Tulsa Foundation for Architecture

TFA Member Appreciation Reception

2011-04-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Please join us for a TFA Membership Appreciation Reception celebrating National Preservation Month at the Gartner House, designed in 1926 by noted Tulsa architect Donald McCormick, FAIA.

For those not familiar with Donald McCormick, he is responsible for a large number of iconic Tulsa buildings and residences. From the traditional (Grace Lutheran Church, Southern Hills Country Club, Cascia Hall) to the modern (the Page Belcher Federal Building, the Flint Steel Building, and the demolished Dowell/Helmerich & Payne Building), McCormick’s work in Tulsa spanned six decades and included over 200 residences, with the J.L. Gartner Residence being his first commission.

Originally from Pennsylvania, McCormick was in Tulsa supervising the construction of the First Methodist Church, which McCormick’s employer, the architectural firm of Charles W. Bolton, designed. McCormick decided to stay in Tulsa and establish his own architectural practice after Mr. & Mrs. J.L. Gartner commissioned him to design their home on East 21st Place in 1926. One of the interesting things about the design of the house is its unique and unusual floor plan that is still extremely functional.

Because the McCormick Collection is one of our major collections in the archives, we have all the original drawings for the Gartner House. Here are a couple images of the home’s unique floor plan.

John Brooks Walton Book Signing

2010-11-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Join the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture and John Brooks Walton for a very special evening FREE to current TFA members to celebrate the publication of Walton's latest book, Tomorrow's Historic Tulsa Homes. Mr. Walton will be available to sign copies of the book and answer questions.

The book-signing will be held in a private residence featured in the book with local architect Brian Lloyd Freese, AIA, on hand to discuss the home's design. Light refreshments, including wines from Girouard Vines, will be provided.

Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010
Time: 5:30-7:30pm
Location: 12336 S. 49th W. Ave.
Free for current TFA members, book $30
$35 for non-members, includes book
RSVP/Questions: Call Lee Anne at 583.5550 or laz@tulsaarchitecture.com
Space is limited to 60 guests

Photos by Ralph Cole

Powers of Ten Celebration: 5 Films + 5 Speakers

2010-09-28T09:53:00.002-07:00

TFA is collaborating with Modern Tulsa and Philbrook Museum of Art to celebrate the Eames film "Powers of Ten." Although Charles and Ray Eames created "Powers of Ten" over 30 years ago, it is still very relevant today and an extremely useful tool in relating the importance of scale. In addition to the "Powers of Ten" film, we will be screening four other Eames films, each with commentary from local aficionados on the impact of modern design in Tulsa. Philbrook will also be making a very exciting announcement you won't want to miss!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Patti Johnson Wilson Hall, Philbrook Museum of Art

Free and open to the public

RSVP to the event on Facebook

119 Downtown Tour

2010-08-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

The newest place to live in downtown Tulsa, 119 Downtown, is having an open house and tour of the model apartment unit on Thursday, September 9th from 5-8pm. River City Development is the team behind 119 Downtown; River City Development is also responsible for the conversion of the Philtower to apartments. The McIntosh Group is the architectural firm doing the renovation while Pohlenz Cucine Moderne is designing all the kitchens. One thing that differentiates this project from other recent residential developments downtown is that the 119 units are for sale, not rent. Click here for some great images and renderings of the project.

Located on the northwest corner of 6th and Cincinnati, Leon B. Senter designed the building in 1949. Originally constructed as the Stanolind Building, it has also been referred to as AMOCO East, the 502 Building, the Towercade, and most commonly the Service Pipeline Building. In addition to the 119 Building, Senter also designed many other prominent Tulsa buildings, such as the Fire Alarm Building, the Philcade, the downtown YMCA, and Will Rogers High School. Although not as flamboyantly art deco as some of Senter's early work in Tulsa (like the fire Alarm Building and Philcade), the 119 Building is an excellent example of late deco in Tulsa that also includes many mid-century modern details.

The tour on Thursday, September 9 from 5-8pm is free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, call 918.582.0200.

(Please note that this is not a TFA event.)

Meet ModernTulsa

2010-08-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Think Art Deco is the only architecture Tulsa has to offer? Think again. Tulsa’s collection of Mid-Century Modern architecture is just as impressive as the classic buildings from the Roaring Twenties. So often, post war modernism is easily misunderstood and dismissed as “too new” to be considered historic, when in fact most mid-century buildings are nearing the standard 50-year-old mark, if they haven’t already.

