Frank Lloyd Wright - Price Tower Turns 50

Frank Lloyd Wright - Price Tower Turns 50
Frank Lloyd Wright’s only skyscraper Price Tower is located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and is celebrating fifty years. This international landmark was Wright’s vision of a combination office, retail and residential environment.

In 1954 the client Harold C. Price Sr. first commissioned Wright to design his residence in Paradise Valley, Arizona on nine acres of desert. Taking a design from the 1920s intended for a New York site, St. Mark’s-in-the-Bouwerie, Wright would redesign it for the H.C. Price Company. This "Prairie Skyscraper" as it is also known was completed in 1956 and has appeared on the National Register of Historic Places.

To Frank Lloyd Wright, a building was seen as an integration of design, architecture, and art. The materials he used for the interior of Price Tower were copper, aluminum, Philippine mahogany and glass. The reinforced concrete walls were buff in color and the concrete floors were in "Cherokee Red," the same color Wright chose for the exterior stairs of Price’s residence.

In 1955, Wright designed a "Taliesin" line of fabrics for F. Schumacher & Company, New York. These and paints created for the Martin-Senour Paint Company were used for the richly decorated Price Tower.

The Price Tower Arts Center has a permanent installation on the fifth floor showing the Wright designed interiors for the commercial offices (including desks, chairs, tables, textiles). Tours are available to view the original Frank Lloyd Wright designed interiors.

Occupying seven of the upper floors (nineteen stories in all) is the Inn at Price Tower,
a twenty-one room hotel located within the skyscraper. When visiting, be sure to make a reservation for the Inn’s Copper Restaurant & Bar.

During Wright’s lifetime a foundation was created to license and supervise the construction of authentic Wright homes. Although Wright died in 1959, he remains one of the most recognized and beloved American architects.

"American Castles - The Homes of Frank Lloyd Wright" is an amazing video.

"Frank Lloyd Wright - A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.

A great selection of posters are available here from Art.com.

Visit Art.com




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This content was written by Camille Gizzarelli. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Camille Gizzarelli for details.