Travel + Leisure: Travel Leisure-This Oklahoma City Landmark Will Reopen as a Luxe Hotel and We Got a First Look Inside

The new hotel takes up eight floors of the 1.1 million-square-foot building, once the largest in the state.

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.

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