Modnauts venturing to Downtown Tulsa can enjoy a special treat this holiday shopping season. The Tulsa Deco District Pop-Up Shops have returned for 2012 after a stellar performance last year. They have expanded the offerings- and locations. Most notably for fans of modernism this includes the little white block building on the corner of 7th and Boston. For years we've been seeing Smith Bros Abstracts in the window. But the building was actually a branch bank designed by Robert Buchner for the Ponca City Savings & Loan. It has been vacant for many years. This week we got to step inside for the very first time.
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