Like the Overholser Mansion, this home is a touchstone for the neighborhood, a direct link to the historic beginnings of Heritage Hills and Oklahoma City. And like Overholser, the man who built it was considered a town father. That man was Frank P. Johnson.

Born August 9, 1872, in Lexington, Mississippi, Frank was the son of an attorney turned newspaper publisher. Frank had a younger brother named Hugh. Their father died when Frank was 11 years old.

Frank worked his way through college, earned enough money to buy a newspaper, and married Aida Allen, whose father had recently moved to the western boomtown of Oklahoma City. In 1895 the newlyweds joined him in the territory.

At first young Frank tried the newspaper business, then teaching. Neither held his attention, so he and brother Hugh started an insurance business and prospered during the economic recovery of 1897 and 1898. A year later they organized the Union Trust Company, a mortgage and title firm, and bought into the American National Bank. By 1906 Frank was president.

Encouraged by the city’s economic expansion, Frank and Aida decided to build a home in the new addition north of town. They hired the architectural firm of Hauk and Collignon and selected a Neo-classical design similar to the mansions in their native state of Mississippi. The south side was dramatic, with an oversized pedimented gable supported by monumental Doric columns and an inner balcony supported by matching pairs of smaller columns. On the west side was a carriage entrance. The interior, by contrast, with strictly Victorian, with small rooms radiating off a central entryway, dark colors, mahogany paneling, ornate ceilings, and silk wall coverings.

After moving into the home, Frank Johnson continued his successful banking career. For nine years his primary competitor was his brother Hugh, named President of the First National Bank in 1918. In 1927 the two banks merged, forming the American-First National, which merged with Security National in 1929 to create the modern First National Bank of Oklahoma City. With $70 million in capital, it was the largest bank in the 10th Federal Reserve District. In 1929 construction began on the landmark 33-floor skyscraper, the First National Building.

Frank Johnson died in 1935, followed by Aida nine years later. The Neo-classical mansion was passed down to their grandson, Frank Johnson Hightower, who was born in 1922. Frank grew up in the neighborhood, then attended college at Yale and served in the army during World War II. While in the service, he was assigned to the office of the Military Attache to the American Embassy in Moscow. After returning to Oklahoma City, he renewed a friendship with Dannie Bea James who was born in 1925 and the daughter of Dan James who owned and operated the Skirvin Hotel. Dannie Bea attended Wilson Elementary. She graduated from Classen High School and Smith College and was a volunteer driver in the Red Cross Motor Corps during World War II. In 1949 Frank and Dannie Bea were married. They both enjoyed ranching and farming. Frank opened a fine specialty retail store named Hightower’s in the Hightower Building that was built by his grandfather in 1928. Dannie Bea was the buyer for the store.  

Dannie Bea served on many civic boards including the Oklahoma City Symphony, Oklahoma City Ballet, Oklahoma Arts Center, and Oklahoma Medical Foundation. She also dedicated many years of service to the Myriad Botanical Gardens. They had two sons, Goeffrey Pearson Johnson Hightower and Michael James Johnson Hightower.

The Hightowers decided to keep the best parts of the original design while incorporating a new look that reflected their own tastes. Guided by New York antiquarian and architect, Mortimer Adler, they converted the interior from Victorian to Regency, a style that emphasized classical elements. The changes began at the front door, where an entryway with arched doors was converted to a Regency reception room. In each corner of the room they installed 18th century statues of the Four Seasons, carved from Carrara marble by Anstide Fontana.

They also remodeled the Victorian-era oak staircase and replaced it with a Regency cast iron and brass staircase. In other rooms they changed color schemes from dark Victorian to lighter hues. In one sitting room they installed a 19th century French canvas wall covering. All rooms were furnished with new pieces of furniture and artwork.

Some elements of the original design were maintained. The dining room remained Victorian, with dark mahogany paneling, brown marble fireplace, and dark mahogany mantle-piece. In one sitting room they refurbished a wedding cake ceiling that featured three-dimensional cherubs, each with a different expression.

Outside, the two main entryways were changed. On the south, the inner portico was removed to conform to the Regency style. On the west, a covered entryway was removed and a two-story addition was built. One of the new rooms was designed to accommodate a complete room of 18th century French oak paneling, complete with hidden closets and ornate trim.

Frank Johnson Hightower died on Sunday, October 8, 2000. After his death, Dannie Bea sold the home to Meg and Chris Salyer in 2001. Meg was a native of Long Island and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. She was a corporate loan officer with Chase Manhattan in New York and for 25 years she led Accel Financial Staffing. Meg served as the first woman president of the Rotary Club of Oklahoma (2003-2004) and served on the City Council from 2008 to 2019. She also served on the boards of Downtown OKC, Allied Arts, Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, St. Anthony Hospital, and the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics.

‍