[The following is excerpted from Preservation Guidelines and Standards for Oklahoma City Historic Districts]
Platted as "University Addition" in 1902 by Anton Classen, Mesta Park was developed in stages, largely between 1906 and 1930. Half the construction was complete by 1915. G.A.
Nichols, who later created the Crown Heights 
district and Nichols Hills, built many
houses in the Prairie, Foursquare, Craftsman and other styles popular in the early 20th
century, and also planted many of the trees that now characterize the graceful streets of
Mesta Park.
The curve at the intersection of NW 18th and Shartel can be attributed to a streetcar
line that once served this neighborhood. Streetcars would travel along
Shartel, turn onto NW 18th and then connect with another line that ran
along Classen Blvd. Some of the more distinguished houses were built
on blocks near the streetcar line at Shartel and clustered along Northwest 16th.
Following years of disinvestment, the
neighborhood saw revitalization begin in earnest in the late 1970s, and in 1983 the district
was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994, the neighborhood was
designated a Historic Preservation District by the Oklahoma City
Council. This act preserves buildings that reflect the area's
cultural, social, political and architectural history.