644 N.E. 14th Street
This huge tapestry brick house with high pitched rusticated wood shingle roof has a superb stuccoed and half-timbering second story. A romantic English country house, it has a sweeping gable three stories high protecting the entrance. The door is surrounded with four corbeled brick voussoirs over the arch. There is a beautiful leaded glass window and an interesting clustered brick chimney east of the door. The trees and landscaping enhance the total effect. Ellis, Nicholson and Cramer built the house and Bob White had a sub-contract to do the carpentry work. An Englishman and his son contracted to do the intricate brick work.
Errett R. Newby 1929-53
Dr. Stewart Wolf 1953-70
Mr. Newby was one of four sons and daughters of the Rev. W.H. Warner Newby, who founded the Newby Children's Orchestra -- the first concert orchestra in Oklahoma Territory -- which flourished in 1899. Erret and his brother, Jerry, who went on to become a geologist, played piano and cornet in the group. His sister, Jesse, played clarinet, and Merle, later to become Mrs. Frank Buttram, played violin.
Rev. Newby brought his flock from Denver in 1899 to take the pastorate of the First Christian Church in Guthrie. When the concert unit was organized, the minister was business manager, tour arranger, personnel manager, ticket-taker and transportation chief.
Merle Buttram later became head of the violin department in the school of music at the University of Oklahoma and concertmaster of the university orchestra.
Errett, who worked his way through school at OU by teaching piano and typing, received two bachelor degrees, one in piano and one in liberal arts. He was Secretary and also Registrar at the University of Oklahoma from 1908 to 1919. Mr. Newby was employed as head of the land department of Waters-Pierce Oil Company for a time, then resigned and became secretary and head of the land department at Buttram Petroleum Corporation. He also founded Jones-Newby Supply Company located on N.E. 23rd Street.
He was a city councilman from 1947 until 1951 and was a longtime trustee of Phillips University and the University of Oklahoma Foundation.
One note of interest about this home is that Mr. Newby, Dr. Wolf, and the first occupant of the garage apartment, Dr. John Lamb, were all president at one time in their careers of the Oklahoma City Symphony Society. Mrs. John Lamb was the daughter of E.S. Lain (624 N.E. 18th).
Dr. World came to Oklahoma City from Cornell University Medical Center to be the first clinical head of a department in the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He is a nationally known authority on gastroenterology and co-authored a book on medical ulcers. He was active in civic affairs. A lectureship has been set up in his honor by his former residents and interns since he left the Medical Center to become the head of the Marine Biomedical Institute in Galveston, Texas.
Pictured are two pages from a letter submitted by Errett R. Newby in support of the efforts to preserve the historical heritage of Lincoln Terrace.