Oklahoma Modern

Hey gang, here's a great idea for anyone who hasn't seen this excellent exhibit yet- drive to Bartlesville! That's right. You've got a month left to see this unique glimpse into the far out world of Bruce Goff. Jackie and I ran up the turnpike last October to see Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind at the Fred Jones Museum in Norman, OK. The exhibit is currently at the Price Tower Arts Center through April. The exhibit is dedicated to Goff's designed-but-never-built projects. Visitors are taken on a virtual tour through the magic of fancy computer stuff! Projects never realized come to life through photo-realistic 3D renderings. Even the ill-fated Shin-enkan (lost to arson in 1996) has been reimagined for this show. A selection of Goff's original drawings are also on display, but it's the 3D animations that kick it up a notch. The video creations, made by Skyline Ink Animation Studios of Oklahoma City, are truly the main event. Watching as the "camera...

We first told you about the unique Phillis Wheatley School in New Orleans, and the efforts of the World Monuments Fund to save it, back in October 2009 . The good news- the building is still there. The bad news is the structure isn't getting any better, and a permit for demolition was recently requested. A petition asking the Mayor of New Orleans, Mitchell Landrieu, to stop the plan to demolish the school building has been circulated. The letter cites the school's importance to the black community as well as its unique architecture. Currently the petition has nearly 1100 signatures. Built in 1954, the school's cantilever design is unique to say the least. It takes advantage of its own footprint to provide much needed shade from the noon-day sun. A plan for a possible re-use of the site has even been proposed by DOCOMO-Louisiana . You can help by signing the petition... Save the Phillis Wheatley School

A few snapshots of our favorite houses in T-Town. This is not an exhaustive list- just a selection of cool pads that we thought were worth sharing. Somewhere west of Lewis. University Club Tower isn't Tulsa's only modern high-rise. The award-winning 2300 Riverside from 1963 is pretty mod too! This displaced motel is actually a home in Johansen Acres. This is a great house located near 31st and Lewis. One of my all-time favorites- the Sanditen House on South Utica. This is a pretty neat house- but that's a really awesome roof! It's just west of Harvard behind Edison High School. Another modern little abode near 43rd and Harvard. And let's not forget the Lustron on North Harvard! This house has some killer curb appeal.   That's all for now. Stay tuned for more modern, or visit us on Facebook !

This week the BOK Center was in the national limelight as Tulsa hosted the NCAA Tournament. The striking stainless steel structure has become a nationally renowned venue for sports and entertainment, and a catalyst for the rebirth of downtown. But it wasn't an easy road. What we know today as the BOK Center took three attempts at the ballot box and a lengthy public debate to become reality. The package known as Vision 2025 bundled the new arena with other downtown renovations, residential incentives and a proposed airplane factory. Tulsa County voters approved that measure in 2003, Cesar Pelli was asked to submit a design for the arena and the airliner deal lost out to Everett, WA. The proposed design was mocked and criticized. Naysayers complained about the size, the cost, the location, the parking- and once the design was approved- the aesthetics. Detractors have called it everything from a crushed beer can to a steel tornado. Cesar Pelli's arena design was the resu...

Oklahoma City's Mid-Century Monolith was more formally known as Central Motor Bank. Built in 1959, it was supposedly the largest drive-in bank in the world at the time, and able to accommodate 5,000 cars a day. It's located on Classen Boulevard at NW 5th Street. There's two really great things about these ruins. I mean there's a lot of great things about it- don't get me wrong. But two really stand out for me... First off, the heavy aluminum screen is just too cool. I mean can't you see that on the set of Star Trek? It's also a little odd to have what is essentially a room divider outdoors . The second great part is the little blue tile. There's just something about a mosaic of 1" tiles that screams Mid-Century Modern. As if you didn't already know. I remember seeing a vintage postcard of this building. It was a night shot of the drive-thru lanes and really showed off that sine wave roof. Today it's abandoned, most recently operated ...

Modernism Week in Palm Springs We'd been hearing about this desert city full of Mid-Century Modern architecture for years. But it's difficult to comprehend until you actually experience that cool-building-on-every-corner aspect of Palm Springs, California. The celebrities who frequented this city in the Forties, Fifties and Sixties built cutting-edge homes to use as their Winter retreats. Today this city of approximately 45,000 is awash in well preserved examples of Streamline Moderne, International, Brutalist and Postmodern architecture. And fortunately for us the civic leaders appear to understand the power of architecture as a tourist attraction. Preservation has saved many important buildings, and many commercial structures are protected from any visual alterations or possible "remuddle" jobs. New construction also leverages the  modern look by incorporating classic Fifties styling cues like a butterfly roof or aluminum brise-soleil . If you love modern ar...

It's another Mod of the Moment! Photo courtesy of Northeast Oklahoma Real Estate Services If you've seen this house you don't quickly forget it. Reactions are polar- you either love it or hate it. Never in between. And thanks to Modern Tulsa you can drop in and form your own opinion this Sunday! Mod of the Moment March 6, 2011 4:00 to 6:00 PM 1220 E. 21st Place   The home, known as the Scherbatskoy house, began life as a typical Maple Ridge home from the Twenties. It appears in the book One Hundred More Historic Tulsa Homes , where John Brooks Walton calls the chapter How a Swimming Pool Designed a House. In 1957 the owners asked Robert Buchner to design a natatorium and integrate it into the east side of the house. A few months later fire partially destroyed the roof of the original house- so Buchner was called in again. The final result is a distinctive swimming pool with a house attached! For more details on the event, the organizers or who the heck...