W.P. “Bill” Atkinson was a success by any definition as America entered a period of economic expansion and innovation in the 1950s. Already a successful homebuilder, developer and founder of Midwest City, Atkinson continued to expand his empire, buying property along SW 74. Other developers were gravitating toward SW 59, historian and veteran reporter Max Nichols once noted. After all, these developers reasoned, surely the state would need to create a “Southwest Expressway.” They were right – but the highway was built along SW 74, not SW 59.

Once again, Atkinson’s gut instinct added to his considerable wealth.

Atkinson set his sights next on the governor’s mansion and was quickly deemed the front-runner in the 1958 election. But first he would build a home more suitable for a governor of a state that was rapidly making the jump from "arrows to atoms."

Nothing has come easy for Stage Center or for its supporters, it seems.

Forty years ago, though, optimism blossomed as local headlines announced that

internationally-renowned director and actress Margaret Webster would direct the

planned inaugural play in the building, “A Man for All Seasons.” (1)

Stage Center was known then as Mummers Theater. And getting a permanent,

landmark location to perform plays in Oklahoma City had been a dream of actors,

actresses, directors and audiences for years leading up to that inaugural

season.

The theater had started with outside tent performances in the late 1940s, and

since had moved into a warehouse on West Main. But organizers were looking for

something more permanent.

The key to getting that going happened in 1962 when the Ford Foundation made

a $1.25 million grant to the Mummers Theater.

But the grant came with a big string attached.

(All photos courtesy of the Atkinson Center) 

W.P. “Bill” Atkinson was on the rise as the United States entered World War II in 1941. Not a bashful man, Atkinson boasted about his spot as the city’s leading homebuilder on billboards all over town. Thanks to a successful stint as chairman of the journalism department at Oklahoma City University, Atkinson had landed a spot on the board of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.

And Atkinson was in good standing with Daily Oklahoman publisher E.K. Gaylord.

“Mr. Gaylord and I were close personal friends,” Atkinson said in a 1991 interview with KOKH interviewer Ronnie Kaye. “I wanted what was best for the state and Oklahoma City, and so did he. I really loved the man.”

Everything would change with the opening of a new air force base. The feds were being coy as to where they would locate the base. But when the base’s location east of downtown Oklahoma City, attention quickly turned to the mysterious buyer of surrounding properties.

Several months ago we promised to tell the story of W.P. "Bill" Atkinson - the late publisher of the Oklahoma Journal, gubitorial candidate, earlyday homebuilder, and founder of Midwest City. And we're especially excited to have the inaugural edition of the Oklahoma Journal, which challenged Atkinson's rivals, E.K. Gaylord and E.L. Gaylord, and their leading newspaper, The Daily Oklahoman.

We were delayed by problems with the website, the release of a couple of books, and then the launching of the community wide alliance of Oklahoma City history enthusiasts, Retro Metro OKC. But now we are ready to delve into what will be the most substantial addition yet to www.okchistory.com. What follows is the first of a series of installments about the Oklahoma Journal and W.P. "Bill" Atkinson.