One of the coolest things about a Sixties house is all the nifty built-in stuff. The Revolving Toothbrush Command Center Our favorite built-in features is a revolving toothbrush holder. That chrome door in the bathroom looks like a secret panel when closed. But rotate the magic metal marvel and a veritable oral hygiene command center is revealed! These convenient accessories were popular in the Fifties and Sixties. A company called Hall-Mack offered an entire collection of bathroom built-ins to make your modern life easier. Our house also has a couple of their classic Tow'lescope retractable towel bars (which look like a horizontal radio antenna when extended over the sink). The most rare of all though is the fold-down bathroom scales! But I digress.
The Church of Tomorrow Oklahoma's state capitol dome was added some 88 years after the capitol was built, finally completed in 2002. But not far away is another dome that has been turning heads since 1956. It's the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City. Call it a wigwam, igloo, earthbound spaceship or dome- no matter how you describe the shape of the sanctuary, it's definitely eye-catching. The thin-shell concrete dome is massive, with seating for 1200. Connected to the dome is a four-story administrative building and a 185-seat theater. Dedicated as "The First Christian Church of Tomorrow," the architecture caught the attention of local newspapers, as well as Life magazine (Feb. 1957). Last summer I had a unique opportunity to explore these interesting buildings. The main complex was designed by R. Duane Conner in 1953. Conner was a member of the congregation and offered three different designs for the church. Credit is also attributed to his partner, Fr