Tulsa is proud of its architectural heritage and for good reason. Oklahoma City’s in-state neighbor and longtime sparring partner has been blessed with a number of notable structures throughout the years, and a number of great buildings built during Tulsa’s heyday as the Oil Capitol of the World continue to enrich the City. Of course Tulsa is best known for one architectural style in particular – Art Deco.  And Jack Frank’s newest DVD – Tulsa Deco – is a great way to get acquainted with some of the City’s Art Deco and Streamline Moderne gems.

The DVD is an impressive production, with Jack providing an informative narrative that is supported by interviews with architects, historians, owners, and even some random passers-by. While the narration is informative, I have to say that the perspective is slanted in such a way that it would lead you to believe that Tulsa is the epicenter of the entire Art Deco movement. While Tulsa was featured on the cover of last year’s Preservation Magazine with an article entitled, “Tulsa’s Deco Gems: How an Oklahoma City Fell in Love with Art Deco and Never Really Got Over It,” the city still significantly trails other major Art Deco and Streamline Moderne hubs in the number of significant buildings and status in the Art Deco world.  According to the National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America the principal centers for both styles were the “major urban centers: New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, [and] San Francisco.” South Beach Miami is also often cited for its collection of Art Deco hotels.  So while Tulsa’s significance in the Art Deco world may be overstated to a degree, I can appreciate Jack’s intentions and know myself what it is to be a optimistic booster of your hometown.  Plus it should be mentioned that what Tulsa may lack in numbers and historic role, it in some ways makes up for with the quality of its contributions.

For instance, my favorite building featured in the DVD, and what appears to be the favorite of many, is the Boston Avenue Methodist Church (pictured above).  Designed by Bruce Goff, native son and architect extraordinaire, and Adah M. Robinson, his art teach, the church is said to be one of the finest examples of Art Deco in the world. Here is what the National Trust Guide has to say:

That building type so favored by Art Deco architects – the skyscraper – was here adapted for a 255-foot-high church tower.  Like Barry Byrne’s nearby Christ the King Church, Goff’s design transmutes Gothic verticality into Expressionist Art Deco verticality.  The church itself, which has a semicircular auditorium, is a low-lying, horizontally oriented structure.  Yet Goff has manipulated his composition to read as a narrow and soaring building … [Goff] managed to produce one of the most brilliant examples of Art Deco in the country.

The DVD not only introduced me to this building, but a number of others that I had never had the pleasure of seeing. Also, it gives you just enough information and detail to make you feel like you learned something without getting bogged down in architectural jargon.  In the end, I congratulate Jack on a job well done and encourage anyone interested in Oklahoma’s architectural history to buy a copy, borrow a friends, or catch it on local television in Tulsa!

Hungry for more, check out the trailer below before heading over to Bateslines for a more extensive (i.e. better) review with details on which buildings are covered in the DVD and information on the extras.

I am always cranking on ways to promote Oklahoma. The ideas range in terms of size and saneness, but every now and then I have one that I think just might work. The other day I was considering how everything you hear today is sustainable this, or sustainable that, and you hear it most often when discussing design, development, and housing. In truth, the term is used so often and applied in so many different ways that it is quickly losing any real meaning. But no denying, right now sustainability is in and we need to take advantage by letting people know that Oklahoma has been employing sustainable practices for a long, long time.

Really, Oklahoma has a tradition of sustainability? When I look at the list of cities adopting LEED standards I don’t see anything about Oklahoma City or Tulsa?

Well, okay, we aren’t necessarily ahead of the sustainability curve now, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t living more sustainable lives in the past…

OKLAHOMA’S HISTORY OF SUSTAINABILITY

HOUSING

Oklahoma has a long history of sustainable housing types including:

The earth house (commonly referred to as a soddy or dugout) was a popular form of earlier Oklahoma settler housing and is considered to have a “small ecological footprint.”

The grass house (pre-fire alarm no less) also housed many early Okies.

And of course, we can’t forget the teepee which has been housing residents on Oklahoma soil since before the Land Run.



TRANSPORTATION

Speaking of the Land Run, we must remember that it was a Land RUN! If everyone had come in their SUVs then it would have probably been called the Land Race. But the soon to be residents of Oklahoma chose more sustainable transportation options, and traveled to stake their claim by train, on horseback, and even on foot!



ENERGY

Okay, so there have been periods where we may have contributed more than our fair share to America’s oil dependence problems, but we are also the place where “the wind comes sweeping down the plain” and we have been turning that wind into usable energy for a long, long time. In fact, now with the emphasis on clean natural gas and new wind farms we are beginning to embrace the sustainable energy tradition of our past.

THE IDEA: WE NEED A SWEET T-SHIRT!

So here is the idea. I want to make sure everyone knows that Oklahoma has been doing this sustainability thing for years and I have decided the best way to get the word out is with a sweet t-shirt. So to get things started, I am offering $100 for the best original t-shirt design that focuses on sustainable housing in Oklahoma. I would suggest you include one of the following slogans or something similar:

“Oklahoma has been doing sustainable housing for years!”

or

“We’ve been doing sustainable housing for years!”*

*include some reference to Oklahoma


Other Slogans

If you have more ideas on what would make a good slogan, please post them in the comments below.

CONTEST RULES

Obviously, I am no expert at holding t-shirt competitions, but here are the basics:

deadline: all submissions must be received by November 30, 2008.

specs: all designs must adhere to the requirements of the Cafe Press 10×10 template (found here).

submitting: please email design in .jpg or .png format to blair.d.humphreys@gmail.com.

prizes: winner: $100 / runner-up: $40 / note: depending on the number and quality of entrants I may raise the prize amounts and/or award more entrants

selection: winners will be selected at my discretion and please no family members or employees of imagiNATIVEamerica.com

ownership: all entrants must turnover ownership of submitted design(s) and all rights to their use. Granting me the sole right to reproduce, print, sell the design, or use it in any way I deem appropriate.