[1][2] The Depot was built in 1931, and was considered "the single best PWA symbol of hope for economic recovery during the bleak days of the depression.

[3] The upper floor was the concourse level, with segregated waiting rooms on the east and west, flanking a central area for ticketing and baggage check-in.

Direct access was via elevated entrances connected to the Boston and Cincinnati Avenue bridges over the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway tracks.

The lower level served postal traffic, the Railway Express Agency (train-carried mail service) and passenger baggage; trucks were able to access this area directly via First Street.

The building was turned over to the Tulsa County Industrial Authority, which then signed a 99-year lease with the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame for $1.

[7] The lease calls for the Jazz Hall to cover its own operating expenses; and, some controversy has arisen on occasions when bill payments have been late.

[12] In November, 2020, The Tulsa County Industrial Authority (TCIA) filed a lawsuit to terminate the building lease with the Jazz Hall and to recover $8,474 in past-due taxes and utilities.

[14] By July 2022, renovations had begun on the facility, with a reopening originally expected in early 2023 as simply the Jazz Depot.