You’ll have an opportunity to view images and architectural drawings of some of Tulsa’s best modern architecture on Thursday, August 26 from 5:30pm-8:30pm. Modern Tulsa, an organization of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, will host Meet ModernTulsa at the TFA archives in the Kennedy Building, 321 S. Boston. On display will be architectural drawings, renderings, photographs, and architectural periodicals celebrating Tulsa’s mid-century architecture. The evening will also serve as an opportunity to get to know the people behind Modern Tulsa working to preserve Tulsa’s recent past. Meet and mingle with others interested in Tulsa’s modern architecture, enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres and wine, browse the archives, toast the modern gems we’ve lost and celebrate the survivors.

Downtown Living Celebration 2010

2010-07-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

You are not going to want to miss tomorrow's Downtown Living Celebration. We will feature three outstanding sites, each with its own style and spectacular view of downtown Tulsa. The celebration will be a progressive party with wine from Girouard Vines, beer from McNellie's, and hors d'oeuvres from Elote, Ti Amo, Impressions Restaurant, Center 1 Market, and sushi from Yokozua. Tickets are $40 for current TFA members, $50 for not-yet members and may be purchased at Dwelling Spaces, 119 S. Detroit, or by calling TFA at 583.5550. Here are a few pictures I took two weeks ago when we had our walk-through at the Mayo Building. And yes, we will be able to hang out on the roof and enjoy the view!

The Robert Lawton Jones House

2010-06-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Oklahoma Interior Design Coalition is holding an open house at one of Tulsa's most famous homes, the Jones House, today from 2 - 7:30pm with a $10 donation at the door. Robert Lawton Jones, who helped found the Tulsa architectural firm of Murray Jones Murray, designed the house as his personal residence in 1959. In addition to the Jones House, Murray Jones Murray designed many of Tulsa's iconic mid-century buildings including the Tulsa International Airport, First Place Tower, Center Plaza Apartments, and the Texaco Office Building.

The house is cited as the first International Style residence built in Oklahoma and includes many hallmarks of modern design. Jones studied under Mies van der Rohe as a graduate student at the Illinois Institute of Technology and later attended the Technical University in Karlsruhe, Germany on a Fullbright Grant after graduate school.

Not only has the house been featured in numerous architectural publications in the U.S. (most notably Arts & Architecture in July 1960) but the house was also featured in a couple European publications as well, Bauen + Wohnen in January 1961 and Schoner Wohnen in September 1963.

Another distinction the Jones House hold is that it was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 when the house was only 42 years old. This is especially significant for a few reasons. First, the house was deemed significant enough to be listed individually and not simply as a contributing structure in a historic district. Secondly, the architect is still living. Thirdly, the house was listed before it was 50 years old, which is generally the accepted age for structures to be considered eligible for listing.

Here are a few pages from the various publications. If you'd like to see some contemporary photos of the house and for more info about the open house, check out the article in today's Tulsa World. Or see it for yourself this evening! The house is located at 1916 E. 47th St.

Lee Anne Zeigler to Speak at Tulsa Press Club

2010-06-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Executive Director of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture Lee Anne Zeigler will be the guest for the Page One speaker series June 17 at the Tulsa Press Club. She will discuss TFA's efforts to revitalize downtown.

A non-profit organization started in 1995, TFA seeks to bring vibrancy to downtown Tulsa, advocating for future development and encouraging preservation of the built environment.

In TFA's 15 years, downtown has seen dramatic changes, from the BOK Center, to OneOK Field, to the Brady Arts District. Programs and incentives for building owners, such as historic tax credits, low income housing tax credits, fire suppression grants, and the International Existing Building Code have helped make these projects possible.

Zeigler will discuss the pioneers who took advantage of these incentives and the benefits Tulsans experience due to TFA's vision.

Zeigler has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and a Master of Science in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture. Her experience includes landscape and architectural design, urban planning, and providing support to the historic preservation community as a former Mayoral appointee, and as staff to the Tulsa Preservation Commission. In addition, Zeigler has completed extensive training in archival methods and practices administered by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries as part of a grant that qualified the TFA Archives as a "Model Archival Organization," recognized by the National Historic Records Advisory Board. She has also completed all four of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Preservation Leadership Training programs.

