sad, sad, news: Goff's Bavinger House scraped

Read about it here. Sounds like a vengeful destruction fed by delusions.

dancing with architecture: Norman and Oklahoma City

I found myself in Oklahoma for 24 hours this past week and was able to steal a few minutes to poke my head in on a couple of houses designed by Bruce Goff. The conditions weren't ideal: I didn't have my real camera with me and the sky was dusking, but I did what I could do.

I kinda like Goff. Born in Kansas with much of his work focused in Oklahoma, my best description of his designs would be Plains Googie. Frank Lloyd Wright pursued a unique American architecture inspired, at different times, by Midwestern prairies, the Mayans, and southwestern mountains. Goff, heavily inspired by Wright, chose American Indians as his touchsource. His soaring often cable-supported designs brought the Googie to the table, his personal style of neo-expressionism. Another calling card of his was the use of large chunks of glass.

I was happy to see that the Ledbetter House in Norman, close to the university, is, in fact, owned by the university. This pleased me for two reasons: (1) university ownership suggests that the house will remain preserved (they presently rent it) and (2) university ownership suggests penance for firing Goff in 1955, head of the architecture department at the time, for being gay.

The Ledbetter House, built in 1947, is quite nice with two large cable-suspended disks floating outside, one for the carport and another for a side patio. The house is very organic, resting easily among the bushes and trees.

I was also able to stop in at the Pollock House (1957) in northwestern Oklahoma City. When I pulled down the street, I thought to myself "Surely the address is wrong..." because the neighborhood is late-80s to early-90s suburbia, but there it was, all the more glorious given its surroundings, teepee-ish in its dusking glory. My photos are awful: incentive to come back again (and also see the Goff-designed church nearby).  The black-and white photos below are from the National Register of Historic Places documents.

Narrow Larry's map of selected architecture by Bruce Goff

Photos of the Pollock House:

dancing with architecture: Tulsa (with a side of Catoosa)

I have to admit that my expectations were low. In fact, they were nonexistent. I wasn't expecting much of anything besides the Frank Lloyd Wright house and early examples of Bruce Goff. However,  I was pleasantly surprised to find a vibrant town with a proud downtown, several entertainment districts, and a bit of public art. A pretty nifty place, all in all! 

On the way to see the Wright, I happened upon this beautiful Streamline Moderne constructed of board-formed concrete. This house was designed by Frederick V. Kershner and built in 1937 for the Fleegers.

Westhope was designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright for the publisher of the Tulsa Tribune, Richard Lloyd Jones. Jones was also Wright's cousin. The house sports 10,000 square feet and a four-car garage.

This, I believe, is an early Goff take on the bungalow:

Next up was the McGregor House, (apparently) designed by Goff in 1920 and possibly his first design (he started work with an architectural firm when he was 12!).

This is the Adah Robinson House, a house she designed along with Bruce Goff and Joseph Koberling, built in 1927. Adah was Goff's art teacher.

The Boston Avenue Methodist Church, built in 1929, is generally credited to Adah Robinson and Bruce Goff (Adah for the decoration, Goff for all else). It appears, by my eyes, to be goth-deco, topped with a 258-foot tower.

From there I deathmarched about downtown Tulsa through the twilight hour, walking hither and dither...

For the worky part of my trip, we had a field trip to the Port of Catoosa, the furthest inland port in the U.S. of A in full operation year-round. 

Tragically, I somehow missed seeing Goff's Riverside Studio (had it on my list...). But given how nice Tulsa is, and the bride wanting to visit and stay at the Price Tower in Bartlesville, we will be back...

Tulsa Preservation Commission
Tulsa Foundation for Architecture
Modern Tulsa
Deco Tulsa