Between the endless prairie and the forests of Oklahoma hides the forgotten capital of American art déco. Although Tulsa is inferior in size to other well-known examples of cities with buildings in this style, its wealth of buildings from the 1920s and 1930s is stunning. Tulsa developed rapidly thanks to the nearby oil fields, and the lavish art déco style appealed to pre-war oil magnates. Today, Tulsa boasts the third highest density of art déco buildings in the US.
“Oil Capital of the World”
Before the development of railways in the United States, the area around present-day Tulsa was the site of clashes between indigenous tribes. After them came the Wild West with the infamous Dalton Gang, until finally the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad came to the area. From 1882 onwards, Tulsa became a city with slumbering potential. A dozen years later, large oil deposits were discovered near the city, which instantly caught the attention of east coast entrepreneurs.
Oil magnates began to build their villas beneath the city, and huge business edifices were erected in the centre. The city authorities did everything to make the local oil fields famous and to keep the oil millionaires at home. At one point, companies such as Texaco and Sinclair Oil were based in Tulsa, and the city declared itself the ‘Oil Capital of the World’. By the end of the 1920s, there were nearly 1,500 oil-related companies in Tulsa.
During the 1920s, the rich art déco style, which at the time was a new interpretation of elegance and modernity, poured from the streets of the ‘oil capital’. The zigzag variety of art déco (Zigzag art déco), which was characterised by heavy dodgy blocks, geometric design and gold detailing, was particularly well established in the city.
Zigzags
In Tulsa, the Philcade Building, built by an entrepreneur, is representative of this style. The Waite Phillips building has ten brick floors and three floors lined with terracotta tiles. The prefabricated tiles show patterns depicting local flora, animals and even Egyptian motifs. These natural inspirations are more associated with Art Nouveau, but the personal tastes of the millionaires in Tulsa allowed them to go beyond the patterns of architecture.
The real architectural value of the Philcade Building is hidden inside. The building’s lobby was lined with expensive marble, stucco ornamentation and gold leaf. In turn, the vaulted corridors are decorated with hand-painted geometric patterns. Rhombuses, lines, squares and semicircles dance on the colourful ceiling. Also worth noting are the dodgy metal chandeliers, which are somewhat reminiscent of lamps known from Arabian architecture. Interestingly, the building is connected by an underground tunnel to another Phillips development, the Philtower.
Neo-Gothic art déco
Built in 1928, three years before the Philcade Building, the Philtower skyscraper was designed in a somewhat dated neo-Gothic style. Although its height is less than a hundred metres, the richness of its ornamentation makes the building one of Tulsa’s most important landmarks. The Philtower is not a classic skyscraper neo-Gothic like the Woolworth Building, but the last breath of this style. The terracotta base consists of repetitive Gothic ornamentation such as soaring arches, florals, masquerades and frogs. However, immediately after these, the skyscraper shoots up with brick floors.
Inside, the skyscraper resembles a castle. Heavy limestone blocks fill the space and Italian sculptors have taken care of the incredible details carved into the stone. A gothic motif of a four-leaf clover runs through most of the building. This element is inscribed in the rosette suspended above the main lobby. Interestingly, the rosette was made in Italy and transported to Tulsa. It is hard not to draw attention to the delightful fan vault identified with English Gothic. The served limestone fans are reminiscent of the English abbey at Bath.
But where did the neo-Gothic skyscraper come from in the midst of art-deco buildings? Phillips was inspired by Tulsa’s first skyscraper, the Cosden Building. In 1918, oil magnate Joshua Cosden wanted to create a beautiful edifice that paid homage to Italianate interior architecture. The original 16-storey building was clad in terracotta with distinctive Gothic ornamentation. Interestingly, in the 1980s, 20 more storeys were added to the building’s steel structure, so that the skyscraper, renamed the Mid-Continent Tower, grew to 156 metres. It is noteworthy that, although Neo-Gothic usually uses English and French models, the interior of Cosden’s building is filled with expensive Italian stone. Casden himself selected the types of marble for the skyscraper’s lavish lobby. Interestingly, in the 1980s, the architects came to the original Calacatta Vagli Rosato marble quarrying site in Tuscany to replicate the original design. The interior was also lined with travertine and ofcalcite.
A new era
Transitional neo-Gothic had to give way to modern and imaginative art déco. In addition to the Philcade Building, the Oklahoma Natural Gas Co Building and the Pythian Building are worth a look. The story of these two buildings marks the beginning and end of an era of art déco. The first is a towering state mining company edifice that pioneered zigzag art déco. The limestone-lined base is distinguished by floral ornamentation and heavy geometric patterns. This is the very beginning of the zigzags, which then pass into the interior of the building. There are, however, decorations familiar from previous styles like the Neo-Renaissance. Inside, the grand lobby shows the power of the company. The coffered ceiling with stars and floral decorations combines perfectly with the glass lamps in box-shaped shades.
The second building, the Pythian Building (officially Gillette-Tyrell) was meant to resemble other art déco skyscrapers in the city. On top of the terracotta-lined base, it was wanted to erect a ten-storey hotel to emphasise the prestige of the building. The problem was that during construction, the Great Depression fell on the Americans, effectively stripping most of the country bare. For this reason, the building is only three storeys high. However, despite the difficult economic situation, the Pythian Building managed to be lined with a zigzag pattern that repeats throughout the building. Repetitive patterns accumulate on the façade, with English Tudor arches spanning over the windows. Simple geometric zigzags have also invaded the interior, where blue, red and brown tiles are arranged in geometric shapes. Even the skylights are arranged in triangular waves.
A sea of architecture
The Tulsa Historic District is home to a whole host of noteworthy buildings, but a book would have to be written to describe them all. Special buildings include the Tulsa Union Depot, which formerly served rail passenger traffic. Nowadays, the building, which is evocative of machinery and industry, serves as a jazz hall of fame. In contrast, you can read about one of the rarest examples of sacred art déco HERE.
It is worth mentioning that Tulsa’s architects often drew on the heritage left by the Creek tribe. Hence the numerous references to indigenous designs, vegetation and traditions. Such motifs can be found, for example, on the exhibition pavilion building, which combines brick with terracotta decorations depicting horses and flowers. Another attempt to pay homage to the original inhabitants of America is the Tulsa Fire Alarm building, which serves as a notification station for the fire service. The Neo-Mayan design shows traditional motifs such as dragons and birds mixed with heroic images of firefighters. All of these buildings were built when the city was rebuilding after the Great Depression, which was quite benign for the city due to its strong mining industry. Staying with the theme of Neo-Mayan buildings, it is hard not to mention the style’s greatest enthusiast, Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed the Westhope Mansion in Tulsa. There is still time for a description of this iconic building.
Saved from extinction
In the 1960s, Tulsa’s architectural pearls were claimed by specialists in modern modernism. As part of the urban renewal, many impressive edifices were demolished and replaced by car parks. Tulsa survived the Great Depression, but narrowly missed being killed by cars. Fortunately, residents exerted so much influence on the city government that it was able to create a special historic district that protects historic buildings from demolition. A lot of renovation has been done since the early 21st century, which is evident in the well-maintained city centre. Although Tulsa does not even pretend to be the “Oil Capital of the World” anymore, the city is developing steadily and appears to be the capital of American art déco in the west of the country.
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
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