Colcord Hotel

Charles Francis Colcord was born in Kentucky in 1859 and arrived in what would become Oklahoma during the 1889 Land Run as a 24-year-old cowboy. He built initial wealth in cattle ranching in Indian Territory, then expanded into banking (founding the Oklahoma National Bank in 1899), oil (becoming an early investor in the Oklahoma oil boom), and real estate development. By 1908 Colcord was one of Oklahoma City's wealthiest citizens and the obvious figure to commission a building that would be the city's first true skyscraper.

Construction broke ground in 1908 and the Colcord Building opened in 1910 with 12 stories of premium office space, a marble-clad lobby, brass elevators, and elaborate interior detailing throughout. The building was designed by the Oklahoma City architectural firm of Layton, Wemyss Smith & Hawk — the same firm that would design the Skirvin Hilton across town one year later. The Colcord cost approximately $700,000 to construct, a substantial sum for the era, and was a substantial financial gamble that paid off as Oklahoma City's downtown office market expanded rapidly through the 1910s.

Charles Colcord himself maintained offices in the building for the rest of his career and died in 1934 in Oklahoma City. The Colcord family retained ownership through the early 20th century before selling to various commercial owners; the building served as standard downtown office space for most of the 20th century until the late-20th-century downtown office decline made an adaptive reuse necessary.

By the early 2000s the Colcord Building was an aging office building in a downtown OKC market that had limited demand for older office space. The 2003-2006 conversion to a boutique hotel was driven by Oklahoma City developers who recognized that the building's unusual quality of interior detailing — uncommon for surviving early-20th-century commercial buildings — would support a higher-end hotel positioning.

The renovation was extensive but preservation-focused. The original Italian marble walls, brass detailing, and hand-painted plasterwork in the lobby were preserved and restored. The original elevator cabs were re-machined to operate while preserving the original 1910 brass and mahogany detailing. The grand staircase from the lobby to the second-floor mezzanine retained its original marble treads and ornate iron railings.

Guest rooms were created from former office floors, with the original Colcord office layout's larger spaces converted to suites and the smaller offices combined to create standard hotel rooms. The result is that Colcord rooms are uncommonly spacious by modern hotel standards — most standard rooms run 450-550 square feet, with suites at 700-1,000 square feet. The high original ceilings (about 12 feet on most floors) were preserved.

The Colcord operated as an independent boutique hotel from 2006 through 2015. In 2015 the hotel joined Hilton's Curio Collection brand — Hilton's curated portfolio of independently-styled boutique hotels that operate with Hilton's distribution and loyalty systems while maintaining genuinely independent design and operational character.

The Curio partnership has been useful operationally: Hilton's reservation system drives substantial booking volume, Hilton Honors loyalty members can use points for stays (Curio properties are Category 4 in the Hilton Honors program), and the brand affiliation helps with corporate-travel bookings. The Colcord's independent character — its 1910 historical architecture, its specific decor, its unique restaurant and bar concepts — has been preserved through the Curio partnership.

The Colcord is one of three Curio Collection by Hilton properties in Oklahoma (alongside the Tulsa Club Hotel in Tulsa and a property in Edmond). All three are historic-building restorations rather than new construction, which is the typical Curio pattern. For visitors choosing among OKC's historic hotels, the Colcord and the Skirvin Hilton are roughly comparable in quality and price; the Colcord typically runs $20-$50 per night cheaper.

Flint — the Colcord's signature ground-floor restaurant — serves contemporary American cuisine with strong Oklahoma sourcing. The restaurant is open for breakfast (substantial à la carte menu plus a respectable breakfast buffet), lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Dinner entrees run $26 to $46; brunch entrees are $18 to $32. The dining room is intimate (roughly 60 seats) and the kitchen consistently executes a higher level than typical hotel restaurants. Flint is open to the public; reservations are recommended for dinner and weekend brunch.

The Library Bar is the Colcord's signature drinking space and one of the most-loved hotel bars in Oklahoma City. The bar occupies a small intimate room off the main lobby designed as a working library — floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with actual books (a curated collection of Oklahoma history, contemporary fiction, art books, and biography), leather club chairs, dim warm lighting, and a polished mahogany bar. The cocktail program is one of OKC's strongest with serious classic cocktails plus a small list of signature drinks. Cocktails run $14 to $20.

The Library Bar is the standard pre-Civic-Center or pre-Performing-Arts-Center cocktail destination for downtown OKC theater-goers. The Colcord's central downtown location means the bar gets foot traffic both from hotel guests and from downtown professionals stopping in for a drink. Live piano music is performed Thursday through Saturday from approximately 7pm to 11pm — the same kind of intimate cocktail-bar piano program that the Skirvin's Red Piano Lounge runs.

The Colcord has 108 guest rooms across the 12-story tower, including 25 suites. Standard king rooms run 450-550 square feet — uncommonly large for any historic-building hotel — with the suites running 700-1,000 square feet. Rooms feature high ceilings (the original 12-foot floor-to-floor heights are preserved), large windows, hardwood-style flooring, and modern bathrooms with deep soaking tubs (most rooms) and walk-in showers (some rooms have both). The bedding is luxury hotel standard; the work desks are large; the chairs are comfortable.

Hotel amenities include the Flint restaurant, the Library Bar, a fitness center on the 12th floor with downtown OKC views, complimentary downtown shuttle service for guests, free Wi-Fi, valet parking ($30 per night), and 24-hour concierge service. The hotel is pet-friendly with no additional fee — unusual for boutique hotels at this price point and a meaningful Colcord differentiator from the Skirvin and 21c.

Located at 15 North Robinson Avenue, the Colcord is in the absolute heart of downtown Oklahoma City. The hotel is directly across Robinson from the Cox Convention Center, two blocks from the Myriad Botanical Gardens, three blocks from the Oklahoma City National Memorial, four blocks from the Civic Center Music Hall, and six blocks from Bricktown. The Skirvin Hilton is three blocks east. The walking distances to major OKC attractions are exceptional — the Colcord is the most centrally-located OKC hotel.

Oklahoma City has three major historic boutique hotels — the Colcord, the Skirvin Hilton, and the 21c Museum Hotel — and the choice among them comes down to specific preferences. The Skirvin is the most historically iconic (1911 vintage, celebrity guest list, the haunted-hotel reputation) and has the broadest amenities including a pool. The 21c is the most distinctive (free contemporary art museum, industrial 1916 Ford-plant architecture, pet-friendly with no fee) and is the choice for art-minded travelers.

The Colcord positions itself as the more refined and quiet alternative. The 1910 building has comparable historic character to the Skirvin; the rooms are larger than either competitor; the Library Bar is genuinely the loveliest hotel bar in OKC; and the location is the most central. The Colcord is typically $20-$50 cheaper per night than the Skirvin and comparable to the 21c. For repeat downtown OKC visitors who have already stayed at the Skirvin, the Colcord is the natural next choice.

All three hotels are Hilton or Marriott affiliates (the Colcord and Skirvin are Hilton; 21c is Marriott Bonvoy). All three are pet-friendly (with varying fee structures), all three have excellent restaurants open to the public, and all three are walking distance to the OKC National Memorial. The fundamental architectural and design differences are the basis for choice.