Friday, April 29, 2016

Frank Lloyd Wright Price Tower

We visited the Frank Lloyd Wright Price Tower located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, had a nice lunch in their restaurant and took the tour of the building and museum.

Photography of the museum, penthouse, apartment, art gallery, boardroom and gift shop is not allowed, so this blog covers the exterior and only the public areas. 

This building dates from the mid to late 1950's, but was designed much earlier to be part of a four unit group of skyscrapers in New York. The great depression brought and end to that plan, so this was redesigned to be located in the prairies of Oklahoma as a single structure.

This building originally combined both residential applications and business ventures including shops and a restaurant.  The building now offers visitors the ability to stay in one of the former apartments now used as hotel rooms, have a drink at the bar and a meal in the restaurant.

The docent guided tour includes a visit to the executive office of Mr. Price, his surprisingly small board room, an example of an apartment restored to its 1956 appearance and a very good museum showing the building history and how the furnishings and built ins were created. 


The favorite deep red color  of Frank Lloyd Wright was used on the outside areas and serves as a tie to the same color used on the inside of the tower to visually tie the inside and outside together. 

The decorative shades over the windows were located in either a vertical or horizontal direction depending if they were to shade a commercial or residential space. 





A rather elegant sundial is found on the grounds



These brass emblems are found on each floor and are the center of each of the projected wings of the building.

There are a number of oddly shaped portions of the building that seem to define a readily recognizable use. 

This view of the lobby includes seats intended for those visitors awaiting someone to guide them to whom they were to see back in the day. A glimpse of the revised lobby for those taking the tour  is seen thru the doorway. It is well worth your visit to see the entire lobby, and woven metal shades/drapes 

The elevators have had a more recent addition to the light lens showing images of the construction of the tower.






This is typical of the patina found on each of the exterior sun shades

Well shaded view from the tower 


Small open air patios are found on several floors





Outside stairways connect the floors




This view shows a good example of the pattern that is used throughout the building.




Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Clinton Library

We visited the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock Arkansas. It is a beautiful facility.

We stayed at the RV park just across the river from the Library via this pedestrian bridge converted from a former RR bridge.



It is interesting to see "Preframed" suggested photo images of the former RR bridge.







We made good use of the rental audio phones that supported a self guided tour. The narrator was President Clinton who did an enjoyable job of telling about his library.







Each year of the Clinton Presidency was documented on a timeline and general topics of interest were covered in alcoves 











Example of a table set for a state dinner




The Library includes a restaurant that serves very good and reasonably priced meals. My Reuben sandwich was rather massive and quite good.



The former Railroad Station across from the Presidential Library has been converted to  the Clinton School for Public Service.


This Presidential Library is well worth your time