Page One Luncheons are open to the public. Cost is $15 for Press Club members and $20 for non-members. Lunch service starts at 11:15 a.m. and the presentation begins at noon. A question and answer session will follow. RSVP today to mail@tulsapressclub.com.

NTHP Launches @home

2010-06-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last week, the National Trust for Historic Preservation launched @home, an online community for people who love their homes. @home will provide people with an opportunity to share ideas, resources, pictures, home improvement tips, and more with others from across the country. Currently, only four people from the entire state of Oklahoma have joined. So, if you love your home and would like to share its history with like-minded individuals, join @home!

Historic Tax Credits in Danger

2010-05-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, up until now, the State of Oklahoma provides income tax credits for certified rehabilitations on investments in designated historic buildings statewide. This state credit has generated millions of dollars of reinvestment to revitalize vacant and underdeveloped buildings, generating jobs and increased tax revenues. However, the state legislature has recently put a moratorium on this tax credit via SB 1267. If this tax credit is not reinstated, it could have a huge impact on the future development of downtown Tulsa.

The restoration of these historic buildings might not have been possible without the use of historic tax credits:

The Mayo Hotel;
The Mayo Building;
The Philtower Lofts;
The Atlas Courtyard by Marriott;
The Tribune Lofts; and
The Hotel Ambassador.

There are at least seven additional projects currently in the works in downtown Tulsa that may cease to happen due to the suspension of Historic Tax Credits.

I ask that you please either write an original email or simply copy and paste the form letter below and contact Governor Brad Henry. For more information on the impact of historic tax credits, visit Preservation Oklahoma.

The reinstatement of these tax credits is vital to the revitalization of our downtown!

Governor Henry,

I am writing to express my opposition to the recent suspension of the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, via Senate Bill 1267. I feel that a reinstatement of this credit is vital to the preservation and revitalization of not only downtown Tulsa, but to the Tulsa Community as a whole. The incentive to preserve our historic structures is imperative for many reasons. The unique architecture of Tulsa is a testament to our rich and diverse heritage. To see these buildings sitting empty strikes me as both a waste of history and resources. In an environmental context, we need to emphasize the importance of reusing and repurposing our existing resources. To let these buildings decay is a waste of man power, materials, and not to mention, architectural ingenuity and integrity. I can confidently say that a thriving downtown community is important to me. It is not only important to those of us who grew up here and continue to live here now, but also to the intellectual and creative talent from elsewhere that so many local organizations and businesses are striving to attract and retain in the Tulsa community. I urge you to reconsider the suspension of the Oklahoma Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

Member Appreciation Reception

2010-05-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

Check out today's Tulsa World for an article about our Member Appreciation Reception tonight at the Comma House!

TFA Member Appreciation Reception

2010-05-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

We're only one week away from the TFA/ModernTulsa Member Appreciation Reception at the Comma House! If you're not a current TFA member or if you need to renew your membership, you can join online here or by calling our office at 583.5550. You will also be able to join/renew at the event. Hope to see you there!

Charles Ward's Comma House

2010-04-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Charles Ward designed the "Comma House" as his personal residence in 1963. The mid-century modern house is located at 7007 S. Delaware Pl. on a large, three-acre lot. Known as the Comma House because of its unusual shape, the home features four bedrooms and three bathrooms off a curved hallway with the circular theme repeated in the round living room. The home features many built-ins and a balcony off the living room with a great view to the southwest. The house was featured in the Tulsa Tribune's "Tulsans at Home" section back in 1964. Mr. Ward lived in the house until a few years ago when local preservationist Marty Newman purchased the home and placed historic easements on the property, ensuring that it will be preserved.

Are you interested in seeing this truly one-of-a-kind, mid-century modern home for yourself? Well, you're in luck! The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture/Modern Tulsa will be holding a TFA member appreciation reception at the Comma House on May 14, 5:30-8:30. Not only will you be able to enjoy the house, but Mr. Ward will also be there to say a few words about the design and history of the house and answer questions. TFA will also be honoring Mr.Ward for his contributions to Tulsa's built environment. The reception is free for current TFA members. So, if you're not a member or if you need to renew your membership, you can join online here, by calling 583-5550, or by paying at the event.

