Poteau in Le Flore County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)
Hotel Lowrey
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 2024
1. Hotel Lowrey Marker
by Wiley W. Lowery
(1877-1944)
Hotel Lowrey was designed, owned, and operated for 35 years by Ruth Romines Cook (1892-1982) and her mother Lou Merideth George (1871-1969).
Kathleen Romines Stone
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1922.
Location. 35° 3.137′ N, 94° 37.285′ W. Marker is in Poteau, Oklahoma, in Le Flore County. It is on North Witte Street just north of Dewey Avenue, on the right when traveling north. The marker is mounted at eye-level, directly on the subject building, just to the right of the west/North Witte Street entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 303 Dewey Avenue, Poteau OK 74953, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Oklahoma’s Choctaw Nation. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Piney Woods, on the prairies, and on the Southern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 13 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Noble-Bird Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bank of Poteau Building (about 400 feet away); McKenna Building (about 400 feet away); Bridgman's Furniture (about 500 feet away); Howe War Memorial
this page online
Regarding Hotel Lowrey. National Register of Historic Places № 100005860.
Also see . . .
1. History of Hotel Lowrey (LeFlore County Museum).
Excerpt: The Hotel Lowrey was built on prime real estate property between the KSC and Frisco railroad lines. The hotel was built with a cement roof to accommodate two additional floors, which were never constructed. The hotel was air cooled and each room had a private bath. The second story mezzanine overlooked the main lobby and the coffee shop and dining room. This mezzanine was used for private dining, private parties, and a place where the local school choirs would serenade the diners. The individual rooms on the second and third floors all had adjoining baths. These bathrooms were tiled in ceramic tiles from a tile company the Lowreys purchased. Most of the original tile remains. There were electric lights in each room. The(Submitted on December 21, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)second floor had public showers for the train travelers who wished to clean up while waiting for a train connection. The hotel featured air-cooled rooms, a dining room and coffee shop, public showers and restrooms, a barbershop, and retail shops. Still intact are the laundry chute, dumb waiter and public telephone booth. The furnishings were turn of the century period. The interior style of the hotel was an art deco/Mediterranean motif. The hotel ceased to operate as a hotel in the 1960s. Since closing as a hotel, the building has served as a dormitory for college students, offices for the OSU extension division, office space for doctors, lawyers and county offices. In 2008, the county gave a 50-year lease to the LeFlore County Historical Society.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 20242. The Lowrey Building Marker(mounted directly below the Hotel Lowrey marker)
This property
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
2. The Hotel Lowery ( National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers).
Excerpt: The hotel, which is on the towns main commercial thoroughfare, is locally significant in the area of Commerce with a period of significance of 1922, when the building was built, to 1965, the date at which the hotel closed, and it shifted to college housing. It was Poteaus largest commercial office and retail building, and it remains the(Submitted on December 21, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)towns largest building of the Classical Revival style. In 1931 and 1932 additional Classical Revival details were added, exterior window upgrades were made, and the interior was slightly reconfigured so that the building became a combined hotel and office building. It represents the towns business and commercial development during the 1920s and 1930s as part of a national pattern of town boosterism by typical local entrepreneurs during an era of economic expansion and population mobility.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 20243. Hotel Lowrey Marker(s)
3. Hotel Lowrey (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: Being located at the corner of Dewey Avenue and Witte Street, it was situated between the Kansas City Southern Railway and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway lines, and the second floor featured public showers for train travelers who wanted to freshen up while waiting for their train connections. Much has since been restored. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Le Flore County, Oklahoma in 2021.(Submitted on December 21, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 2024
4. Hotel Lowrey Marker(s)
The markers are mounted on the right side of the west (North Witte Street) entrance.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 2024
5. Hotel Lowrey (northwest elevation)
Today the building is home to the LeFlore County Historical Society Museum.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 220 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 21, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
