Eugene Bavinger House | |
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
Location | 730 60th Ave., NE, Norman, Oklahoma |
---|---|
Coordinates | 35°13′40″N97°21′10″W / 35.22778°N 97.35278°W |
Built | 1950 |
Architect | Bruce Goff |
Architectural style | Organic |
Demolished | 2016 |
MPS | Bruce Goff Designed Resources in Oklahoma MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 01001354 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 13, 2001 |
Removed from NRHP | February 28, 2017 |
The Bavinger House was completed in 1955 in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. It was designed by architect Bruce Goff. Considered a significant example of organic architecture, [2] [3] the house was awarded the Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1987. [4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, [2] and was removed from the National Register in 2017 after being demolished the previous year. [5]
The house was constructed over the course of five years by Nancy and Eugene Bavinger, the residents of the house, who were artists, along with the help of a few of Eugene's art students, volunteers, and local businesses. The Bavingers moved into the house in February 1955, and Life magazine featured the house in its September 19, 1955 issue. [6] Despite its remote location, the house became an attraction; the Bavingers first tried to limit visitors by charging a dollar per guest. Life reported that the tours had yielded over $4,000, and eventually (according to Goff) they raised over $50,000 before finally deciding they didn't want to be disturbed by the constant flow of tourists. [7]
The house was vacant for more than a decade and had fallen into disrepair before it was reported in 2008 that the house would be renovated and reopened for tours. [8] Fundraising efforts, however, ran into difficulties. [9] [10] The house was damaged and its central spire left broken at a 45-degree angle after a powerful windstorm in June 2011. [9] The official website for the house stated that the house "will not be able to re-open", [10] [11] [12] [13] which was later changed to "Closed Permanently", and in August 2012 further edited to say "The House will never return under its current political situation". [13] The official website was taken offline in August, 2011, and its domain license was allowed to expire. [14]
In April 2016 The Norman Transcript reported that the house had been demolished and completely removed, leaving only a vacant lot, as confirmed by the president of the Bruce Goff-focused preservation organization Friends of Kebyar. [15]
The wall of the house was a 96-foot long logarithmically curved spiral, made from 200 tons of local "ironrock" sandstone dynamited (by Eugene) from a piece of purchased farmland near Robin Hill School, a few miles away from the house and hauled back on Eugene's 48 Chevy flatbed truck. The structure was anchored by a recycled oil field drill stem that was reused to make a central mast more than 55 feet high. The house had no interior walls; instead there were a series of platforms at different heights, some with curtains that could be drawn for privacy. The ground floor was covered with pools and planted areas. [2] [16] [17] [18] [19] [ unreliable source? ]
Norman is the 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Cleveland County and the second-most populous city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area after the state capital, Oklahoma City, 20 miles north of Norman.
The Price Tower is a nineteen-story, 221-foot-high tower at 510 South Dewey Avenue in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, United States. Built in 1956, it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is the only realized skyscraper by Wright and is one of only two vertically oriented Wright structures extant; the other is the S.C. Johnson Wax Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin.
The year 1955 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
The Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, located in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, and completed in 1929, is considered to be one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical Art Deco architecture in the United States, and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built by a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1999. It has 15 floors.
Bruce Alonzo Goff was an American architect, distinguished by his organic, eclectic, and often flamboyant designs for houses and other buildings in Oklahoma and elsewhere.
John MacLane Johansen was an American architect and a member of the Harvard Five. Johansen took an active role in the modern movement.
The Bachman House is a house in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located at 1244 W. Carmen Ave. The house was built between 1947 and 1948 by Bruce Goff. Architect Bruce Goff created a neighborhood sensation in 1948, when he remodeled a modest wood house into the home and studio for recording engineer Myron Bachman. The window openings were changed and an exterior cladding of brick and corrugated aluminum was added. It remains a local attraction, as well as a nationally recognized example of work by one of architecture's most unusual figures. Much of Goff's architectural career was spent in Oklahoma, although he maintained a practice in Chicago from 1934 to 1942. Goff also designed the Turzak House, another Chicago Landmark. Bachman House was designated a Chicago Landmark on December 9, 1992.
Central High School is the oldest high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1906 as Tulsa High School, and located in downtown Tulsa until 1976. The school now has a 47-acre (19 ha) campus in northwest Tulsa. Tulsa Central is part of the Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma's largest school district, and is a public school for students from grades 9 through 12. Since 1997 it has served as a fine and performing arts magnet school.
The Ledbetter House is a historic house located at 701 West Brooks in Norman, Oklahoma, United States.
The John Frank House was designed in 1955 and built in 1956 in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, United States. It was designed by architect Bruce Goff. It was designed for John Frank, founder of Frankoma Pottery. It was specifically designed to showcase the Franks' love for pottery. John and Grace Lee Frank glazed and fired the ceramic tiles located throughout the house.
The Hopewell Baptist Church in northwestern Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, also known as the Teepee Church, was designed by architect Bruce Goff in the modernist style. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It was deemed "an excellent example of the architecture of Bruce Goff during the time he was Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma."
The Donald Pollock House is a historic house in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Designed by architect Bruce Goff, Nelson Brackin accompanied Goff in the renovation for Laura and Joe Warriner in 1966.
Adah Matilda Robinson was an American artist, designer and teacher, who influenced many other artists, especially architects, during the first half of the 20th century. Born in Indiana, she was educated in art schools in the Chicago area, as well as receiving private lessons from noted artist there during the late 19th century. Adah moved with her family to Oklahoma City, where she began teaching art. She moved to Tulsa and became the first art teacher at Tulsa High School. One of the pupils in her first class was the aspiring artist, Bruce Goff. Later, she taught another student, Joseph R. Koberling, Jr., who would also become a noted architect. In 1928, she was hired as the founder and chairperson of the Art Department at the University of Tulsa.
Tracy Park is a historic neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a relatively small neighborhood consisting primarily of single-family houses that were built in the Riverview Addition during the early 1920s. The Tracy Park Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 20, 1982 with the NRIS number 82003707. The district is bounded on the north by 11th Street, on the east by Peoria Avenue, and on the south and west by the Inner Dispersal Loop. It was the first area in Tulsa to be nominated as a district on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rush, Endacott and Rush was an American architectural firm known for its designs in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from 1912 to 1929.
The Glen Mitchell House, also known as Mitchell House, was a unique design in Dodge City at the time it was built, as it was modeled using Asian influences which were considerably different from the surrounding conventionally styled homes. The home in the Organic Architecture style was designed by architect Bruce Goff when Goff was practicing architecture in Kansas from 1964–1968 and built by Don Stein and Leo Jantz both of Dodge City, Kansas, United States. The house located at 1905 Burr Parkway, Dodge City, Kansas was designed in 1968 for Dr. Glen Mitchell, a practicing dentist and accomplished musician, and with the use of colors, textures and natural materials and landscaping the architect achieved a home that was in "harmony with its landscape".
Herb Greene, is an American architect, artist, author and educator. Greene's architecture practice was based in Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas. His built projects are known for an original interpretation of organic design.
Leon Quincy Jackson, was an American architect and professor. He was known for his modernist building designs. He is thought to be the first black architect in Oklahoma, however he faced discrimination and was not able to take the state licensing exam. His architecture firm was named L. Quincy Jackson & Associates.
Closed due to storm damage . . . Due to severe storm damage we will not be able to re-open
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