National Register Record for SUNSET-VOGUE-BLUE RIBBON APARTMENTS HISTORIC DISTRICT

Historic Name: SUNSET-VOGUE-BLUE RIBBON APARTMENTS HISTORIC DISTRICT
Current Name: None
Address: NW WILLIAMS & HOOVER AVENUES, NW 23RD & 22ND STREETS
City: LAWTON            County: COMANCHE
Section: None           Township: None           Range: None          
Description of significance: THE SUNSET-VOGUE-BLUE RIBBON APARTMENTS HISTORIC DISTRICT (DISTRICT) IS LOCALLY SIGNIFICANT UNDER NRHP CRITERION A IN THE AREA OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT. THE SIXTEEN-ACRE DISTRICT CONTAINS SEVENTY RESOURCES COMPRISED OF THIRTY-EIGHT CONTRIBUTING APARTMENT BUILDINGS, TWELVE CONTRIBUTING LAUNDRY SHEDS, EIGHTEEN NON-CONTRIBUTING APARTMENT BUILDINGS, ONE NON-CONTRIBUTING OFFICE, AND ONE NON-CONTRIBUTING SHED. THE DISTRICT CONTAINS THREE APARTMENT COMPLEXES; THE SUNSET APARTMENTS, THE VOGUE APARTMENTS, AND THE BLUE RIBBON APARTMENTS. THE BLUE RIBBON APARTMENTS ARE NON-CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES DUE TO ALTERATIONS TO THE EXTERIOR OF EACH APARTMENT BUILDINGS, ALTHOUGH THE COMPLEX RETAINS ITS HISTORIC CONFIGURATION OF BUILDINGS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE OTHER CONTRIBUTING BUILDINGS. ALL THREE COMPLEXES WERE CONSTRUCTED IN 1952, WITH THE NON-CONTRIBUTING OFFICE AND SHED CONSTRUCTED IN 2007. THE DISTRICT IS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 2.3 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAWTON’S HISTORIC CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT IN A POST-WAR RESIDENTIAL AREA THAT REFLECTS LAWTON’S RAPID GROWTH DURING THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY. THE DISTRICT IS DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE RAPID EXPANSION OF LAWTON’S POPULATION IN THE EARLY 1950S AS THE UNITED STATES ENTERED THE KOREAN WAR. THE GROWTH AND EXPANSION OF LAWTON HAS BEEN INTERTWINED WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF FORT SILL, A UNITED STATES ARMY INSTALLATION LOCATED DIRECTLY NORTH OF THE CITY. FORT SILL’S FIELD ARTILLERY SCHOOL TRAINED THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS AFTER WORLD WAR II TO MAINTAIN THE COUNTY’S PEACETIME ARMY AND TO PREPARE THE COUNTRY FOR ENGAGEMENT IN THE KOREAN WAR FROM 1950 THROUGH 1953. THE NATION’S POSTWAR POPULATION BOOM AND THE TRAINING PROGRAMS AT FORT SILL RESULTED IN A HOUSING CRISIS IN LAWTON. IN 1951, LAWTON WAS DECLARED A CRITICAL DEFENSE HOUSING AREA, AND AS A RESULT, PRIVATE DEVELOPERS COULD RAPIDLY CONSTRUCT HOUSING WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF LOW-INTEREST LOANS. THE SUNSET-VOGUE-BLUE RIBBON APARTMENTS HISTORIC DISTRICT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1952 AFTER THIS DESIGNATION TO PROVIDE HOUSING TO MEET THE CRITICAL DEMAND IN LAWTON. THE DISTRICT IS LOCATED IN NORTHWEST LAWTON, DIRECTLY SOUTH OF FORT SILL, IN AN AREA THAT WAS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING IN THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY. AS A RESULT, THE DISTRICT REFLECTS THE ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE AND THE CURVILINEAR STREETS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ERA. THE PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE SPANS FROM 1952, WHEN THE RESOURCES WERE CONSTRUCTED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF LAWTON’S GROWING POPULATION AS THE COUNTRY ENTERED THE KOREAN WAR, TO 1967, WHEN LAWTON EXPERIENCED ITS FINAL POPULATION BOOM AND HOUSING CRISIS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, WHICH WAS RELATED TO FORT SILL’S VIETNAM WAR TRAINING. THE DISTRICT RETAINS INTEGRITY OF LOCATION, SETTING, DESIGN, MATERIALS, WORKMANSHIP, FEELING, AND ASSOCIATION TO COMMUNICATE ITS SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LAWTON. LISTED 12/17/2018.

Type: DISTRICT
Historic Function: DOMESTIC: MULTIPLE DWELLING DOMESTIC: SECONDARY STRUCTURE
Current Function: DOMESTIC: MULTIPLE DWELLING DOMESTIC: SECONDARY STRUCTURE
Area of Significance 1: COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Area of Significance 2: None
Architectural Style: MODERN MOVEMENT
Architect: UNKNOWN
Year Built: 1952            Original Site: YES
Condition: EXCELLENT - GOOD
Restricted: None
Documentation Source: None
Date Prepared: 2018