The building was built by Martin Rhinehart during the 1920s and was his pride and joy.  He used nothing but the finest materials such as solid walnut woodwork, imported Italian marble and terrazzo, beautiful handpainted plastered lobby ceilings, etc.  Though he lost it during the Depression, he kept his office there well into the 1950s.  Incidentally, he also built the Biltmore Hotel.

At one time there used to be a bronze placard on the NW corner of the building stating that that was the location of OKC's first library.

 

 

You can note from the description that the OKC Chamber of Commerce occupied the top two floors.  Thus the name COMMERCE Exchange.  Because of the COC being there, several very important organizations were initially housed there: 

• Tinker Field's first office used during the planning and early construction of the base.
• Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
• Keith Kahle's airline which later became part of Frontier Airlines.
   

 

 

 

The Commerce Exchange was so well built with reinforced concrete that the demolition people were really challenged in tearing it down.  This was shortly before they started imploding structures.

 

 FYI the reason I'm so well acquainted with this building was that my father, Michael M. Newman, owned it from 1946 until 1955.

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