Open House: Meet Modern Tulsa

This Thursday evening the modnauts from the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture (TFA) will be hosting a free open house: Meet Modern Tulsa.

Modern Tulsa Gems: can you name them all?

The Modern Tulsa group is a part of the TFA that focuses on Tulsa's more recent architectural past. The movers and shakers of this intrepid group (including yours truly) have selected some juicy bits of Tulsa mod from the extensive archive of architectural drawings, photographs and ephemera in TFA's collection.

This is a chance for people outside the preservation and architectural communities to learn more about Modern Tulsa, and the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. On display will be architectural drawings, photographs and video of historical building and homes from the heyday of postwar design. Refreshments will also be provided. The event is free and open to the public.

Meet Modern Tulsa
Thursday, August 26, 2010
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Kennedy Building, 321 S. Boston map

Comments

Home of ORU Architect on the Auction Block

Frank Wallace is best known as the man behind the futuristic look of the Oral Roberts University campus. On October 14, 2010 his unique home overlooking ORU will be sold in a public auction conducted by Mister Ed's Auctions . Jackie and I recently had a chance to visit with Mr. Wallace and learn more about the house, his career and his thoughts on architecture. When we visited we expected to snap a few photos of an empty house and speak with a representative from the auction company. To our surprise the door opened, and we were greeted by Mr. Wallace himself! After assuring him we were not architects, he let us look around. Unfortunately we were not prepared to interview the man whose buildings incite such extremely diverse reactions- but that didn't stop me from asking him several questions anyway. The home, completed in 1980, was designed and built by Wallace who is now 87. The expansive home is so large that Wallace spends most of his time in a room that was his la...

The World Museum

The widening of I-44 through Tulsa will soon claim another mid-century building (see Modern Homes Make Way for I-44 ). This unusual landmark near Peoria, once known as the World Museum, is being emptied in preparation for demolition. The concrete complex was built in 1963 by the Osborn Ministries as a museum and "Interstate Temple." Self-proclaimed minister, T. L. Osborn, and his wife, Daisy, traveled the world as Christian missionaries and collected art and artifacts on their journeys. The unusual La Concha-esque building housed their partial collection and distracted motorists touring along the new Skelly Bypass (aka I-44). The exterior of the building is adorned with maps of the world's continents. In its heyday there was a good deal more- a giant outline of Jesus was on one wall. The inscription below it, "REX," provided one of my earliest Latin lessons when I asked Dad why that building had my name on it. There was also a large globe that once stood out fr...

Visit to the Prairie Chicken House

This unique house on the edge of Norman, Oklahoma is known to most as the prairie chicken house. Designed by Herb Greene in 1960, he preferred to call it simply the Prairie House . Thanks to the Prairie House Preservation Society (PHPS) it is now possible for the public to experience one of Oklahoma's most unusual architectural treasures.

Oklahoma Modern

Search This Blog