Tulsa Businessman’s $1 million Re-creation of Waite Phillips Office

Tulsa chemical company owner Mat Brainerd’s had such an interest and devotion of the history of Oklahoma oilman Waite Phillips, he spent $1 million renovating his office to look just like the one Phillips had in Philtower in downtown Tulsa.

As he told The Tulsa World, “Re-creating his office into an exact replica of what it looked like when Waite Phillips moved into his office in 1928 became a labor of love for me.”

It is in the top three floors of Philtower where the businessman now houses his Brainerd Chemical Co.

As reporter John Klein found out, it wasn’t an overnight project. Took Brainerd five years to re-create Phillips’ office.

“We wanted to be exactly like it was in 1927 when this was the tallest building in Oklahoma and one of the most fantastic buildings in the county,” said Brainerd.

The recreation is down to every detail and he used dozens of photographs as well as blueprints and architectural records.