Cozy Cabin Door Hardware

I had a little time this evening to install the door hardware in my cabin project.

Here is the door to the downstairs bedroom in the kitchen

Here is the door inside the downstairs bedroom

Here is the inside of the front door (still need to trim this one out)

Here is the front door 

Here is the back door

To see more posts about my cabin, click the cabin label below

Estate Sale Saturday

I came across a great estate sale this weekend.  The house was full of antique dolls, doll furniture, toy stoves, and few miniatures for me!  I have posted a few pictures.

While I didn't purchase any of the stoves, I took some pictures.

There was room after room of some great full size Victorian furniture 

(and even an antique casket!)

Most of the carved furniture here is Belter

Below are the miniatures that I walked away with:  A gold folding screen, a miniature vintage framed "painting", a Strombecker wooden stool, a Strombecker wooden hamper, a miniature iron, a pair of brass scissors, a Renwall pink potty seat, a couple of Renwall lamps, a Red Flyer wheel barrow, and a cast metal chair. (red)

320 South Boston Building Tulsa

The  320 South Boston Building, (formerly known as the Exchange National Bank Building and National Bank of Tulsa Building),started as a twelve story building and opened in 1918.  It was designed in the Neo-Classical style by architect George Winkler.

The building has continuously been home to a bank and is now a location for a branch of the Bank of Oklahoma at the street level.

The building's first phase opened in 1918 and was designed in the Neo-Classical style by George Winkler, who also designed the Mayo Hotel. Five years later (1922-23) was the second phase, construction of floors 1-12 of the mid-section. The third phase (1927-28) included the building’s prominent 22-story tower section, making it the city’s tallest structure for almost 30 years. The south end floors 1-12 were also built during this stage. There are some sources that say the cupola at the top was designed to be a zeppelin mooring station.

I came across this old post card on Pinterest.

A 1940's article ran in the Tulsa World Newspaper detailing the building's history.

This photo shows the airship U.S.S. Los Angeles, a German-built Zeppelin operated by the U.S. Navy, which flew over Tulsa on its way back to its home base in Lakehurst, New Jersey back in the 1930's.  Note the Philtower building under the tail of the zepplin. 
To see my post about the Philtower building, click HERE

There is an old photo displayed in the west lobby that shows the original bank teller lines.

This is a photo looking the same direction as the historic one above. Note that they have since filled in part of the area with a mezzanine.

This is a photo the hand painted murals on the ceiling in the main entry lobby.

The main entrance also has a carved marble frieze on the wall above the entry.

Here is a photo of the main floor elevator lobby.  The building still has the original brass elevator doors and mailbox.  The glass chutes above the mail box are connected to letter drops on the upper floors.

The mezzanine has escalators that are said to be the first in Oklahoma.

The basement level still has one of the original marble drinking fountains.  This part of the basement connects to Tulsa's downtown tunnel system.

The basement also contains a large vault with safe deposit boxes.

Here is what the building looks like today looking North. You can see a glimpse of the Bank of Oklahoma tower in the background. It was designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki. He was also the architect for the World Trade Center in NYC. The Bank of Oklahoma (BOK) Tower used the same design as the World Trade Center towers, except that it is 50 stories tall instead of 100.

Here is a view of the building today looking South.  The building sits on the west side of Boston Avenue and extends a full city block between Third and Fourth Streets. Wikipedia calls the building's architectural style "Beaux Arts." The building is covered in brick with terra cotta trim. The lower two stories are covered in stone. The central tower steps back at the 20th floor, with a two story arcade section, which is topped by a 'Greek Temple' fronted section. For many years, the cupola was illuminated by floodlights whose color changed according to the latest weather forecast. Green light meant a fair weather forecast, while red lights signified an approaching storm

This view shows the back of the building with the BOK tower in the background.  The building with the green awning is called Reunion Center and is where I started my architecture career in Tulsa.

The building has some great neo-classical brass detailing on the lower levels at the doors and windows.

I found the pictures below of the inside of the cupola.  It has remained virtually unchanged since it was constructed in 1928.  The lower photo shows the chimney that penetrates each floor and serves the boilers in the basement.

Arcade Cast Iron Advertisement

I came across the ad for sale on Ebay - clipped from the pages of an old magazine!

