Monday, June 4, 2007

Sign change at City Veterinary Hospital raises concern

The small veterinary clinic at 3550 S Peoria Ave has lost the word 'City' from its sign. Not a big deal by itself, but this is an indication that ownership may have changed hands. If so, we hope the new owners keep it the way it is. It's a Joseph Koberling, Jr. design from 1942, adjacent to a residential neighborhood. There was not a lot of construction during WWII, making the Streamline Moderne style rare in Tulsa. (Another example of this style was the old Red Cross building on Harvard, whose distinctive features were all destroyed in a 1980s renovation.) One of the last intact, it's architecturally significant (and in perfect scale with the residences that surround it). This is one to protect. UPDATE: The building is in safe hands. The 35-year-old sign was simply vandalized, and it is now restored. It took an ironworker several weeks to make a new 'City'; we commend the longtime owners for making the extra effort to get it right.

Midtown treasure: Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Westhope'

At 3704 S Birming- ham Ave, architect Frank Lloyd Wright built his 'Westhope' home for cousin Richard Lloyd Jones in 1929. (Click link for an outside link to its fascinating history.) The house is one of many of Tulsa's Art Deco treasures, but nestled in a residential neighborhood, it is often overlooked. Although the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Tulsa has not given the area any protection beyond a routine RS-1 zoning. The house itself is safe, but we should be wary of encroachment.