William Johnstone and Frank Overlees built the two-story brick building on the northeast corner of Keeler Avenue and Frank Phillips Blvd. It was purchased by George B. Keeler for $22,000 one year after its construction and thus became known as the Keeler Building. This Romanesque Revival building with a cartouche shows the date 1905 at the top of the beveled corner entrance. It exhibits some of the finest brickwork in the city, with an arched limestone entrance and second-floor windows arched in groups of three’s on the south side and two’s on the west.
The Bartlesville Oil & Gas Company was in the corner office space until 1918, when it became the Blatz Bar and Café, one of the most popular night spots and restaurants in town. It was at the Blatz on November 16, 1907 (Oklahoma’s statehood) that Earnest Lewis shot and killed U.S. Deputy Marshal Fred Keeler. This death was the first official death for the new County Coroner, John McCallister (See Site 13). For years, there have been a variety of businesses in the rest of the building to the east: the Bartlesville Enterprise was at 120 SW Frank Phillips Blvd., Smysor’s Grocery at 122 SW Frank Phillips Blvd., oil supply companies, and Copeland Appliances later. A number of hotels have been on the second floor along with several oil companies during the oil boom. When the Blatz Bar closed, 124 SW Frank Phillips Blvd. became an insurance office.
The Bartlesville Oil & Gas Company was in the corner office space until 1918, when it became the Blatz Bar and Café, one of the most popular night spots and restaurants in town. It was at the Blatz on November 16, 1907 (Oklahoma’s statehood) that Earnest Lewis shot and killed U.S. Deputy Marshal Fred Keeler. This death was the first official death for the new County Coroner, John McCallister (See Site 13). For years, there have been a variety of businesses in the rest of the building to the east: the Bartlesville Enterprise was at 120 SW Frank Phillips Blvd., Smysor’s Grocery at 122 SW Frank Phillips Blvd., oil supply companies, and Copeland Appliances later. A number of hotels have been on the second floor along with several oil companies during the oil boom. When the Blatz Bar closed, 124 SW Frank Phillips Blvd. became an insurance office.
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55
Keeler Building
120 - 124 SW Frank Phillips Blvd.
