Art Deco in Tulsa
In the 1920s, Tulsa was dizzy with new prosperity and rapid growth. Earlier oil discoveries earned Tulsa the nickname "Oil Capitol of the World." Industry leaders lured businesses, bankers, and investors to the city. Its population doubled, fueling a building boom equal to $1 million a month. Tulsa had no established infrastructure or architectural past, which left it free to experiment with new styles. The popular style of the time was Art Deco.
Art Deco originated in Europe in 1925 and quickly became popular all over the world. The Junior League of Tulsa's 1980 history of Tulsa Art Deco points out that the phrase "Art Deco" was coined by English historian Bevis Hillier as an abbreviation of Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, an international exposition held in Paris in 1925 to showcase designers working in a new style.
This new style departed from ancient or classical themes, which had been dominant in design and architecture for decades. The origins of Art Deco were ornamental, sophisticated, and modern. It was intended to appeal to those who could afford the finest. Through times of tremendous prosperity, depression, growth and progress, the Art Deco style defined and reflected its age.
Its first incarnation, Zigzag Art Deco, incorporated geometric patterns that stressed verticality and patterned ornamentation. Paris designs began to arrive in the United States shortly after the 1925 Expo. Tulsa's new wealth built city infrastructure, offices, cathedrals and mansions using elements of Zigzag Art Deco.
Christ the King Church (1926) by Chicago architect Barry Byrne is embellished with Zigzag verticality. Two side altars were designed by a promising young architect named Bruce Goff. The Boston Avenue Church (1928-29), credited to Adah Robinson and Bruce Goff, is high style Zigzag. The contemporary symbolism and departure from traditional architecture make it one of the most recognizable structures in Tulsa, and one of the country's best examples of Art Deco. In fact, it was named a National Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior in January 1999.
The Oklahoma Natural Gas Building (Atkinson and Koberling, 1928) and Public Service Company Building (Atkinson and Kershner, 1929) incorporate Zigzag Art Deco features, signalling mainstream acceptance of the Art Deco style in Tulsa. Similarly, the Philcade (1930), designed by architect Leon B. Senter to match the neighboring gothic Philtower, expresses Art Deco shapes and designs in terra cotta and wrought iron.
The Gillette Terrell/Pythian building (1931) was originally planned by Edward W. Saunders as a thirteen-story structure with a hotel on the top ten floors. Colored terra cotta tiles in zigzag patterns profusely decorate its interior and exterior. In fact, designers' extensive use of decorative fired bricks during Tulsa's construction boom earned Tulsa another nickname, the "Terra Cotta City." The Great Depression halted construction on the Pythian Building in 1931 at the third floor.
The Jazz Age ended with a crash and PWA Art Deco began. The stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent depression halted many new projects. Oil-rich Tulsa fared better than many cities. President Roosevelt's New Deal included a building program known as the Public Works Administration (PWA), which began in 1933. PWA Art Deco projects were large, public or government buildings intended to convey strength and solidity in those uncertain years. The Tulsa Union Depot (1931) was planned by architect Frederick Kershner to accommodate the needs of three separate railroads that served Tulsa. Its sheer size coupled with Zigzag design elements declare the PWA intention to look and last well into the future. In 1932, the Tulsa State Fairground Pavilion designed by L.I. Shumway was the largest in the southwest, with seating capacity for 10,000. Its unique "floating" roof supported by exterior columns gained national recognition. Other examples of PWA Art Deco still stand, such as the Tulsa Fire Alarm Building (Kershner, 1931), Daniel Webster High School (Atkinson, Forsyth, Wolaver and Kerr, 1938), and Will Rogers High School (Atkinson, Senter and Koberling, 1939), probably the best example of the style nationwide.
Deco's third and final incarnation, Streamline, is coincidentally most often torn down in Tulsa. Speed and the automobile became the passion of post-depression thirties. Streamline Art Deco features long curves and nautical motifs suggesting steamship travel and the advent of the automobile culture. Buildings became simple, sleek and uncomplicated. Stucco was popular because it could be molded into smooth curves. An unusual number of Streamline houses were built in Tulsa, and the Brookside neighborhood is almost all Streamline Art Deco, particularly the S & J Oyster House (1945) and the City Veterinary Hospital (Koberling, 1942).
While it first appeared in Tulsa in Christ the King Church, designed by Barry Byrne and completed in 1926, the style continued to be popular long after World War II with buildings like the Brookside Broadcast Center (now KJRH-TV) by Koberling and Brandenbourg (1956). Today, the style is gaining new popularity among architects and designers in projects like the downtown Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority Terminal (HTB Inc., 1998).
-Rex Ball, FAIA and Jennifer Young, Tulsa City-County Librarian