A nearly 100-year-old mansion with a storied past is on the market, and it’s the priciest house for sale in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Known as the McBirney Mansion, the property went up for sale at $7.25 million on Dec. 6, according to a Homes.com listing. Translated to a mortgage payment, that’s roughly $43,000 a month.
The nearly 16,000-square-foot estate sits on 3 acres and includes seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. It was built in 1928.
More than its size, though, the house boasts a unique structure compared to other historic properties, according to listing agent Deborah McGuire of Coldwell Banker.
“It’s built like a skyscraper,” she said in an interview. “It’s not sticks and stones. It is literally built well before its time as a skyscraper. It’s metal, it's steel, so it’s not going anywhere.”
And since 2016, the current owners have spent more than $4 million on updates while still preserving “the bones of the property,” McGuire said. Those renovations included updated heating and air systems and new tankless water heaters outfitted with the latest technology.
“They kept the historical value of the property,” according to McGuire.
The property also contains three ponds, separate guest quarters and a view of the Arkansas River.
Storied past
McGuire said the mansion’s history also adds to its allure. “It’s just an amazing story of the American dream,” she said.
The house was originally built by an American immigrant who started his career as a janitor at a bank before growing his wealth and eventually building the estate for his family.
In the years that followed, it hosted late aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, and it served a variety of purposes for the community and visitors throughout the 1900s, according to McGuire. In the 1990s, for example, it housed an eating disorder rehabilitation center. Now, it’s owned by Oklahoma's secretary of state and his wife.
Looking ahead, McGuire said she could see the property maintaining its status as a residence for its next owners. But she also noted that it offers commercial opportunities because it's located in a desirable neighborhood just outside of downtown Tulsa.
For example, the mansion could be an office space, a bed-and-breakfast or even a spa, according to the agent.
“It really does lend itself to a lot of different things,” she said.