The First National Center has been apart of OKC’s skyline since its construction in 1931. It was originally the ‘First National Bank’ until the bank went under and the building was renamed ‘The First National Center’ or building. It has a similar exterior to the Empire State Building. I affectionately call it “the big shot” because of its long aviation tower on the top of the building. The bottom floor of the building houses the old teller stations from the original bank, which has recently been considered as an historical place. 

I have a strong personal connection to this building because my dad’s office was located on the 8^th floor for the majority of my life. I loved spending time in my dad’s office. He tells me that even at a young age I would pretend I was a working lady and march around the office gathering papers from his co-workers. I remember the smell the building had, it was a mixture of antiques and coffee. The First National Center is now being renovated and converted into a hotel. I am devastated by this fact because this building houses so many great memories and experiences from my childhood. My childhood dream was to grow up and have my very own office in the First National. However, I am excited to see this building thrive with its new purpose.

Alvar Aalto was known as a Finnish architect and designer who developed his own style. Aalto’s style also consisted He designed furniture, glassware, textiles, sculptures, architecture, and painted. One of his famous works is called the Säynätsalo Town Hall. This building is located in the center of a small town in Finland. It was designed by Aalto in 1949 and includes elements of classicism, modernity, and intimacy. The Town Hall was built for local government offices, staff apartments, and retail space. Most of the building is made out of stone and brick with a wooden staircase and a courtyard in the middle.

The United States Capitol Building on Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C., is one of the most iconic buildings in America. This building is literally on a hill, hints the name. When I first visited, I was shocked to learn that it has its own subway located inside. What is most interesting, is that Thomas Jefferson held a competition to choose an architect to design this building. Something special about this building is that one of my best friends works there and has taken me on a in-depth tour that most of the public can’t do.

Radio City Music Hall in New York City, specifically Rockefeller Center, is one of New York’s most famous attractions. I first visit during Christmas of 2017, during which the photo below was taken. Why I like the building so much is because it was build at the peak of the Great Depression in the 30’s for people to enjoy shows and events. Going to a show is a great experience because of how intimate and small the theatre is. My mom and I saw the famous “Christmas Spectacular” that has been performed since 1933.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, located in New York City, was one of the most beautiful churches I had ever been to. It was my first time in New York City and at the top of my list to go visit. The style is neo-gothic and has some the most gorgeous stained glass. What I found most memorable about this church is all of the marble included. It has stood in New York since 1878 and still remains active for church services.

Deok Su Gung palace is one of the famous palaces in Seoul, Korea. It was built before Japan took over Korea but was immensely destroyed during the colonial period so now only one third of the palace remains. The palace is located in the middle of Seoul’s busiest downtown intersection. The moment you enter the palace, the sound of nature will surround your ears. It felt very nice to be separated from the busy hustling sound of the city. Deok Su Gung palace was the very first palace that infused both western and Korean style architectures. It looked quite odd to see a western architecture right next to the traditional Korean architecture. There were so many gardens around the palace so it was very peaceful and calm. The palace was surrounded by a long, elegant wall. Even the wall itself looked beautiful because it had a unique, Korean traditional design. Although the palace itself was stunning, I felt a little sad as I was looking around because the palace was temporarily used for royal families since they were forced to leave the main palace during the colonial era. Even this palace had to get mostly destroyed in the end. But I’m glad that I was still able to encounter one of the remaining of Korea’s historical palace.

This building has small pyramids at the front door which made it seem grand and the most important in the quad. It was the first engineering building and houses the directors office for my major, mechanical engineering. I was impressed with how well it has aged. The modern gothic style with engineers crest above the doors makes it timeless. Felgar Hall tips it’s hat to the engineers that work inside, with the little accents at the entrances.

This entrance shown became very important to me since I would enter it when going from the shop to the office on race team business. There were many good times from walking over to attend admin meetings to receiving an email that we received a package. I feel purpose when entering that I’m going to accomplish my goal which makes this building on campus stand alone.

In 2008 Purcell opened the doors to the new high school, replacing this building pictured above. This was the high school from like 400B.C. to 2008, then it was repurposed to be the new jr. high for Purcell. I was lucky enough to attend this school for two years. These two years of school were by far the worst years of I have ever experienced. This building was disgusting; moldy ceiling tiles everywhere, flooring peeling up, nasty smells, just all around a terrible school. The board of education finally decided to build a new jr. high this year. Good for those kids, but that death trap of a school built character, and none of these upcoming generations will ever have to face adversity in their plush new jr. high at Purcell.

I joined the Scottish Rite at this Temple around this time last year. In fact, the anniversary of my degrees is some point this month. This historic building is from the Great Depression era, and it is a beautiful building, in my opinion. It is a mixture of a bunch of different architecture styles, but the inside is mostly Egyptian-revival. I also am on a degree team, where we go on stage and recite our lines in front of a class of candidates, and our degree we put on is the 12th degree, called Master Architect. After a Mason receives this degree, they certainly won’t be a Master Architect in terms of knowing the in-depth mathematics and engineering that goes into building something, but it is a thorough ceremony teaching some tools that ancient architects would have used (namely the compasses, parallel ruler, protractor, plain scale, sector, and slide-rule), as well as physical representations of the different style of columns are present on the stage during the degree. Of course, we don’t teach candidates the practical applications of these things, we instead teach symbolic meanings. The degree also touches on the nature of God as the architect of the universe, showing the perfection of His active nature.