Mod of the Moment II

2010-03-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

moderntulsa is excited to announce its second mod of the moment. Join us Sunday March, 28th from 5 – 7 pm for drinks, refreshments, music and modern design at a 1956 Jack Hudson designed mid-century modern home located at the 1546 East 60th street. Located in Tulsa’s Southern Gardens, the house is the sister house of the 1956 Parade of Homes house”The Haven”, just a few doors down. Designed by Jack Hudson and built by Doran Johnson, “The Haven” offered more than comfortable and easy living, it offered safety from bombs and storms as well. The home was built with a reinforced concrete bomb-shelter that served as the hallway from the family and living rooms to the three bedrooms. Sound intriguing join us this Sunday to see it for yourself!

Modern Tulsa would like to thank Aberson Exhibits and Center 1 Market for their generous sponsorship of this event

YMCA Story

2010-03-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out this video featuring TFA board members Shane Hood and Matt King discussing potential reuse possibilities of Tulsa's old YMCA.

Old City Hall Update

2010-03-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

(Photo by Bob Hawks, from the TFA Archives, circa 1969)

It appears the Old City Hall and Francis Campbell City Council Building may avoid the wrecking ball after all. If you've seen the article in today's Tulsa World, you already know that the Snyder family, who we have to thank for the renovation of The Mayo Hotel, has made an offer to purchase the Old City Hall building as well as the City Council Building with plans to convert the Old City Hall into a hotel and the Council Building into a restaurant. This is such great news as Preservation Oklahoma named the entire Civic Center Plaza one of Oklahoma's most endangered places just last week. If the Snyder's plan becomes a reality it will be a huge success story for historic preservation in Tulsa as well as another indication that downtown is headed in the right direction. The Snynder's desire to renovate these mid-century buildings, rather than demolish them and start over, speaks volumes about how far preservation in Tulsa has come. It is easy to recognize the importance of a building like the Mayo Hotel, but it takes tremendous vision and an understanding of Tulsa's history to WANT to renovate a building like the Old City Hall, a building that so many people love to hate. Which is not to say it is not equally important as the Mayo Hotel or any of our art deco buildings, because it is just as important. And the fact that a proven developer, such as the Snyders, recognizes this is very encouraging for Tulsa's modern architecture and downtown.

5th Annual White Glove Open House

2010-01-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the 5th Annual White Glove Open House at the TFA Archives, 321 South Boston, Lower Level 01, on January 19 (Tuesday) from 4:30-7:30 p.m. We will have light refreshments and encourage you to bring a friend – this event is free and open to the public.

We will be celebrating the award of the prestigious Save America’s Treasures grant in the amount of $150,000 to preserve and conserve our special collections. The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture is thrilled to be the recipient of this very competitive grant and wants to share our enthusiasm with you, our supporters, and those who have entrusted the more than 35,000 architectural drawings, bound periodicals, books, and artifacts to our care.

Sixth Annual Foundation Awards

2009-10-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture will host the Sixth Annual Foundation Awards on Thursday, October 29th from 5 - 7 PM in the Penthouse at the Mayo Hotel and Luxury Residences, 115 W. 5th St, 18th Floor. There will be free street parking available and valet parking at the Mayo Motor Inn for a nominal fee. The Mayo Hotel and Luxury Residences is the receipent of this year's Foundation Landmark Award and Jack Frank is the receipent of this year's Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Due to space limitations, please RSVP at 583.5550. You may also purchase tickets online here.

Third Annual Downtown Living Tour

2009-06-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

As part of its mission to enhance Tulsa's livability and revitalize downtown, the TFA will host its Third Annual Downtown Living Tour, June 27 and 28, 2009. Five unique sites will be featured on the weekend tour and the T-Town Trolley will provide transportation to each site and is included with each tour ticket purchase. Tour hours are Saturday: 11 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Sunday: 1:00-5:00 p.m. Single ticket: $20 or Two tickets for $35.

To kick off the weekend tour, the TFA will host a Patron Party on Friday, June 25, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at a private residence near Third and Kenosha. Each Patron Party ticket includes two (2) tickets to the weekend Downtown Living Tour; food from local restaurants including Blue Dome Diner, Daily Grill, Elote Cafe and Catering, Impressions, Joe Momma's, and F.B. Oscar's Gastropub, with select wines from Girouard Vines and an assortment of beers from James E. McNellie's Public House. Patron Party Ticket: $50.

Living in HiFi: Lortondale Home Tour

2009-06-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

"Living in HiFi" will be an annual modern home tour hosted by the Modern Tulsa committee of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. Focused on mid-century modern residential architecture, the tour will seek to promote an awareness and the preservation of this oft-overlooked and dismissed style of architecture.

