The Round Barn, on State Highway 66 in Arcadia, gets a coat of white primer from painter Fred Hunt. By midweek, the barn will be repainted its traditional red. BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN
ARCADIA — The historic Round Barn on State Highway 66 in Arcadia is getting a face-lift.
A two-man construction crew has worked for several weeks replacing rotted wood, caulking and applying paint primer. Now they've begun returning it to its traditional red color.
"Someone was by the other day, said ‘I don't like it white,' said Butch "the Barn Man" Breger, who runs the gift shop in the barn and acts as caretaker. "I said, ‘Wait a minute, it will be red again."
Vi Davis, president of the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society, said the $21,000 worth of repairs were paid for in part by fund-raisers and private donations. The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, part of the National Park Service, also kicked in with a matching grant of $10,500.
Fred Hunt of Edmond-based S&R Construction was half of the crew painting the barn and repairing the siding. He said work such as this has to be done every 10 years or so.
He's also replacing lower shutters and doors on the barn to make it more secure. Davis said the barn has been broken into several times.
The crew will also do some electrical work, Davis said.
She said the exterior work was as minimal as possible to meet Oklahoma Historical Society guidelines. The barn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"If you put too much new siding on, it becomes a new barn," she said.
As it was, Davis had to submit a load of paperwork to the National Park Service, which in turn submitted the request for refurbishment to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
"It was a very long process," Davis said.
The Round Barn was built in 1898, and Davis said its original color was white.
"It wasn't very long after that that they painted it red," she said.
The barn fell into disrepair for many years before being donated to the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society in 1988. The barn was restored by Oklahoma City builder Luther Robison and a group of volunteers known as the Over the Hill Gang, most being over the age of 65. The restoration was completed in 1992, and Robison died in 1997.
