Right On Cue

There have been a few moments recently when this city has seemed to step fully into itself. Moments when years of incremental growth, quiet investment, and stubborn belief suddenly present as something undeniable. The NBA Championship parade springs immediately to mind, but so do other snippets: memories of Memorial Marathon mornings, the opening of Okana last year, a dozen national and international competitions along the Oklahoma River, the Flaming Lips with the Oklahoma City Ballet. For many of us, that moment has been building for decades. And when it arrived, improbably and perfectly, so did The National.

Reopened in April 2022 after a purchase and painstaking restoration that ultimately topped $275 million, The National did not simply return a historic building to use. It reframed how Oklahoma City presents itself — to visitors, certainly, but perhaps more importantly, to itself.

The timing matters. This is a city no longer content to be described in those qualifiers we’ve all come to know so well: “up-and-coming,” “underrated,” “surprisingly good.” Oklahoma City is, increasingly, cool. The arrival of a fully realized, unapologetically grand hotel in the heart of downtown signals a shift from potential to presence. That shift is immediately apparent the moment you walk through the doors.

“There’s a moment where guests are almost aghast,” said Patrick Dougherty, area general manager for the property. “Like, ‘Wow, I wasn’t expecting this.’” That reaction is equal parts disbelief and delight, and for the team at The National, it never gets old.

The National occupies the former First National Center, a 1931 Art Deco landmark that opened at a then-astonishing cost of $5 million. Home to the First National Bank & Trust, upon completion, the 33-story skyscraper was the fourth-tallest building west of the Mississippi. In 1957, an additional section was added, followed by another adjoining building in 1972.

In a story we’re all familiar with by now, the 1980s were not kind to Oklahoma’s industries, nor the banks that handled the business of said industries. The building began a slow decline, hastened by an ever-changing roster of stakeholders as the interest changed hands over the years that followed. For decades, the building stood as both a monument and a question mark.

By 2016, the mixed-use office and retail occupancy had fallen below 20 percent, and like so many large historic properties in mid-sized cities, it hovered at the edge of obsolescence.

Floor by floor, tenants disbanded, and with good reason: it’s hard to work in a building with nonfunctioning elevators and intermittent air conditioning. But the nail in the proverbial coffin was when the ownership group stopped paying for pest control. In 2015, the building was placed in receivership.

Luxury Hotel Photographer, Architecture + Lifestyle | The National Hotel, Oklahoma City | Marriott Hotels Autograph Collection | Tanveer Badal Photography | TANVEERBADAL.COM | @TANVEERBADAL

What follows is the stuff of legend. The building sold in 2017 for roughly $23 million to local developers Gary Brooks and Charlie Nicholas — the operative word being local. It would take someone with a preternatural combination of money, vision, creativity, gumption, and, honestly, just chutzpah to stick with the renovation as it ballooned to $275 million.

The redevelopment was less a renovation than a reimagining at full scale: a 146-room luxury hotel, 193 apartments, ground-floor restaurants and retail, and a 700-space garage folded into a single anchor, occupying a full city block. It is the kind of mixed-use project typically reserved for New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago. It’s almost audacious to think it could work here, and yet, here it is.

Dougherty, who arrived in Oklahoma City in 2024 after opening a similar historic property in Amarillo, understands the delicate balance required to make a place like this work. The National operates as part of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection, a “soft brand” designed to let the building itself take center stage.

“It would seem odd if you put a Westin or a Sheraton on the side of the building,” he said. “The building itself is its own brand. It’s part of the city.” That philosophy shapes everything, from the guest experience to the smallest design decisions. Much of what makes The National feel extraordinary is precisely what would never “pencil out” today: hand-finished plaster ceilings, intricate murals, restored stone columns, and original bank vaults preserved not as relics, but as active parts of the experience.

By day, the soaring Great Hall leans into its origins as a bank—its scale and symmetry evoking a kind of institutional grandeur that feels almost impossible to replicate. By night, the space softens, shifting toward something more atmospheric, more experiential. “It’s almost a resort feel in an urban environment,” Dougherty said.

The National’s significance extends beyond aesthetics or even hospitality. It has quickly become a kind of civic living room — a place where the city gathers to mark occasions both large and small, and not by accident. With just 146 hotel rooms, the property could never rely solely on overnight guests to sustain it. From the outset, its success has depended on becoming a touchstone for locals, something the operators seem to understand instinctively.

Tellers is something for everyone: the number one stopover between work and a Thunder game, a key location for downtown business lunches and dealmaking happy hours, birthday meetups and girls’ nights out, general revelry, and everything in between. Hang out long enough, and you’re likely to see at least one blind date at Tellers turn into dinner at Stock & Bond OKC and drinks at The Vault at the National.

It doesn’t hurt that you can turn a visit to the National into a whole day, even as a day tripper. Start at The Gilded Acorn for breakfast or lunch options from the property’s Executive Chef Morgan Wanner, get your nails done at Lacquer, sit for a blowout at Drybar, and do a little shopping at Plenty before heading over to one of the aforementioned hotspots.

With themed high teas, an epic transformation at Christmas, Valentine’s experiences, and unique photo ops year-round, the teams at The National, Tellers, The Gilded Acorn, and Stock & Bond OKC are the quiet engineers of many a core memory. These are not just programming choices or soulless cash grabs. Sure, you can pay for breakfast with Santa, but you can also simply show up, kids in tow, and take countless candids in a Christmas candyland: no one bats an eye. The effort is meaningful and purposeful: those same kids who will grow up here will one day have weddings and special events of their own to plan.

This is where the hotel’s timing feels particularly resonant. Oklahoma City is no longer a place people feel compelled to leave. For decades, the city struggled with brain drain—young people leaving for Dallas or beyond, chasing opportunity elsewhere. That dynamic has shifted. Today, Oklahoma City is growing at one of the fastest clips in the country, buoyed by sustained public investment, a growing cultural scene, and a renewed sense of civic confidence. Our children no longer clamor to leave the moment they have a degree in hand. The National didn’t create that momentum, but increasingly, they seem to have created the monument.