The E.W. Marland Mansion is a Mediterranean Revival-style mansion located in Ponca City, Oklahoma, United States. Built by oil baron and philanthropist Ernest Whitworth (E.W.) Marland, as a display of wealth at the peak of the 1920s oil boom, the house is one of the largest residences in the southwestern United States, and is known as the "Palace on the Prairie." It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973, and is now a museum open to the public.
Architecture
The Marland Mansion was built on the side of a small hill, higher on the west side than on the east, in an abandoned stone quarry that determined the placement for the mansion, as the excavations for the quarry was used for the construction of the swimming pool. Designed by prominent Tulsa architect John Duncan Forsyth, the mansion was constructed between 1925 and 1928, and influenced by the Palazzo Davanzati in Florence, Italy that Marland had visited while traveling in Europe. Crafted from light-colored, rusticated limestone blocks, quarried on-site, and set in concrete on a steel frame, the roughly u-shaped layout is 78 feet wide and 184 feet long. The main entrance is found on the west front and features an arched and buttressed porte-cochère with gabled, clay tiled roof, that shelters the arched, 11-panel, double wood entrance doors custom-made in New York. Under each of the four inside corners of the porte-cochère are sculptures of Marland's four hunting dogs, carved by Italian sculptor, Ernest G. Pellegrini. The windows with black painted metal surrounds, to contrast with the light colored stone, are asymmetrically arranged. The first level windows feature wrought iron grill work, while those on the second level are smaller, or have wrought iron balconies.
Large raised terraces are found on the north, south and east fronts, however they do not interconnect. The south front's notable features include triple arched windows giving an arcaded effect and accented with stone balconies with flower carved corbels that flank the facade on the upper level. The drainage system is also exposed and displays the Marland monogram and the date "1927." The water from the system drains through a sculptured carving of Pan into a water feature located in a niche in the side of the terrace wall. Giving access to the terrace is a semicircular arched glass and wrought iron double doorway. The fanlight features a sunburst pattern with the tracery continuing down into the sidelights and doors with vertical bars. The arched doorway is replicated on the north facade in a set of three, continuing the arcaded effect. This arcade is highlighted by a stone cantilevered staircase to the left, with ornately carved corbels of mythological creatures leading to a second floor balcony adjacent to E.W. Marland's quarters. The east front is the only one that features a symmetrical facade, and where all three stories are evident due to the house being built on a hill. The first level has a set of three arched doorways that enclose a lounge directly below a terrace found on the second level, centered by a single arched entryway. On the third level are flanking rectangular windows with wrought iron balconies, mirroring those on the west front, centered by three small square shaped fenestrations.
The overhanging hipped roof, with stone corbeling along the roof line, features red clay tiles pierced by five large stone chimneys topped with Mediterranean style chimney caps. There was a sixth chimney situated on the north side of the house towards the rear that was destroyed in a storm and never rebuilt.
Interior
First floor
The mansion is spread out over three floors featuring a total of 55 rooms, including 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, 7 fireplaces, and 3 kitchens illuminated by 861 light bulbs. The layout of the house is generally a central hall plan, and as a result of being built on the side of a hill, the entrance hall is located on the second floor. Defining the space is a large stone arch flanked by two lower rectangular openings, through which a short flight of stairs lead to a landing behind the arch featuring a balustrade. Overhead are gilded domed ceilings, and the space is embellished with two stone carved night owls, peering out of the stairway niches through glowing red eyes. Below the arch, a grand stairway leads down to the first level, and to the Hall of Merriment. The hall is named due to the four whimsical carvings of men representing "Eat, drink and be merry," with the fourth figure taking a pinch of snuff. The hall today is the site of the Carl and Carolyn Renfro Gallery that feature replicas of the twelve statues entered in a competition to depict the Pioneer Woman.