Recent Acquisitions

I have recently found a few interesting items here and there.

   

All of the items are roughly 1:12 scale.  An old time Unical/Union 76 gas pump, a ceramic living room set, a vase from Mexico, a bird cage and a toaster! 

My parents owned a Union 76 service station when I was growing up so it was fun to find this at a local estate sale.  This pump is very nice with a glass top and and a heavy metal base.

The ceramic living room couch, chair and table are pretty unique.  I'm not exactly sure what I will do with them, but I have never seen anything like them before, at least not at this scale.  UPDATE - I found another set of these online advertised as Antique Maruyama Toki Yamashiro Ryunei porcelain from the 1930's. 

They are marked Made in Japan on the bottom.

I found a whole stack of antique tobacco felt rugs at antique mall for $10.  

I couldn't pass that up!

Most are marked on the bottom, but it is still hard to make out the words.

*UPDATE* I have learned that Egyptian Straights was a brand of cigarettes.

I would love to have you follow me on instagram @tulsaarchitect

1940's Rich Toys Colonial Mansion Door Repair

At some point in the life of my 1940's Rich Colonial Mansion, the door was replaced with a plain piece of wood.  

A friend of mine has a vinyl cutter and so I asked her cut out a decal to place on the door.
I prepared a CAD drawing for her to use based on another Rich Toys house in my collection.

Here is a photo of the door after the vinyl was installed.

I based the line work on the door of my other Rich Toys house shown here.

Here is a behind the scenes in-process photo

Here is a picture of the door that was with the house when I got it.  I do not know when it was added or what happened to the original door.  The hardware with flat screws suggests possibly the 1950's or 60's?

Here I am burnishing the new vinyl artwork onto the door.

The new vinyl 

Here is a close up.

Here is view from the interior after the new vinyl was added.  (I had two sets of vinyl so I used one set to the interior and one on the exterior.)

It has always bothered me that it was just a plain white piece of wood,  Now it has a little more character and it part of this house's history.

Shabby Chic Cabin Curtains

I worked on some cafe curtains for the first floor of the cabin project this week.

 This photo was my inspiration for how I wanted the curtains to hang on the rod.  I decided to try and scallop the curtains at the top to give the illusion of the soft fabric hanging from the loops.

I started by having my mother-in-law sew a scalloped stitch on the fabric.  The linen fabric that I am using is the same fabric that I used to make the bedding.  It is a curtain panel that I purchased at an estate sale a while back.  I used one of the edges that already had a hemmed edge.  This will be the bottom.  

I then cut the panels to the correct width for my windows.

After cutting along the scalloped stitch for the top, I used my "Pretty Pleater" that I had purchased on Ebay a few years ago.  These are available in different scales.  I had won a used one in an auction so it wasn't too expensive.  It works by pressing the fabric in the grooves with an old credit card or in this case an old hotel room key.  I first got the fabric a little damp, then ironed it, then gave it a few coats of hair spray and let it dry overnight.

I used these jewelry findings for the curtain hooks.  They are available in different finishes and sizes.  I selected a size that would fit over the vintage brass curtain rods that I planned on using.

Sewing is my least favorite task.  I sewed on each ring individually.  If someone knows an easier way, please share it with me!

Here is one of the panels on the curtain rod.

I had to take all of the furnishings out of the cabin and lay the cabin on it's side to drill pilot holes for the curtain rod holders.

Here is a view of one side in place.

And here is the view from the front porch! 

You can also follow my progress on Instagram :

@tulsaarchitect

The Tulsa Club

I recently had the opportunity to tour the historic Tulsa Club building in Tulsa's Art Deco district.  The building is undergoing a $36 million restoration to transform it into a 98 room boutique hotel and event center. The Tulsa Club was designed by Architect Bruce Goff and opened in 1927. Goff graduated from Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1922. In 1934, he joined Chicago artist Alfonso Iannelli for a brief period and then taught at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1947, Goff became a professor at the University of Oklahoma. In January of 1948, he became Chairman of the Department of Architecture until he resigned in December of 1955.

The building served a headquarters for the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce on the lower 6 floors and the Tulsa Club on the upper floors when it opened.  The Tulsa Club served as a business social club and athletic space for the oil barons and the elite of Tulsa. 

Note the Philtower building in the background.  To see my post about it, click HERE

Here is a photo of the original Art Deco style entrance to the building.  Note the tall geometric stepped lanterns that flank the doors.  The original entrance was updated in the 1950's with large black tile.

 The entrance as it stands today with the 1950's tile and a new modern canopy.

Here is photo of the new sign at street level.  The designers did a great job of capturing the Art Deco influences as well as it history over the decades.

Above is a photo of the original lobby in the 1920's and below is a photo of it's restored look.  At some point in it's past, the railings and light fixtures were removed and the two story space was filled in with a floor.

While we were there, they were still unpacking the new furniture.

The 8th floor has really great corridor - here is a photo from back in the day.

Here is how the 8th floor corridor looked when the project was started.  The building has stood vacant for several years.  Along with the vandalism, the building has also had a few fires.

This is how the corridor looks today!  We were told the carpet was added to aid with acoustics.  Because of the unique character of each floor and by order of the state historic guidelines in keeping the existing windows and corridors, the building will end up having 47 different hotel room layouts. 

The photo below shows the state of the two story ball room on the 9th floor at the beginning of the project.

Here is a photo of the ball room ready for a dinner party at some point back in it's history.

And here is a photo of the ballroom today.  They are storing furniture and items for the other floors that are still under construction in the space.

Here is an image of the state of the damaged plasterwork at the beginning of the project.

Here is an image of the plaster work restored.  We were told that the company that produced the original molds for the plaster-work were found which made the restoration a little easier and exact.

This sub-category of the Art Deco style is called Zigzag

The chandeliers for the ballroom were reproduced from old photos and drawings.

Here is an original curved stair case that leads from the ballroom to the second level. 

The second level is decorated with period emerald green and gold wallpaper and has toilet rooms, event spaces, meeting rooms and a brides room.

The elevator doors have been restored with an Art Deco themed graphics as well.  

The Tulsa Club was the very last building in Tulsa to have human elevator operators.

Below is a photo of an original fireplace on the 8th floor lounge.

Here is a photo of the fireplace restored.  The original mosaic tile was vandalized and missing pieces under layers of paint and graffiti. It serves as a focal point in one of the hotel suites now.  

Each of the hotel rooms has been outfitted with modern amenities and an artistic copy of the Tulsa Club logo in the tile.

This is some wallpaper in the lobby

and marble mosaic on the floor

Here are some banquets at the bar. The first floor and the bar will feature menu items that pay homage to the building's history.  Part of the funding for this project is coming from a new program in Oklahoma using state tourism taxes to help pay for tax rebates on the project for the first 10 years of operation.