To see the Arcade Toys that I have collected, click HERE

I also have an old promotional book from 1927 with characters based on the Arcade Toy line.  To see my post about it, click HERE 

Recent Acquistions

I have picked up a few items here and there including this die cast model of a 1937 Ford.  It is roughly 1" scale and I thought it might be fun to display in front of one of my 1930's  miniature houses.  It is very detailed, the doors and trunk both open and the wheels turn!

I came across a couple of these copper baking sets at a local antique mall.  I had not really heard of them before.   They are finely detailed miniatures from Germany by Bodo Hennig.  They are mostly copper with brass accents.

After doing some research, I found the large casserole dish on Ebay to add to my collection.  I will probably display them in my Victorian house.

I like how the molds come in a miniature wooden display rack.

I found these tiny boxes at an estate sale. The larger one is barely 1/2" tall.

The larger one appears to be petwer and the smaller one is silver.

They both open and the larger one has a magnetic lid and three tiny angels inside.  After doing some research I found the item online and it states that it is a prayer box and the angels represent Kindness, Love & Faith.

I found the Cover Girl make-up container in my wife's trash!  It has a nice mirror inside that I am going to try and salvage.  In other news, the door hardware has arrived for my cabin project.

Mid-Continent Tower Tulsa

The Mid-Continent Tower in Tulsa started out as the 16-story Cosden Building

From the leasing company's website:


"The Construction of a Historic Landmark At first glance, a visitor may not notice one of the most unique aspects of the Mid-Continent Tower; that it is, in fact, two distinct buildings. The 16-story Cosden Building was completed in 1918. The 36-story Mid-Continent Tower was completed in 1984...66 years later.

Because the original structure was not able to support the weight of an additional 20 floors, "cantilever" design was used to suspend the new Tower over the older building at the 15th floor level. The two structures do not actually touch one another. The Tower rises 21 stories above and extends 40 feet horizontally over the older 16-story building. Deeper and wider steel trusses in the construction of the 16th and 17th floors of the Tower and a 120' deep foundation carry the burden of the cantilevered floors.

In order to sustain continuity of the original Tudor Gothic design, more than 85,000 pieces of terra-cotta panels, spires, cornices and moldings were produced for the exterior façade. At the time of the Tower's construction, the only manufacturer of terra-cotta in the United States was located in Lincoln, California. Terra-cotta is fired, glazed clay material somewhat like a ceramic tile. Elaborately ornamental, each hand-crafted and hand-cast piece is a work of art.

Marble slabs to match the existing interior walls were carefully selected in integrating the two structures. Three different types of marble used in the Tower came from Italy. Calcutta Vagli Rosatta marble graces the walls and columns. A marble called Roman Travertine covers the walls of the rest rooms. The accents and trim are Verde Antique. Two colors of marble from Tennessee make up the lobby's floor - Craig Rose and Rose Gray."

Tulsa's first high rise building constructed in 1918 by oilman Joseph Cosden

There is a architectural model on display in the lobby of the 36 story skyscraper.

There is a display in the lower level that shows a cross section of the steel that was used to cantilever the next portion of the building over the old building.

The lobby in the newer section of they building is covered in the same marble that was used in the older existing building.  Stained glass was used extensively in the new addition to pay homage to the Neo-Gothic design of the project. There is a also a stained glass mural that was commissioned to show the Tulsa Skyline as it existed at that time. The Elevator Lobby ceiling also has a stained glass ceiling. 

Here is a view of the elevator lobby in the old part of the building and you can see how it connects to the new addition.  Both lobbies are covered in the same marble.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places 

From the street you can get a view of the intricate Terra-cotta tiles that cover the building.

To see my post about the Philtower (shown above, in the center with the pyramidal roof) click HERE

This front view shows the original Cosden Building on the right and the new addition on the left and cantilevered above.

The top three floors of the high rise were designed to be the executive office of Reading & Bates Corporation and are connected by a marble, wood and brass spiral staircase. 

The ceiling of the spiral staircase is adorned with a stained glass dome.  It has been described as being inside a large scale Louis B. Tiffany Lamp.

This last photo shows one of the drinking fountains inside the original section of the building at each elevator lobby.  They are carved into the marble walls and still work!