"Living in HiFi" will premiere June 13th in the historic Lortondale Neighborhood.
Designed and built in 1954 by Tulsa duo Donald Honn (architect) and Howard Grubb (builder), the Lortondale Neighborhood was the recipient of a multitude of national design awards. The neighborhood was featured in an array of magazines including House and Home and Better Homes and Gardens.

In recent years Lortondale has experienced something of a rebirth. A new generation of homeowners, interested in modern design, are snapping up the houses just as fast as they come on the market. After decades of neglect, many of the houses in the neighborhood are being restored to their former modern glory. Most importantly, the Lortondale Community is experiencing the same restoration.

This year's tour seeks to convey the energy that is the Lortondale Neighborhood today. Featured are 6 houses in various stages of completion. From the beginning stages of a restoration to a virtually complete example of HiFi-modern bliss, this tour of Lortondale will show you what all the buzz is about.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 day-of. The tour will take place from 5:30 - 8:30 with an after party lasting from 8:30 -?

Tickets are available for purchase at the following locations:

Dwelling Spaces
119 South Detroit

Urban Furnishings
3636 South Peoria

Ida Red
3346 South Peoria

TFA Architectural Archives
321 South Boston, Suite #LL01

Old City Hall Update

2009-04-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

In this week's Urban Tulsa Weekly, there is an article about the future of the Old City Hall. There are a few interesting comments about the site, but nothing too shocking. Like I mentioned in the previous post about the Old City Hall, city officials are hoping the site will be developed into a "convention-class hotel." I don't know what a convention-class hotel is, but I am guessing it's a hotel designed around hosting conventions? Anyway, the City did not receive any official proposals by the March 31 deadline. Given the size of the proposed project, it is no surprise that the current economic situation is cited as one of the reasons for lack of interest in the site. Although, a few City Councilors believe the lack of interest is also due to the difficult nature of developing a site with the Central Library and the County Courthouse in close proximity and the deterioration of the plaza. While there is more bad news, there is also some good news; Mike Bunney, an economic development officer with the City, is quoted as saying that the City is open to adaptive reuse possibilities, meaning that the developer would reuse the existing building. The bad news is that Bunney also states that all the developers interested in the site have commented that the building will have to be razed. I suppose the positive side of this is that the City isn't planning on demolishing the building on the hopes that someone will develop the site, which is what often happened with urban renewal in the 1970s. Now, they are at least giving the developer the opportunity to use the existing building. Maybe someday the City will make adaptive reuse mandatory for redevelopment downtown.

Meadow Gold Sign

2009-04-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

Tulsa's historic Meadow Gold sign is finally going back up. For those that may not know, the Meadow Gold sign was a neon sign put up in the 1930s at 11th & Lewis by Meadow Gold Dairy, which is a brand that at one time was owned by Beatrice Foods. This project started back in 2004 when TFA was awarded a grant from the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor to restore the Meadow Gold sign, which was mounted on top of a small one-story building. Soon after the project began, ownership of the building (and sign) changed. The new owner soon made it clear he planned to demolish both the building and the sign. Through the efforts of the National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, and multiple articles about the endangered sign, funding was sought and awarded from the City of Tulsa's Vision 2025 initiative to save the historic sign. Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor will officiate the public dedication of the sign on May 22, lighting the sign for the first time since the 1970s. Here are a few pictures of the sign going back up.

Oklahoma's Endangered Places

2009-03-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Preservation Oklahoma has released their list of Oklahoma's most endangered places for 2009. Sadly, four things from Tulsa made the list; the Tulsa Club (5th & Cincinnati), Midtown Tulsa (teardowns), the Downtown YMCA (6th & Denver), and the Ponca City Savings Building (7th & Boston). The YMCA and Ponca City Savings Building are listed as examples under the Mid-Century Modern Architecture. I guess this is an improvement over the list from a couple of years ago when downtown Tulsa as a whole was listed. Click here, for the story in today's Tulsa World about the list.

