National Register Record for HARRIS PALACE STORE

Historic Name: HARRIS PALACE STORE
Current Name: RIVER BANK GENERAL STORE
Address: 214 EAST RIPLEY STREET
City: BYARS            County: MCCLAIN
Section: None           Township: None           Range: None          
Description of significance: THE HARRIS PALACE STORE, LOCATED AT 214 EAST RIPLEY STREET, IN BYARS, MCCLAIN COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, ON THE TOWN’S COMMERCIAL SQUARE, IS NOMINATED FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES UNDER CRITERION A FOR ITS LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE AREA OF COMMERCE IN BYARS FOR THE PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE 1904-1930. ERECTED IN BYARS’S SECOND YEAR OF EXISTENCE, THE “GENERAL MERCHANDISE” BUILDING REPRESENTS THE EARLIEST DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL-TOWN BUSINESS ENTITIES DURING THE LAST YEARS OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY ERA. THE BUILDING IS ONE OF THE TOWN’S THREE EXTANT RESOURCES REPRESENTING THAT EARLY-DAY COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY AND OF THE THREE, IT PRE-DATES ITS PEERS BY AT LEAST ONE YEAR. IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1913 AND 1925 THE HARRIS PALACE STORE WAS ALTERED FROM A TWO-STORY COMMERCIAL STYLE BUILDING TO A ONE-STORY BUILDING IN THE SAME ARCHITECTURAL STYLE AND THE FOOTPRINT OF THE REMAINING FIRST FLOOR WAS EXPANDED IN SIZE. THE BUILDING RETAINED ITS ORIGINAL RETAIL COMMERCIAL PURPOSE AND CONTINUED AS SUCH UNTIL AT LEAST 1930, AFTER WHICH NO DOCUMENTS EXISTS TO SUGGEST A COMMERCIAL SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. ALTHOUGH THE SETTING OF A DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL AREA AROUND A PUBLIC SQUARE HAS DIMINISHED CONSIDERABLY SINCE THE 1930S, THE HARRIS PALACE STORE RETAINS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT INTEGRITY IN THE OTHER SIX ASPECTS TO ENABLE ITS LISTING, AND IT RETAINS THE FEELING AND ASSOCIATIONS OF A ONCE-VITAL DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL SQUARE. LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER 9/19/2019.

Type: BUILDING
Historic Function: COMMERCE: DEPARTMENT STORE
Current Function: COMMERCE: DEPARTMENT STORE
Area of Significance 1: COMMERCE
Area of Significance 2: None
Architectural Style: EARLY 20TH CENTURY COMMERCIAL STYLE
Architect: UNKNOWN
Year Built: 1904, 1913-1925            Original Site: YES
Condition: GOOD
Restricted: None
Documentation Source: None
Date Prepared: MARCH 2019