As businessmen like Bulkley discovered, Oklahoma City was a retailer's dream, especially during the 1910s as the population exploded and new manufacturing jobs swelled the buying power of a growing middle class. Another retailer with a Chicago connection was Al Rosenthal, who purchased this house in 1919.

Born in 1888, Rosenthal began his career as a traveling salesman. He moved to Oklahoma City in 1911, where he spent four years as a buyer for B.F. Kaufman, then opened his own women's apparel shop at 204 W. Main. By 1919 he and his wife Doris were prosperous enough to buy this brick home on 17th.

The Rosenthals later added a central air conditioning unit, perhaps one of the first in the city. It was a water evaporative unit placed in the basement. Water ran over fibers and cooled air that was forced through duct work into the house. The system operated efficiently until the 1960s.

In 1953 the home was purchased by Dr. and Mrs. William Miller, who added a pool, cabana, and greenhouse during their 34 year residence. In 1987 they sold to Mr. Donald F. Duncan and his wife, Mrs. Vicki Klassen, who restored the hardwood floors, remodeled the master bathroom and kitchen, and added lights to most rooms.