Tulsa Preservation Blog

News, announcements, links, thoughts and musings from TPC Staff.

Downtown Living Tour 2009, June 27-28

Posted by Amanda DeCort on June 18, 2009    |  Link to this Entry  |  Email this Entry

Downtown Living Tour 2009 logo The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture will host the third annual Downtown Living Tour, a self-guided tour of five selected residences in the downtown area on Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June, 28, 2009. Saturday tour hours are 11:00am - 5:00pm and Sunday tour hours are 1:00 - 5:00pm. Advance ticket purchases are available at Dwelling Spaces, 119 S. Detroit for $20 per person or two for $35. Tickets may also be purchased during tour hours on Saturday and Sunday at Cafe Topeca, located in the Mayo Hotel, at 115 W. 5th, Suite 169.

The Patron Party to kickoff the event will be held Friday, June 26 from 5:00 - 7:00pm. Patron Party tickets are $50 per person and includes two weekend tour tickets. Advance Patron Party tickets are available at Dwelling Spaces, 119 S. Detroit, or by calling Lee Anne Zeigler at TFA, 918-583-5550.

For more information about the event, contact Lee Anne.

"Living in HiFi" Lortondale Tour, June 13

Posted by Ed Sharrer on June 8, 2009    |  Link to this Entry  |  Email this Entry

Lortondale house “Living in HiFi” is a modern home tour hosted by the Modern Tulsa committee of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. Focused on mid-century modern residential architecture, the tour will seek to promote an awareness and the preservation of this oft-overlooked and dismissed style of architecture.

“Living in HiFi” will premiere Saturday, June 13 in the historic Lortondale Neighborhood. Designed and built in 1954 by Tulsa duo Donald Honn (architect) and Howard Grubb (builder), the Lortondale Neighborhood was the recipient of a multitude of national design awards. The neighborhood was featured in an array of magazines including House and Home and Better Homes and Gardens.

In recent years Lortondale has experienced something of a rebirth. This year’s tour seeks to convey the energy that is the Lortondale Neighborhood today. Featured are six houses in various stages of completion. From the beginning stages of a restoration to a virtually complete example of HiFi-modern bliss, this tour of Lortondale will show you what all the buzz is about.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 day-of. The tour will take place from 5:30 - 8:30pm, with an after-party immediately to follow. Tickets are available for purchase at the following locations:

Public Dedication of Meadow Gold Sign Friday, May 22

Posted by Ed Sharrer on May 19, 2009    |  Link to this Entry  |  Email this Entry

Meadow Gold sign concept rendering The public is invited to celebrate the restoration of the historic Route 66 Meadow Gold sign on Friday, May 22 at 11:00am on East 11th Street at Quaker Avenue.

Mayor Kathy Taylor will dedicate this Vision 2025 project. Preservation of this landmark has been made possible through the combined efforts of many, including the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, the City of Tulsa and Tulsa County through Vision 2025, the National Park Service and the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.

Public Invited to Provide Input on Historic Preservation Program

Posted by Amanda DeCort on May 7, 2009    |  Link to this Entry  |  Email this Entry

TPC logo The Tulsa Preservation Commission invites Tulsans to participate in the development of the City of Tulsa’s Annual Certified Local Government Program.

A meeting will be held at 11:00am on Thursday, May 14, 2009 to receive public input. The meeting will be held on the 10th Floor of City Hall @ One Technology Center, located at 175 E. 2nd Street in downtown Tulsa. Parking is available at the southeast corner of 2nd Street and Cincinnati Avenue.

A portion of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Historic Preservation Fund is allocated for participation in the Certified Local Governments program. Each year, the Tulsa Preservation Commission uses this money to facilitate preservation within our City. Citizens can provide assistance in identifying ways to best use the 2009-2010 funds.

Funds can be used for such projects as:

  • Inventory and/or National Register Nomination of historic resources within the community;
  • Increasing public awareness of historic preservation; and
  • Preparing amendments or updates to the Tulsa Historic Preservation Plan and Historic Preservation zoning program.

With your support we can continue to build on Tulsa’s preservation achievements.

Please contact Amanda DeCort, City of Tulsa Planning Department, at 918-576-5669 for more information.

Tulsa Art Deco Featured in Old House Journal

Posted by Ed Sharrer on May 1, 2009    |  Link to this Entry  |  Email this Entry

Old House Journal cover On newsstands through July 6, the latest issue of Old House Journal features Tulsa Art Deco, specifically the Adah Robinson Residence.

The article, Definitively Deco, chronicles the importance of the Robinson house, built in 1924 (one year before the famous 1925 Paris exhibition introduced the style to the world).

As a companion piece, the magazine’s website features five more Art Deco treasures in Tulsa. Enjoy!

Another Hot Oklahoma Night - A Rock n Roll Exhibit

Posted by Amanda DeCort on April 29, 2009    |  Link to this Entry  |  Email this Entry

Another Hot Oklahoma Night logo Opening on May 2, 2009, the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City will host a special exhibit entitled Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock & Roll Exhibit. The exhibit will explore the Rock and Roll artists, radio stations, personalities, venues, and fans that have called Oklahoma home. Beyond the facts of each story, the exhibit will show how growing up in Oklahoma affected the music.

Many artists and bands have called Oklahoma home. In the 1950s, performers such as Wanda Jackson, who toured with Elvis Presley from 1956 to 1960, Eddie Cochran, and the Collins Kids were vanguards in the Rockabilly movement that inspired the Beatles and eventually the British Punk movement of the late 1970s.

Tulsa may rival other international cities as home to some of the most accomplished Rock and Roll music artists in the world. Artists including among other Leon Russell, Jim Keltner, Carl Radle, and J.J. Cale called Tulsa home.

Another Hot Oklahoma Night will be featured in the special exhibits gallery, and in three of the major exhibit galleries as well. A recording studio, radio station control room, fashions and hair styles of the Rock and Roll eras, a teenagers bedroom, and record store front are all part of the exhibit.

The public opening of the exhibit is Saturday, May 2, at 9:00am, featuring 14 bands playing on three stages beginning at 11:00am and running through 5:30pm.

For more information, please visit the official Another Hot Oklahoma Night website.