Architect Joseph Koberling's Commentary

Years ago when the Board of Education paired Leon Senter and Joseph Koberling went off into a temporary partnership to plan, design and supervise the construction of this project, Senter and Koberling thought they were slightly off their rocker.

This site was way out in the country, and the nearest thing to it for six blocks was an old abandoned mine shaft. Their school population, however, indicated a strong trend of growth in this direction, and so, here she is.

My responsibility in this partnership became the actual designing of the hundred and one features we hoped would make an attractive as well as a functional building.

It took many months and many trained minds of numerous specialists laboring together towards a single goal to produce the plans and specifications for this project.
Every single feature, whether seen or unseen had to be carefully studied, analyzed and finally drawn and specified so contractors could bid the job and finally build it into the building you see here today.

About the time the plans were being prepared, Will Rogers passed away, and the Board decided to name this school in honor of this outstanding son of Oklahoma.

Because of this fact we felt that it should be a worthy tribute and memorial to a man every one loved so well. It seemed to us, that the building should be monumental in character. However, because it was a school, it should not be a somber type of a monumental memorial. Rather it should be alive and joyous in character, not only reflecting his own outlook on life, but also the spirit and aspirations of the generations of young men and women who were to use this structure as a place of learning and training to become useful citizens throughout the coming years.

The vertical lines, the massing of the entrances, the ornamentation, and the selection of materials and colors throughout the project were deliberately studied to produce this desired effect.

As an instance, each of the south entrances to the building received special consideration in the overall exterior design of the building.

WRHS 2008 - National Register of  Historical Places