Old City Hall

2009-03-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

In this month's Preservation magazine, there is an article about Boston's brutalist-style City Hall that reminded me of Tulsa's out of favor City Hall, the old City Hall that is. Out of all the buildings in downtown Tulsa, the old City Hall building, perhaps more than any other, will elicit strong opinions, almost all being very negative. When we had the White Glove Open House back in January, I purposefully put a drawing of the building out wanting to see the reactions. I think I heard 3 (maybe) people say that they liked the building. Numerous people commented that it looks much better on paper than in person. Surprisingly, there were quite a few people who upon first glace mistook the old City Hall Building for the Warren Petroleum Building. I won't tell you what I think of the building, only that it (and the entire Civic Center) is a very important part of Tulsa's architectural heritage. The Civic Center is representative of Tulsa's (and the nation's) post-war optimism that was so strong in the 1950s and 1960s. It was Tulsa's second major building boom (the first being the 20s and 30s when we built deco instead of modern) and a time when people took great pride in their city and its built environment. The post-war era was a time, like today, when people cared about downtown and wanted to see the area flourish.

Whether you like the building(s) or not, they are a part of Tulsa's architectural history and we would lose a significant piece of history if the building is demolished, not to mention the enormous amount of material that would go straight to a landfill. I had a professor in grad school that was constantly reminding us that 'history isn't always pretty' and I think that is applicable in this situation (not that I'm saying Old City Hall isn't pretty, but I know most people don't think so). I hope that people will recognize the cultural significance of the Old City Hall and realize how shortsighted it would be to demolish such an important piece of Tulsa's architectural history just because some people don't like the way it looks. Sure some may think it's 'ugly' now, but there was also a time when people hated Art Deco; I know some may have a hard time believing it, but it's true. By the time people started realizing how important the Deco buildings from the '20s and '30s were, almost half had already been demolished. Thankfully, people stopped before all of our deco buildings were gone. I really hope that we don't have to demolish half of Tulsa's iconic mid-century buildings before we realize how important they are.

Jones House

2009-02-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, one other Tulsa residence, the Jones House, was featured in Arts & Architecture. Robert Lawton Jones designed the house, which was featured in the July 1960 issue of A & A, as his personal residence in 1959. Jones was the 'Jones' in the Tulsa architectural firm Murray Jones Murray that designed many of Tulsa's iconic mid-century buildings such as the Tulsa International Airport, the Civic Center (as well as the unbuilt Civic Center), Central Park Apartments (7th & Frisco), First Place Tower, and were the associate architects on the Edward Durrell Stone-designed Assembly Center (convention center).

In addition to being featured in A & A, the German publications of Bauen + Wohnen (Jan. 1961) and Schoner Wohnen (Sept. 1963) also featured the 2800 square foot house. According to the Tulsa Preservation Commission, the Jones House was the first International Style residence built in Oklahoma (anyone know of the second?), which makes sense because Jones studied under Mies van der Rohe while attending graduate school at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The TPC also states that other than Goff's Bavinger House, the Jones House is the most recognized Oklahoma residence built in the last 50 years. Personally, I much prefer the Jones House. The house's listing in the National Register of Historic Places confirms the house's importance in a few ways. First, the house's listing is not part of a historic district, but is individually listed. Secondly, the house was listed in 2001 when it was only 42 years old. This is significant because generally, properties less than 50 years are not considered eligible for listing in the register. There are a few exceptions, one of them being, "a property achieving significance within the past 50 years if it is of exceptional importance" (from the SHPO's NR criteria). So there you have it, the Jones House is of exceptional importance. Here are some of the scanned pages from the various magazines.

Kershner Vacation House

2009-02-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

Going through the newly acquired Arts & Architecture, I came across a vacation house that Frederick Vance Kershner designed for himself located somewhere near Keystone Lake that was featured in the April 1953 issue. I knew that the Jones House was featured in A&A (more on that later), but I had no idea anything else from Oklahoma was featured, so this was a nice surprise. I had seen photos of the house in a couple of different places, John Brooks Walton's Many More Historic Tulsa Homes and an exhibit brochure from Philbrook that featured the house, but had not been able to find out much more about the house. Sadly, the magazine did not provide much more information.

First, a little background on Frederick Vance Kershner; he was born in 1904 in McCurtain, Oklahoma (then Indian Territory), he attended Oklahoma A & M (Oklahoma State) and graduated in 1926 at which time he attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Fountainebleau, France. After returning from France, Kershner worked for Arthur Atkinson where he, along with Joseph Koberling, would help design the Oklahoma Natural Gas Building. He next joined John Duncan Forsyth's firm and worked on the Marland Mansion in Ponca City. In 1928, he briefly joined Stanley Simmons and Horace Peaslee in Washington, D.C. Returning to Tulsa, Kershner joined the firm of Smith & Senter, where he would help design the Tulsa Fire Alarm Building, Tulsa Municipal Airport Building (demolished), and the Union Bus Depot (demolished). In 1935, the briefly worked for Donald McCormick before starting his own firm. Additionally, Kershner designed the Burtner Fleeger Residence at 2424 E. 29th St. and the Sanditen Residence at 1702 E. 37th St. (one of my favorite houses, located on the corner of 37th & Utica).

