A Building in Tulsa

I wish I could remember something about this building. I know it is in Tulsa but whether it is a house or a commercial building has leaked from my memory.

Windows, Christ the King Church, Tulsa

I've written about Christ the King Church (1928) in Tulsa previously but I didn't include any photos of the stained glass windows by Alfonso Iannelli.

Reference: Christ the King Church, www.tulsapreservationcommission.org

Union Depot, Tulsa

At its peak, the Tulsa Union Depot serviced as many as 36 trains daily but the days of train as a major form of transport was numbered and this fine building ceased operation in 1967. A useful life of just 36 years.

Empty and falling apart, it was rescued and restored in the 1980s and was used as office space demonstrating that older buildings can be adapted and reused.

Since 2007 it has been the home of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.

Reference:
Tulsa Preservation Commission website

Phoenix Cleaners, Tulsa

Phoenix Cleaners, Tulsa (1947).

Reference:
Phoenix Cleaners Building, Tulsa Preservation Commission

Interior, Will Rogers High School, Tulsa

A while ago I wrote about Will Rogers High School, one of Tulsa's best Art Deco buildings.

The school was built as part of the Public Works Administration (PWA) programme, opening in 1939. The architects were Joseph R Koberling jr, Leon B Senter and A M Atkinson.

At that time though, I didn't show any of the interior so I propose to correct that now.

The corridors of Will Rogers High School are lined with doorways set in brownish burgundy tiled frames leading to classrooms, the library and the auditorium.

The decoration and lighting in space between the outer and inner doors at the main entrances is typical of the style features elsewhere in the building.

Vale Rex Ball

I hate it when bad news barges its way into my inbox.

Tonight it was news that Tulsa architect and preservationist, Rex Ball, had died.

I first met Rex at the Sixth World Congress on Art Deco in 2001 when, as President of the Tulsa Preservation Commission, he welcomed us to Tulsa and introduced to its many Art Deco highlights. He designed the wonderful 'modern deco' MTTP Bus Depot in downtown Tulsa in the late 1990s.

A memorial service is planned for Friday at 11am. Fittingly it will be at one of the most spectacular Art Deco buildings that he showed us during our time in Tulsa. The Boston Avenue United Methodist Church (pictured above) from 1929 by Adah Robinson and Bruce Goff although as we found out at the time thee is some controversy over that. You might want to check out the church's official website (www.bostonavenue.org/) but please wait a few days, it isn't very pleasant at the moment.

I can't say I knew Rex well. I talked with him once or twice and I know some of the things he did in Tulsa. He was a good man and Tulsa is a better place because of him.

~ Vale Rex Ball ~

A House in Tulsa

This is a great looking house in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Everywhere I look I see the Art Deco 'Rule of Three'. Three square openings at the top of the chimney. Three square glass-brick windows stacked vertically next to the chimney and above those windows perhaps a series of three vents. There are also two sets of three smaller windows or vents on other parts of the structure.

Even the wall surrounding the property has three incised lines which is maintained as the height of the wall steps down with the level of the ground.

This view shows what could be classed as the public aspect of the house and while the 'Rule of Three' is less evident there is a series of three small windows high on the house near the chimney and again three incised lines on the side wall of the garage.

For me the other main features of this house are the overall form of stacked blocks creating many levels and interesting spaces and also the windows at the front of the house which cut into the corner of the building. This house still has a strut on the apex of the corner where many houses from this period allow the glass of the window to cut through the wall completely.

A lovely house and no doubt a lovely place to live.

Update
Since I wrote this post, I've been able to identify the house as the Fleeger Residence (1937) designed by Frederick V Kershner.

Reference:
Fleeger Residence, Art Deco Buildings in Tulsa, Tulsa Preservation Commission website

A Building in Tulsa

I sorry to say that while I know this building is in Tulsa, although not Downtown Tulsa, but exactly what it is I don't recall.

Can anyone help?

Chamber of Commerce Building, Tulsa

This is the frieze on the Chamber of Commerce Building in Tulsa, OK. It shows items associated with local commerce such as agriculture and oil production.

Myers-Duren Harley-Davidson, Tulsa

Myers-Duren Harley Davidson is a piece of modern Art Deco in Tulsa. It was custom-built around 1998 for this well-established Harley dealership.

There are porthole windows arranged in groups of three, a large geometric finial and glass bricks at the entrance placed on the corner of the building. The simple painted stripes on the side of the building identify the side entrance.

So the building has lots of Art Deco elements but is it Art Deco and in a hundred or two hundred years will it matter?

