Skip to main content

OK Mod in Oklahoma Magazine

The September issue of Oklahoma Magazine features a section on Mid-Century Modern. They asked me to comment on why Oklahoma seems to have more than its fair share of Midmod. The layout featured an excellent photo of a vintage Eames shell chair.

From the September 2010 issue of Oklahoma Magazine.

Mid-century Modern homes are easy to find in the
large, urban areas of Oklahoma, as well as smaller
cities and towns like Muskogee, Vinita and Enid.
“I think part of the reason (Oklahoma has)
more than our fair share of Mid-century Modern
(art and architecture) might be the same
reason we have an abundance of Art Deco,”
offers Rex Brown, author of Oklahoma
Modern blog.

“The oil business brought with it
wealth and a cosmopolitan attitude. The
oil barons of the 1920s built impressive
offi ce buildings and palatial
homes in the cutting-edge style of
the time – Art Deco. The ensuing
years of post-war prosperity
spurred another era of building –
only the style that was considered cutting
edge had evolved,” Brown continues.
“The increasing role of the aviation industry in
Oklahoma during the 1950s is another important infl uence.
It was the Space Age, after all, so modern design
and architecture would only seem fi tting. Aviation
employed many Oklahomans.

“It’s also been suggested that (Oklahoma’s)
skylines benefi ted from an inferiority complex
– sort of a brick-and-mortar response to the
misperception of Oklahoma as a dustbowl
dotted with teepees,” he adds.
For purists, the infl uence of Mid-century
Modern design carries through the structure
of the home and into furniture and other
accessories.

Two of the most notable designers of
Mid-century Modern furniture were the
husband and wife team of Charles and
Ray Eames, whose chairs have become an
icon of the movement. – Jami Mattox

Comments

The Recent Past

New Mexico Modern

Okie in the Land of Enchantment Off the Beaten Path In Search of Enchanted Neon, High-Desert Modern and Breaking Bad Last week I found myself in Albuquerque, New Mexico on business with a few hours of spare time. I went exploring and discovered an innate New Mexico modernism– and some unexpected surprises.

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

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