Gillette Historic District

Gillette Historic District

Welcome to Gillette Historic District

The Gillette District, as a neighborhood, is significant to Tulsa because of its history, wide variety of architectural styles, use of building materials, and home sizes. The other neighborhoods that developed at the same time as this district are of more uniform architectural styles and sizes. This sets the Gillette Historic District apart from the others and makes it worthy of National Registar recognition.

The Gillette Historic District is a potpourri of architectual styles which includes Cottage, Bungalow, Art Deco, and Jacobean/Tudor. The area was developed with the larger structures on Yorktown Place for executives, and the area on South Gillette Avenue for middle management (the first Tulsa Society Register lists one-third of the area residents). This area was one of Tulsa's early commuter communities. The neighborhood has retained much of its original fabric and character through the efforts of an active neighborhood association. Only minor alterations have been made to these homes, and all changes have been architecturally compatible.

The Tulsa Historic Preservation Office surveyed the area in 1978. A review committee of national, state, and local preservation experts determined in June, 1978, that the Gillette District met the Department of Interior criteria for Historic Preservation District designantion. The Gillette Historic District was named to the Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory on January 18, 1991. In September 1982, the district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The community decided to historically protect their neighborhood even further by unanimously passing a supplemental "Historic Preservation" Zoning Amendment. This zoning change was the first in the City of Tulsa and prevents improper infilling, demolition, or rehabilitation within the district.

The Gillette Name

The Gillette District gets its name from Mr. J.M. Gillette who built the mansion on the Northeastern end of Yorktown Place (1521 S. Yorktown Place). It should also be noted that the original Gillette yard encompassed the lots that the four houses to the south of it now occupy. The original grounds included a clay tennis court, a "summer house", and a goldfish pond. The remainder of the lot, with exception of the English Garden, was heavily wooded. Mr. Gillette suffered significant financial losses in the stock market crash of 1929 and lost the house.

Other houses of interest...

The neighborhood also is home to many other stories of interest. From the inventor of the tubeless tire and the parking meter ( Art Deco @ 1551 S. Yorktown Pl.) to former Tulsa Mayors, Bank Founders, and Oil Barons.