. The management found one of the workers who had done the original installation in 1936, and he helped to figure out what was wrong. It’s a good bet that the original steam system continued to fail.
Polistra's Mill 