Posts Tagged ‘tulsa’

Tulsa Modern Homes For Sale

March 7th, 2008

cole cunninghamI’m Cole Cunningham, founder and driving force behind moderntulsa.net. I am a full service Realtor specializing in mid-century modern, contemporary and urban properties in the Tulsa area. If you are interested in buying or selling a home please contact me. I can help. Please feel free to drop me a line anytime! Learn more about me here.

Cole Cunningham
918.779.7095 home/fax
918.504.6750 mb.
cole@moderntulsa.net

The following is a list of modern properties for sale in the Tulsa area that I have identified and find interesting. Not all are ultra modern but I feel they deserve mention. These are up to date with current MLS information. Please contact me for more information or with any questions. These are not all my listings. I provide this as a service to design-savvy buyers. I will unpublish listings upon request.

View Cole ’s Picks - Active Modern Listings on MLS

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Visit the TFA Archives July 1st

June 18th, 2008

modern tulsa event

Come put on your white gloves (literally) and see original photos and blueprints of classic Tulsa modern architecture. Should be fun! Thank you TFA for hosting this event. White gloves provided.

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Modern Homes Make Way for I-44

May 28th, 2008

courtesy of Rex Brown at modernoklahoma.blogspot.com

The widening of I-44 through Tulsa passed a new milestone last week.

Skelly Drive between Riverside Drive and Yale Avenue has remained virtually unchanged since it was built in 1957. In 2005 ODOT released this PDF showing plans of the proposed highway widening west of Yale. The massive, and controversial, undertaking of widening this stretch of interstate began on the west end near Riverside. Homes near Peoria have been moved or demolished.

The neighborhood entry on Skelly Drive at Knoxville.But last week the first recent work on the west side of Yale Avenue was visible as two duplexes were leveled.

This area along the north side of I-44 is the edge of the Patrick Henry neighborhood, an area known for nice examples of Fifties and Sixties architecture. Most of the dwellings being razed to make way for the highway are duplexes between Pittsburgh and Toledo. Unfortunately one block of very nice mid-century homes on 49th Place will also be lost. Not to mention the old brick gateway for Patrick Henry IV!

Some of these doomed houses are unique, and I thought worth documenting. So I grabbed my camera to snap a few pix before the bulldozers arrived. Here’s a view showing the row of homes soon to be torn down, we’re looking east along 49th Place from Knoxville.
A row of mid-century homes in Tulsa that will soon be demolished.

Here’s a house I’ve always admired (and pondered why anyone would molest it with porch lights like that). Jackie calls it the Cake Frosting House because of the mortar squishing out between the bricks. It’s quite original, including the gravel roof and skylights over the patio.
Classic example of a Jim Nuckols home.

This is one of the more unusual houses in the area. It’s interior patio/entryway is very reminiscent of an Eichler, or what we used to call Patio Homes. We usually refer to it as the Office Building House.
Unique patio home in Tulsa's Patrick Henry neighborhood.

There are many other historic Tulsa structures and businesses being moved or demolished to make way for I-44. But widening of of this portion of highway is long overdue. It’s just sad to see them go.

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New Historic Buchner Photo Set

May 13th, 2008

Modern Tulsa is excited to release the new photo set of the Robert E. Buchner collection, which the TFA Archive has graciously allowed Modern Tulsa to display. Buchner designed many of Tulsa’s iconic Modern buildings including the Ponca City Savings and Loan and the Mayo Meadow Liquor Store (which is no longer with us) among many others. A warm thank you goes out to TFA Archives for their effort in providing digital scans of the Robert E. Buchner collection, which is a must see. View the full photo set here.

Mayo Meadow Liquor Store (above) - From the Robert E. Buchner collection, the TFA Archives, photo by ben newby

buchner tulsa architecture

Barnes Whitehill House, (above) From the Robert E. Buchner collection, the TFA Archives, photo by Bob McCormick

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Resounding Success

May 9th, 2008

Modern Tulsa’s debut last night was a resounding success. With 100+ in attendance it was quickly apparent that Modern Tulsa had hit a nerve that we believed to be there all along. Photographs of last nights event will be available shortly. Stay tuned for more event announcements as well as an increase in Modern Tulsa articles. We would like to thank those who made last night possible, The Fadem Family, Herman Miller, Maharam and RetroRedo.com. We would like to especially thank those who were in attendance. In order for Modern Tulsa to truly be effective we rely on the participation of those individuals in Tulsa who feel passionately about the architecture and design of our collective heritage.

If you have not joined TFA yet, please visit their website here and become a member to show your support in our mission to preserve and promote Tulsa architecture. (Membership is only $35)

Read the rest of this entry »

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Tomorrow’s Event - How to get there.

May 7th, 2008

We have had wonderful response regarding our up and coming event and anticipate a huge turnout of genuinely interested people tomorrow. Now as long as the weather cooperates we are going to have a blast. Well, we will probably have a good time in any case though a sunny day would be nice.

