National Register Listing

Amphlett Brothers Drug and Jewelry Store

a.k.a. Apache Municipal Building

Evans and Coblake Aves., Apache, OK

Apache sprang up almost overnight as a tent city, with the opening of the threecounty area to white settlement on August 6, 1901. As businesses opened and two banks formed, most commercial activity was located on Summit Street (one block south of Evans), but the First National Bank's move to Evans Avenue and the fire of September, 1902, had the effect of re-locating the Central Business District one block north (with its new focal point being the intersection of Evans and Coblake Avenues). Following incorporation of the town on July 22, 1902, the "downtown" began to take permanent shape around the Evans-Coblake intersection, with the completion of the Apache State Bank in 1902 (southwest corner), the start of the Amphlett Brothers Drug Store in 1902(southwest corner), the completion of Levite's Handy Corner Store in 1903 (northeast corner), and the construction of Black's Drugstore (later Smith's Pharmacy) around 1902 (northeast corner). With the exception of the Levite Building, which was damaged by fire and demolished in 1979, the original buildings on the intersection remain intact and in relatively good condition. All three remaining structures retain their architectural and historical significance and are eminently recognizable as such; alterations are minor and restoration would not be difficult. The Amphlett Brothers' Building, although now used as a City Hall, retains its historical and functional linkage to the past, both as an individual structure and in the context of the major "downtown" intersection. The building also relates strongly to the Apache State Bank, already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Occupation of one of the four major business locations in Apache is acknowledge by the builder.! The corner turret not only mirrors a similar turret on the Apache State Bank directly to the west, but also calls attention to the fact that the primary business of the storefront utilized its primary location to the utmost, while acknowledging that the town's "Main Street" (Evans Avenue) was along its narrow axis. The four sheet metal bay windows were surely an attempt to define the importance of the location and underscore the status of the expected occupants, doctors and other professionals. They would thus have their offices opposite the bank, look out a bay window and yet enter the building from Main Street. Despite the continuity of the cornice and parapet walls, the designer did not achieve the unity he attempted. While the materials suggest one building, the placement of the openings suggest two: a corner drug store and an office building. The prominence of these offices, in contrast with the blank wall below, suggest that they are too important to be entered through the south storefront (which gives the appearance of being a step-child). The prospective client was left to walk the perimeter to find the unimposing entry on the eastern side of the north facade, where it enjoyed a Main Street address.

This building is important to the City of Apache because of its location and the aspirations of the owner and builder who, while filling in the fourth corner of the most important intersection in town, tried to be all things to all occupants, thus gaining maximum return from their investment in premier location, good craftsmanship, and the most status-worthy construction materials of their time: brick and sheet metal ornament.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1982.