Here is the text from the article:

"The site is a 540-acre tract of land overlooking the Arkansas River Valley, in Oklahoma, and the cabin, placed on the highest point, has a sweeping view of the valley. The problem of maintaining a vacation house, which is closed nine months of the year, has determined the materials. The outer shell is three walls of 16-inch thick untrimmed sandstone from the site, with projecting cage of cemesto sheets set on stilts. Insects make unscreened living areas uninhabitable in vacation season, so the porch is designed as part of the house, on the same four-foot module. Glass doors opening living area to porch move on a barn door track. The stone shell, with raised living quarters, is used here because the vacation house is easily victimized by brush fires in the fall. Two upper floors of minimum area have been preferred to a larger partitioned one."

If anyone has any more information on this very cool house, leave a comment or send me an email, derek@tulsaarchitecture.com

Arts & Architecture

2009-02-13T08:10:00.000-08:00

TFA received its second donation of the year only a few days after the open house; board member George Kravis generously donated Arts & Architecture 1945-1954: The Complete Reprint, which is a ten-box set of all 118 issues from 1945-1954 reprinted in facsimile by TASCHEN (ours is # 3,538 of 5,000). If you're not familiar with Arts & Architecture, it was a magazine published from 1938 to 1967 that is best known for its Case Study House Program, which commissioned prominent architects such as Richard Neutra, Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Raphael Soriano, and Pierre Koenig to design innovative and inexpensive homes for the post-war housing boom. In addition to the Case Study program, A & A regularly featured commentary on current art, music, cinema, culture, and society in general. If you are interested in modern architecture, or the post-war period in general, you should definitely give A & A a look. For more information on Arts & Architecture visit http://www.artsandarchitecture.com/index.html where you can view, and purchase, the very cool A&A magazine covers (my favorites are Aug. 1946, Sept. 1946, Aug. 195o, April 1958, and May 1961).

Catching Up

2009-02-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

Because we're already over a month into 2009, I thought I'd take a few minutes and recap what TFA has been up to thus far. The first major undertaking of the year was removing the "If Buildings Could Speak" exhibit that TFA, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Historical Society, put together for the National Preservation Conference in October of last year in the Philcade lobby. If you didn't get a chance to see the exhibit, we had a wide variety of items on display from the 1910s all the way up to the 1960s. Some of the items on display were numerous pieces of terra cotta from the Halliburton-Abbott Building, a terra cotta owl from the McBirney (Parker Drilling) Building, various items from the Mayo Hotel, the model of the Warren Petroleum Building, as well as many historic photographs, architectural renderings and drawings.

Only a few days after removing the exhibit, TFA received its first donation of the year from Russel Burkhart; approximately 60 pieces of terra cotta from the Halliburton-Abbott (HA) Building and the Hunt-Murry (Streets) Building, eight pieces of an iron railing from the interior of the HA Building, a plaster air-return cover from the HA Building, a plaster detail from an interior column of the HA Building, two interior light fixtures from the HA Building, and an elevator light and button from the HA Building.

The first TFA event of 2009 was the 4th Annual White Glove Open House, held at the TFA Archives. The theme for this year's open house was "Downtown Tulsa, Past and Present," which featured numerous drawings and renderings of downtown buildings dating from the early 1920s (Mayo Hotel) to the early 1970s (First Place Tower). Additionally, we had a large portion of the newly acquired terra cotta on display. Here are a few pictures of the terra cotta on display at the open house.

Hey! We've got a blog!

2009-02-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

First, some explanations: this is a blog for the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture (TFA) intended to keep anyone interested in TFA and Tulsa's architecture up-to-date. (For more information about TFA, visit http://www.tulsaarchitecture.com/) Most of the posts will be done by me, Derek. I am the archivist at TFA and one of two employees, the other being the executive director, Lee Anne. I'm hoping to post updates a few times a week, or whenever there is any new TFA-related news, news about architecture in Tulsa, etc. It would also be great if we could get more people involved and generate some discussion. Thanks for stopping by and check back often

derek.