Reference:
Myers-Duren website

Christ the King Church, Tulsa

This is Christ the King Church in Tulsa.

Designed in 1926 by Francis Barry Byrne it was constructed in 1928.

Inside there is a mosiac of Christ behind the alter designed by Emil Frei, Inc and two others by architect Bruce Goff in the side alters. Alfonso Iannelli designed the stained glass windows and the statues of Joseph and Mary.

One of my favourite features was the Art deco baptismal font.

Reference: Christ the King Church, www.tulsapreservationcommission.org

A House in Tulsa

During a World Congress on Art Deco you see many buildings and frankly, it is sometimes difficult to remember them all.

This is a house in Tulsa that we visited during the 2001 Congress. I find it difficult to remember anything about this house, it doesn't even look very deco to me.

I reckon this fireplace might of had something to do with why we came to this particular house.

Interview on Tulsa Brick x Brick

Tulsa artist Celeste Vaught has posted an interview with me on her blog.

The interview covers my passion of Art Deco and aspects of my visit to Tulsa for the 2001 World Congress on Art Deco.

While you are there, have a look at Celeste's project Tulsa Brick x Brick where she is the heritage of Tulsa architecture through her paintings.

Thanks Celeste and I love what you are doing with Tulsa Brick x Brick.

Warehouse Market, Tulsa

I 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.

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.

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

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

Tulsa Fire Alarm Building

An interesting item came through my inbox this weekend that an Art Deco Museum is being planned for Tulsa. It is known as Decopolis and at this stage exists only as a website, decopolis.org, with a fundraiser planned for February this year.

Tulsa has a great stock of interwar architecture and one of the best Art Deco building is Tulsa is the Fire Alarm Building. It is also one of my least successful photographic efforts. I don't know if I accidently adjusted the white balance on my camera or whether it was just playing up. I any case, the photos were a horrible washed out blue colour and I've only just salvaged these examples by converting them to B&W.

You'll also notice that when I visited in 2001, this fine (and now listed) building was in a bad state of repair, fenced off with the windows boarded up.

Luckily Tulsa Gentleman and the Tulsa Preservation Commission have posted better and more recent photos on their sites.

The Fire Alarm Building was designed by Frederick V Kershner along the lines of a Mayan Temple. The decoration around the sides of the building feature stylised floral forms and dragon's heads.

However, the frieze above the door is the buildings crowning glory.

It portrays, what the Tulsa Perservation Commission website describes as

"... an 'Adonis-type' male, stripped to the waist. He has Gamewell alarm tape running through his hands. Flanking him from behind are two helmeted firefighters. A two-headed dragon is shown connected to stylized hoses with the nozzles appearing as their heads.'

I hope you can see, even from my photos, that this is a stunning piece of art.

Best of luck to the people working to establish the Tulsa Art Deco Museum and when completed will further enhance Tulsa's deco credentials.

Public Service of Oklahoma Building, Tulsa

The development of Oklahoma's oil industry in the 1920s meant that cities like Tulsa underwent incredible growth resulting in a wonderful treasury of Art Deco architecture.

The Public Service of Oklahoma Building from 1929 presents a rather grey exterior however the architect Arthur M Atkinson has incorporated many Art Deco motifs into the facade.

Westhope, Tulsa

Frank Lloyd Wright designed Westhope in 1929 for his cousin Richard Lloyd Jones.

The house is constructed from concrete blocks but unlike some of Wright's concrete block houses in Los Angeles, Westhope has large expanses of glass and has a very bright and airy feeling inside.

In particular I love the stepped glass nook that Wright has created in the windows shown from outside in the photo at the top of this post and then from inside in the final picture.

Other Links:
Tulsa Preservation Commission
Tulsa Gentleman
Galen R Frysinger

A House in Tulsa

A modernist house in Tulsa with a simple metal balcony curving around the rounded corner of the house.

The house also has a porthole window and there is also a flight of stairs leading to what is probably a flat roof.

A Door in Tulsa

I love the simple lines of this door in Tulsa.

It has a musical feel to it with the oval elements that are balanced by the series of three ramrod straight supports on the hinged side.

I wonder what lies behind this stylish door?

Shakespeare Monument, Tulsa

Woodward Park in Tulsa, OK has a rare Art Deco style monument to English playwright William Shakespeare.

The Tulsa Historical Society credit the design to sculptor Eugene Shonnard and local arts matriarch Adah Robinson.

Otherwise there is very little information concerning this stylish memorial.