Photos

Don't care to read? Rather just look at the pictures?

Okay, we can work on expanding your mind some other time. Here's some photos from our many modern journeys (we also invite you to view our outtakes on our Facebook page).



Oklahoma Modern Photo Album

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Modern Mortuary

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We noticed this modern little building on a recent trip to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It's an office for the Memorial Cemetery located on Nowata Road. What caught my eye was the saddle roof (technically known as an hyperbolic paraboloid ) more commonly found on Atomic Age churches and gas stations. It seemed like a rather unique feature for such a mundane little building. B'ville has quite a few unique modern buildings. Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie skyscraper, the Price Tower , being the best known. But there are many other less celebrated structures ( see Miscellany from Bartlesville from March 6, 2008 ) that give this small city an architectural look and feel that's quite distinct. It's also interesting to note that Bartlesville was the home of Phillips 66 (now ConocoPhillips)- a company well known for space-age service stations featuring swooping roofs reminiscent of this design. Coincidence?
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Visit to the Prairie Chicken House

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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. 
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Oklahoma State Capitol Bank

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On the Trail of Julius Shulman: Stop 2 "This is a bank," the sign outside the futuristic building read. According to legend a prankster added a strategic question mark and echoed the sentiment of many passers-by: "This is a bank?" That was back in 1964 when it opened. Today the Arvest on Lincoln Boulevard looks a bit less Jetsonian, mostly due to replacement of structural glass below the "saucers," but it's still an unusual bank. Designed by Robert Roloff of the architectural firm Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson & Roloff, the State Capitol Bank caused quite a stir in Oklahoma City when it opened. Heck, it's still pretty shocking today! Originally the flying saucers appeared to hover above the building (as seen in this vintage postcard). All the glass that made that effect possible also made heating and cooling an expensive proposition. Security concerns also mandated replacement of those windows with solid materials and small square portholes...
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