Exploring Pryor Creek

It was originally called Coo-Y-Yah by the Cherokee, then in 1887 the name was changed to Pryor Creek. Most folks just call it Pryor. Today it's home to about 10,000 people, and a surprising number of interesting modern buildings!

The Googleplex is a landmark in the nearby Midamerica Industrial Park.

Arriving from the south you'll pass Google's brutalist server warehouses. The art on the main building looks like messages left by alien visitors. But then you're greeted by this lonely little Fiat 500 on a sign. It's definitely seen better days. But what better roadside welcome than a friendly Cinquecento?

Strolling around downtown we spotted these great tiles on the side of a former bank.

The local library is a nifty post-and-beam job built in 1958. Designed by the OKC firm of Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson, Roloff, the building retains a great deal of its modern edge. I was happy to see their website even includes some great photos of the original interiors.

Another commercial building that caught our eye is this low-slung beauty. Today it's the home of TC Advisors, an accounting and investments firm. That crab orchard stone is so great– I hope they realize how cool it is. And that wacky roof... still not sure exactly what is going on there!

A nice rest stop is Whitaker Park. We detoured off US-69 on to Park Street (what else?) and enjoyed lunch at this neighborhood oasis. The 24-acre park features a pool, splash pad, tennis courts and a fishing pond. It was too hot to the enjoy the walking path, so we just ate lunch and watched the geese.

The unique shelter immediately caught our eye! Apparently the local youth have also enjoyed it's... um, design.

We resisted the urge to crawl on top of it.

More

Pryor Creek, Oklahoma from Wikipedia
Pryorcreek.org

Comments

Home of ORU Architect on the Auction Block

Frank Wallace is best known as the man behind the futuristic look of the Oral Roberts University campus. On October 14, 2010 his unique home overlooking ORU will be sold in a public auction conducted by Mister Ed's Auctions . Jackie and I recently had a chance to visit with Mr. Wallace and learn more about the house, his career and his thoughts on architecture. When we visited we expected to snap a few photos of an empty house and speak with a representative from the auction company. To our surprise the door opened, and we were greeted by Mr. Wallace himself! After assuring him we were not architects, he let us look around. Unfortunately we were not prepared to interview the man whose buildings incite such extremely diverse reactions- but that didn't stop me from asking him several questions anyway. The home, completed in 1980, was designed and built by Wallace who is now 87. The expansive home is so large that Wallace spends most of his time in a room that was his la...

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...

Visit to the Prairie Chicken House

This unique house on the edge of Norman, Oklahoma is known to most as the prairie chicken house. Designed by Herb Greene in 1960, he preferred to call it simply the Prairie House . Thanks to the Prairie House Preservation Society (PHPS) it is now possible for the public to experience one of Oklahoma's most unusual architectural treasures.

Oklahoma Modern

Search This Blog