National Register Record for CHEROKEE TERRACE APARTMENTS

Historic Name: CHEROKEE TERRACE APARTMENTS
Current Name: SAME
Address: 619 EAST MAINE STREET
City: ENID            County: GARFIELD
Section: None           Township: None           Range: None          
Description of significance: THE CHEROKEE TERRACE APARTMENTS IS ELIGIBLE FOR INCLUSION IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES FOR LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE UNDER CRITERIA A AND C IN THE AREAS OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND ARCHITECTURE. MEETING THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED IN THE MULTIPLE PROPERTY DOCUMENTATION FORM “PUBLIC HOUSING IN THE UNITED STATES, 1933-1949” (MPDF)CHEROKEE TERRACE WAS CONSTRUCTED AS A LOW-RISE, MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT BY THE HOUSING DIVISION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION (PWA) TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THOSE CAST INTO POVERTY BY THE GREAT DEPRESSION. CONSTRUCTED BETWEEN 1936 AND 1938, THE PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE, CHEROKEE TERRACE EMBODIES THE THEORIES OF SITE PLANNING AND DESIGN DICTATED BY THE PWA. LOCATED ONTWO “SUPERBLOCKS,” THE SITE FEATURES EIGHT ONE- AND TWO-STORY BUILDINGS THAT OCCUPY LESS THAN 30 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL ACREAGE. THE PROPERTY ALSO INCORPORATES DISTINCT CIRCULATION PATTERNS, LARGE OPEN SPACES, RECREATION AREAS AND A COMMUNITY CENTER. THE BUILDINGS FOLLOW THE UTILITARIAN DESIGN TENETS OF FUNCTIONAL MODERNISM, THE STYLE PREFERRED BY THE PWA DUE TO ITS ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. CHARACTERIZED BY REPETITIVE FORMS, LONG, UNEMBELLISHED LINES, MINIMAL ORNAMENT AND SPARSE, FUNCTIONAL INTERIORS, THEBUILDINGS STAND AS AN INTACT EXAMPLE OF THESE IDEALS. CHEROKEE TERRACE ADDITIONALLY ILLUSTRATES BROADER PATTERNS OF PUBLIC HOUSING IN THE UNITED STATES AS MANIFESTED IN THE COMMUNITY OF ENID, OKLAHOMA.

Type: None
Historic Function: DOMESTIC: MULTIPLE DWELLING
Current Function: DOMESTIC: MULTIPLE DWELLING
Area of Significance 1: ARCHITECTURE
Area of Significance 2: COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Architectural Style: MODERN MOVEMENT
Architect: BLUMENAUER, GEORGE ERNEST
Year Built: 1936-1938            Original Site: YES
Condition: EXCELLENT
Restricted: N
Documentation Source: None
Date Prepared: 2013