I wanted to inform you that the address of the event is 6259 S Jamestown Ave. rather than 6529, as the first version of our flier stated. Please see the map below. Head for the green ellipse rather than the arrow. I will post some signs around the neighborhood as well.

I am personally very excited to get to know all of you I have yet to meet. See you all tomorrow! - cole

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Revisiting Bruce Goff’s Architecture

May 2nd, 2008

bruce goff houseLike any other art, architecture must be experienced before one can write adequately about it. Bruce Goff designed many remarkable buildings but I will comment on one of two I have visited and why I think, his work needs to be revisited.

Bruce Goff - a child prodigy who started working in an architectural firm at the age of twelve was the Dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma in the 1950s. His creative spirit looms large in that school where his remarkable architectural renderings and those of his students hang on the walls around the College. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, he took pride in drawing and saw the art of drawing as part of the architecture that would take shape. Nowadays, I fear drawing is seen as a means to an end. Like the ancients who created myth, Goff saw drawing as a vehicle to articulate our humanity. The purpose of myth was not to give an historical account of heroes but rather to try to articulate the inexhaustible dealings and feelings of people. It is to Bruce Goff’s credit that he had the skill to translate his ‘dealings and feelings’ from drawings into architecture.

The Pollock House in Oklahoma City, reveals a mastery of color, light, space, illusion and materials. Like Gaudi and Wright, Bruce Goff had a profound respect for nature and local materials. Like Frank Gehry, he was a sponge that soaked Classical music and was inpired by Balinese artistic traditions and the Pollock Hosue reflects this. Spaces flow into other spaces. Mirrors deceptively create greater depth in the rooms. Like repetition in music which sustains a moment and creates a sort of infinity of that moment, the enlargement of the rooms by the mirrors challenge the certitude that three dimensional space is all exists.

The pool and the sound of water flowing recalls Feng Shui and an Eastern reverence for nature and stillness. His daring cantilevered roofs show a disdain for conventions and throw down a gauntlet at gravity.

He had a fascination with a blue-green color, of which some of his other buildings have bluish-green stones.

Neither he or his work should be forgotten and we must try to preserve his surviving structures.

Written by my friend, Architect Doyin Terriba - who studied at the University of Oklahoma. Photo provided by http://www.narrowlarry.com

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Mid Century Modern for Sale in Midtown

April 29th, 2008

tulsa modern for saleThis Mid Century modern home designed by Donald Honn is a rare opportunity. With many original materials and fixtures carefully preserved this home offers a wonderful style of home rarely available at this price. Though similar in architectural style this home is across Yale Ave. from Lortondale subdivision, nearer downtown Tulsa. For more information or a private tour please contact Dustin Thames @ 918.814.9555. $109,000 mid century modern home for sale tulsa

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Mid-Century Modern Rental Available

April 7th, 2008

Great opportunity! Lease this Mid-century modern home designed by renowned architect Cecil Stanfield. This home has all of its original charm including floor to ceiling windows in the dining room, living room, master bedroom and guest bedroom along with modern updates. It has a very open and airy floor plan with vaulted ceilings and exposed brick inside. The large living area with wood burning fireplace is connected to the dining room and kitchen. There are 3 bedrooms total with the master having a private half bath. The main bathroom is good size and nice and bright with skylights in both baths. Newer, clean carpet, central air, high end fridge provided. The home is located in Mid-Town tulsa close to downtown and just down the street from shopping and eating. Great highway access. Lease for $900/mo. before it gets away! -sorry, furniture not included.

tulsa modern

contact cole @ 918.779.7095 or cole@moderntulsa.net

see more photos here

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Tulsa is 72nd Most Walkable City

March 27th, 2008

According to the extensive survey conducted by Prevention.com Tulsa falls into the countries 100 most walkable cities, barely, at number 72. While not necessarily modern, this is relevant in my opinion in the sense that sustainability of society is very similar to the preservation of architecture. The goals are similar in my eyes and complement each other: preserve our cities architectural uniqueness and promote the walk-ability and charm of urban Tulsa. Do others agree?

100 Best Walking Cities- by the editors of prevention
tulsa walking When Prevention and the American Podiatric Medicine Association (APMA) evaluated the 100 most populous US cities for the ranking, the criterion that counted most was the percentage of people who regularly walked–either for fitness and health or to get to and from work. APMA President Dr. Harold Glickman says, “The Best Walking Cities competition recognizes those cities that don’t just ‘talk the talk’ but literally ‘walk the walk.’”

Other criteria included various walking-friendly attributes such as low crime rates, mild year-round temperatures, the number of cultural attractions, participation in recreational sports, and pet ownership.

The overall survey included more than 18,000 topics of information about the top 100 cities from sources including the Census Bureau, other government agencies, and market research surveys.

In addition to the top 10 walking cities, other major US cities ranked as follows: New York (25); San Francisco (34); San Diego (16); Los Angeles (43); Seattle (22); Boston (26); Phoenix (33); Philadelphia (31); Chicago (77); Houston (42); Minneapolis (71); Miami (79). The complete rankings are listed here.

Recent Tulsa World Article

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