Category Archives: Buildings

Clinton, Oklahoma’s Acme Brick Park

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My wife has family in western Oklahoma in the oilfield and farming town of Clinton. Clinton is right on I40 and Route 66 runs right through it and so it is town with a lot going on. My favorite part of Clinton are my wife’s family who are very friendly, open, and hospitable. My favorite place to hang out is a city park called Acme Brick Park. They have a recreation center, a small train, walking paths, lakes, and baseball fields and gets a lot of use and that is all great and anything but my favorite part of the park is the old brick building,now, the recreation center.

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The building’s south side gets great sun and I just love the photographs. I know that I overdo them on Instagram but I can’t help it. Maybe it is the combination of the green roof and the red brick, I don’t know.

What about you, do you have something you photograph maybe way too much?

Abandoned Buildings – The Catron Building

Catron Building - West of Downtown

On a lunchtime geocaching expedition to a not great area of Tulsa just to the west of downtown Tulsa on West Admiral I found this gem of a building. It looks abandoned but there is a shiny mail slot in the door to the right and a city garbage container to the left. This looks like it used to be stores below and apartments or offices above. I”m trying to figure out what it used to be.  I love mysteries like this.

IPhone Phriday – Gillette-Tyrell Building Lobby

Gillette-Tyrell Building

The lobby of the Gillette-Tyrell Building (sometimes called the Pythian Building) in downtown Tulsa, built in 1930. It was originally supposed to be 13 floors tall but they stopped off at three because of the economic crash. This was one of the first art deco buildings in Tulsa and one of the oldest left standing. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Check the Tulsa Preservation Commission for more information.

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 This is my first Iphone Phriday post. I may have cheated a little bit. I don’t have an Iphone. I’m too cheap to get one. So I used a Pantech generic android phone. Then, I confess, I pimped the pic on PicMonkey. I am not ashamed although I freely admit I should be.

IPhone Phriday

Our World – Boston Avenue Church

Boston Avenue Church

Boston Avenue Church is a Methodist Church in Tulsa designed in the art deco style by Bruce Goff. It is one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen and I’ve posted photographs of it several times. I took this picture from a window where I work. I cropped out the bottom a little because of some ugly rooftops that intruded in the photo.

We used to be members when we first moved to town and I can tell you that the interior of the building is as spectacular as the exterior. They used to have guided tours of the building every Sunday after the last service.

In a city known for its art deco treasures Boston Avenue Church is the masterpiece. Check it out if you ever make it to town. Tell them Yogi sent you.

Our World Tuesday

The Tree That Escaped From the Crowded Forest…

The Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is the only Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper actually built. Frank Lloyd Wright called it “The Tree that Escaped from the Forest.” It was occupied in 1956.

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The building is 221 feet tall with nineteen stories. It was conceived as a mult-use building with offices, apartments, and shops. These days it has an Art Center on the ground floor, a hotel, and a restaurant and bar.

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The tree metaphor is reflected in its design. It has a very strong central core and the floors are cantilevered from that core. The exterior is not load bearing and consists of copper and glass panels. These are the “leaves” of the tree.

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The building has lots of details like window shades and terraces.

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The design of the building was recycled from an abandoned 1929 housing project in New York City that was abandoned because of the depression. When the Price Tower opened in the mid 50’s many considered its design to be outmoded. What was in fashion at the time was the International Style buildings such as the United Nations building in New York City.

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For some reason as a fifth grader in Price, Utah, long before I even knew where Bartlesville, Oklahoma was I read about the Price Tower and was really interested by it. I think I was interested because the name of the building was the name of the town that I lived in.

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Fast Forward a dozen or so years and I’m on a job interview trip with Phillips Petroleum Company. The lady from HR is driving me from the hotel to the office. I see the building and said “Is that the Price Tower.” She told me she didn’t know except that it was supposed to be famous. I about choked and said, “Yeah it’s famous, it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it was his only skyscraper.” I couldn’t hide my dismay that she didn’t know about the building. People skills have never been my strong suit. She said, “How does somebody from New Mexico know that?” What I wanted to say was “How does somebody who works in the building’s shadow not know it?” I stuffed  those words down though.  I got a job offer though. I still don’t understand people who are not curious about the world around them.

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I don’t know how useful the building is, but it is beautiful. The copper patina makes it look like a turquoise tower in some light.

Our World Tuesday

Our World – Idaho Falls Temple

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The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple is located right on the east bank of the Snake River in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It is a beautiful gleaming white structure constructed of reinforced concrete. The exterior is covered with a cast stone of quartz aggregate and white cement which gives it the bright white appearance.

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It is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the “Mormons”).

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Construction was started in 1939. Completion was delayed by World War II and the building was dedicated in 1945. It was the first Temple in Idaho, and only the tenth ever constructed. The church now has 138 worldwide. It was the first Temple built with a single spire design.

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I’m going to venture off and display my architectural ignorance and say that the church has a vaguely art deco design. Given that, the building was inspired by a vision of an ancient Nephite temple by architect John Fetzer, Sr., who had prayed for guidance.

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The Temple spire is topped by a statue of the Angel Moroni.

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Temples are not used as churches for regular worship. They are considered to be a house of the Lord, and a place to make covenants, receive instructions, and perform special ordinances. After dedication, they are open only to members of the faith in good standing. Before dedication they are open for a few days to the public. This is called “Open House.” I toured the Oklahoma City Temple in 2000 during its Open House. I was very impressed with the building and the care that went into its construction.

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Although the Temple itself is not open to the public there is an adjacent visitor center. We were on a family walk up and down the river so we didn’t go through the visitor center or view the adjacent gardens and water features. (We missed out!)

Our World

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Our World – Boston Avenue Church

Boston Avenue Church

Boston Avenue Church is one of my favorite subjects and used to be the Yogi family church. It is an art deco design structure completed in 1929. The architects of the church are Bruce Goff and Adah Robinson. The interior is just as beautiful as the interior. If you want to see it the Church offers tours after the 11 AM service on Sundays.

Our World Tuesday

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