Skip to main content

Moderns from Muskogee

Space Age lamp in Wall's Bargain Center parking lot.Over the last few months we've had a couple of video shoots over in Muskogee. Traveling to the various locations revealed a few interesting moderno style buildings amongst the azaleas. Here are a few we stumbled across.

I noticed this unusual light (right) in the parking lot of Wall's Bargain Center. It appears light was emitted from the Saarinen-esque shape on top. Unfortunately we may never know. As darkness fell, it never lit up.

The front of the Tony Goetz School has a distinctive maritime feel with the flagpole thrusting forward from a "keel" of sandstone. This school building also featured the wall o' glass treatment with glass bricks on the south-facing exposures.
Great facade on Muskogee elementary school.

Here's an aerial shot of Muskogee Regional Medical Center. It's easy to see the building's many additions over the years. A three-wing expansion in the Sixties used an interesting zig-zag pattern. I assume the idea was to provide the most windows but with some level of privacy.
Muskogee Regional Medical Center from the air.

Mid century office building.Speaking of zig zags- this medical office building has a great awning and a very unique facade (below) made of glass and concrete block. I couldn't resist including that sign in the shot.

Ooops... someone parked a pickup there!

Detail of concrete block and glass facade.
That's just some of the neat buildings we managed to photograph. We spotted others, like east end of the high school is kinda' cool, and I'm sure there are even more. Feel free to send us pics or links if you know of others.

Comments

Anonymous said…
east end of the high school is kinda' REAL cool!

thanks-
March 7, 2009 at 9:39 PM
Yogi♪♪♪ said…
I liked the angled flag pole at the school. It seems that I've seen the effect before but can't remember where.
March 13, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Post a Comment

The Recent Past

The Bruce Goff House in Vinita

We were recently surprised to learn about a Goff-designed home just an hour away from Tulsa in Vinita, Oklahoma. Vinita is probably best known to OK Mod readers as the home of the Glass House on I-44, also known as (shudder) the World's Largest Largest McDonalds . Anywho, turned out the Goff house was on the market, and the owner was more than happy to let us have a look around. We took a short drive up the turnpike one Sunday afternoon to meet the realtor, snap some pictures, ask some questions and enjoy another one of Bruce Goff's unique creations. The home is known as the Adams House and was built in 1961. The 3,700 square foot home is arranged in a circular floor plan with a large sunken "conversation pit" at the center. Rising up from this pit is a large metal fireplace, its chimney surrounded by skylights, which dominates the entire house. Rooms surround the perimeter with folding accordion doors acting as walls. To maintain some semblance of privacy an inner
1 comment
Read more

OKC's Unique First Christian Church

The Church of Tomorrow Oklahoma's state capitol dome was added some 88 years after the capitol was built, finally completed in 2002. But not far away is another dome that has been turning heads since 1956. It's the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City. Call it a wigwam, igloo, earthbound spaceship or dome- no matter how you describe the shape of the sanctuary, it's definitely eye-catching. The thin-shell concrete dome is massive, with seating for 1200. Connected to the dome is a four-story administrative building and a 185-seat theater. Dedicated as "The First Christian Church of Tomorrow," the architecture caught the attention of local newspapers, as well as Life magazine (Feb. 1957). Last summer I had a unique opportunity to explore these interesting buildings. The main complex was designed by R. Duane Conner in 1953. Conner was a member of the congregation and offered three different designs for the church. Credit is also attributed to his partner, Fr
2 comments
Read more

Oklahoma State Capitol Bank

On the Trail of Julius Shulman: Stop 2 "This is a bank," the sign outside the futuristic building read. According to legend a prankster added a strategic question mark and echoed the sentiment of many passers-by: "This is a bank?" That was back in 1964 when it opened. Today the Arvest on Lincoln Boulevard looks a bit less Jetsonian, mostly due to replacement of structural glass below the "saucers," but it's still an unusual bank. Designed by Robert Roloff of the architectural firm Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson & Roloff, the State Capitol Bank caused quite a stir in Oklahoma City when it opened. Heck, it's still pretty shocking today! Originally the flying saucers appeared to hover above the building (as seen in this vintage postcard). All the glass that made that effect possible also made heating and cooling an expensive proposition. Security concerns also mandated replacement of those windows with solid materials and small square portholes
1 comment
Read more