Skip to main content

Modern Surprise in Cushing

Last summer we passed through Cushing, Oklahoma during a road trip searching for Lustron Homes in Oklahoma. We found the two Lustrons located in Cushing, then proceeded to cruise this once-bustling oil town. You should be glad we did!

We turned off Highway 33 on Highland Avenue and proceeded south. At about 9th Place we found ourselves in the midst of a Mid-Century Mod haven. Low-slung ranchers were spread out alongside a small creek. The creek also provided space for a neighborhood park.

It was a beautiful area and the homes are well kept.

Turns out, many of these homes were designed by the late Blaine Imel. Born in Blackwell, Oklahoma, Imel grew up in Cushing and served with the Marines as a fighter pilot during World War Two. During the war he shot down 3 enemy planes, jumped off his aircraft carrier after it was kamikazied and earned numerous medals. After the war he studied architecture at OU under Bruce Goff, and that influence shows in the circular themes and organic shapes found in much of his work. For many years he practiced architecture in Tulsa, and designed many notable homes, schools and art galleries. Imel passed away in 2005.

Here are some highlights of our tour of Cushing. Not all of these are the work of Blaine Imel. But all of them are notable modern buildings and worth a look if you happen to find yourself in the "pipeline crossroads of the world," otherwise known as Cushing, Oklahoma. 





Comments

Mark said…
Blaine Imel also designed a Lutheran church on Cherry Street in Cushing.
JRB said…
Thanks Mark!

We also discovered a very cool building across from the old rail depot. It used to be the headquarters for an oil company- now it appears to be some sort of city offices.
Pizza God said…
I hope you got to see the Gillespie Drilling Company Building mentioned by Rex, it was designed by Blaine Imel.

I came across this old blog looking up information about Blaine Imel, we came across the Gillespie building in Cushing yesterday and thought it was a Goff at first, when we figured out who it was, found out he actually studied under Goff.

FYI, we have been on a few architecture trips recently, don't know why it took me 50 years to appreciate this stuff.
Tiffany S. said…
I know this is an old post, but does anyone know if Imel designed the home second from the bottom? It is my house! 🙂
It probably is an Imel Blaine house. My house next door on Highland is, although I don't know if it is known to be. I do have the architecture plans and blueprints that state he definitely built mine.

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

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

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