Mayo Hotel, Tulsa

The Mayo Hotel is a historic building. This Chicago School (Sullivanesque) Building was built in 1925. The base of two-story Doric columns supports fourteen floors marked with false terracotta balconies, and a two-story crown of stone and a dentiled cornice. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Once the tallest building in Oklahoma, the hotel originally had 600 rooms. Ceiling fans in each room and Tulsa's first running ice water made the hotel a haven from summer heat.

Abandoned for 20 years, the Mayo seemed destined for the wrecking ball until June 2001, when the Snyder family purchased it for $250,000 and began renovation efforts. Initial efforts focused on restoring the lower floors, which became a popular venue for galas, proms, receptions and meetings. An $11.2 million project to convert seven upper floors into 70 loft apartments began in 2008.