Monday, February 1, 2010

Warehouse Market, Tulsa

Warehouse Market, TulsaI recently came into contact with artist Celeste Vaught and found out about Tulsa Brick x Brick, an ambitious project to highlight Tulsa's rich architectural heritage through Celeste's paintings and contributed stories about the buildings.

Her blog includes a painting of the Warehouse Market Building. I like how Celeste is able to simplify the image yet still capture the essence of the building whereas my photos show the building in all its realistic glory (or not).

The Warehouse Market is a fabulously decorated Art Deco building from 1929. It was designed by B Gaylord Noftsger and the tower makes it a relatively low-rise landmark on the edge of downtown Tulsa.

Tower, Warehouse Market, Tulsa

The terracotta surrounding the door is stunning. The lettering above the door spelling out 'Public Market' has been chipped off leaving some scaring but the rest of the artwork is so good that the damage is barely noticable at first glance.

Entrance, Warehouse Market, Tulsa

In close-up, the detail and colours get even better.

Decoration, Warehouse Market, Tulsa

Two medallions, one on either side of the entrance depict representation of Industry and Agriculture.

Plaques, Warehouse Market, Tulsa

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12 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 1, 2010 at 10:35 PM

    Isn't this building a beauty?! Thanks for the post David. I did a painting a few months ago of that fabulous doorway too.

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  2. David ThompsonFebruary 2, 2010 at 10:16 AM

    You are most welcome Celeste and thanks for prompting me to look back at my Tulsa photos and rediscover the beautiful detail on the Warehouse Market.

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  3. KatyaFebruary 2, 2010 at 10:39 AM

    What a stunning building, I love the colours and patterns. Good doorways are probably one of my favourite things about art deco.

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  4. David ThompsonFebruary 2, 2010 at 11:12 AM

    And I forgot to mention that it sits on the old Route 66 which makes it even better in my eyes.

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  5. Belle Isle HomeFebruary 2, 2010 at 1:19 PM

    David, I wondered if you are familiar with the Guardian Building in Detroit? If you haven't seen it, I think you would enjoy it immensely. Detroit actually has several outstanding Art Deco buildings...if you are interested, let me know and I can suggest some links to explore.

    Your site is terrific, a great treasure of Art Deco architecture.

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  6. David ThompsonFebruary 2, 2010 at 3:32 PM

    Thank you Belle
    I haven't made it to Detroit yet and I don't know the Guardian Building. I've met people from Detroit who have told me there is great deco there and it is on me ever growing list of places to go.

    Please do send me through some links for Detroit so I can add them to my bookmarks.

    Cheers,
    David

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  7. Belle Isle HomeFebruary 2, 2010 at 4:01 PM

    Start here: http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/
    Use the search function to look for art deco, it will pull up pictures and history of some of the best examples. You will move Detroit up on your place-to-go list after you see some of this.
    Also, the Guardian Building itself has a website that is fun:
    http://www.guardianbuilding.com/

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  8. David ThompsonFebruary 2, 2010 at 4:28 PM

    Thanks Belle

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  9. Sean FishlockFebruary 5, 2010 at 10:59 AM

    What an awesome building ! Love those vibrant colours. Funny, I hadn't heard of Tulsa until recently but see it is obviously a great art deco city.

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  10. David ThompsonFebruary 5, 2010 at 10:49 PM

    You are spot on Sean. Lots of oil money in Oklahoma in the 20s & 30s so yes Tulsa is a great Art Deco city.

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  11. UnknownFebruary 9, 2010 at 5:59 AM

    This one is gorgeous! I think you might like what I posted today on my travel blog. :-)

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  12. David ThompsonFebruary 9, 2010 at 9:33 AM

    Obrigado JM! Gosto muito as fotos de Interbanka na sua blog. Suas fotos estão excellente.

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