This Oklahoma City Landmark Will Reopen As a Luxe Hotel — and We Got a First Look Inside

Since its 1931 opening, the 32-story First National Bank Building has been an iconic part of downtown Oklahoma City's skyline. Now, after a major renovation — one of the largest infrastructure projects in the state — the historic tower has found new life as the First National Center, home to Marriott's new hotel, The National, Autograph Collection, opening on Apr. 12.

The new Coury Hospitality-run hotel will occupy the lower eight floors of the building with 146 guest rooms, including 16 suites and a 900-square-foot Presidential Suite on the third floor, in a space originally designed for offices. Now, they've been upgraded into comfortable living quarters, with an inviting royal blue color scheme that exalts the charm of the original art deco architecture.

The careful process of hanging onto the historic elements while bringing the building up to modern standards was a joint effort of NE Development & Partners, ADG, Flick Mars Architects, and EverGreene Architectural Arts. EverGreene Architectural Arts is known for preserving the Jefferson Memorial, and with their hotel design captured a "polished endurance and opulence felt immediately upon entering the building," according to a statement Marriott released to Travel + Leisure.

That opulence is indeed felt when stepping into the lobby, anchored by the Great Hall's marble bank columns, as well as four 1931 murals by Edgar Spier Cameron reflecting the state's history, including the Louisiana Transfer, Sunset Trail, and Oklahoma Land Run. Other standout features are the corn stalks décor at the building's entrance, as well as the aviation beacon 456 feet up on the North Robinson Avenue building — once the largest in Oklahoma and now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Two restaurants will also be located inside The National, both of which also open on Apr. 12. Tellers, named for its location among the original bank's teller booths, will serve regional Italian cuisine, while The Great Hall sets the scene for its eponymous bar featuring a European-style menu, including Italian aperitivos and Spanish gintonicos.

Chief culinary officer Jonathan Benno and hospitality company Apicii are behind the hotel's restaurants, as well as another pair of offerings inside the 1.1 million-square-foot First National Center. The Library of Distilled Spirits, scheduled to open in May in the building's basement, will have 1,500 expressions of its spirits that are documented in an encyclopedia, as well as more than 200 craft cocktails. Then, in July, Stock & Bond steakhouse will debut, honoring the High Plains agriculture legacy, along with an impressive selection of whiskeys.

Also inside the building will be 193 private apartments, ranging from studios to penthouses at The First Residences at First National, which will also include a fitness center, meeting room, rooftop pool, and 14-floor parking garage.