14 Mar What is in Bartlesville, OK?
Geoff’s fall 2022 trip to Oklahoma.
What is in Bartlesville, OK?
Geoff Koski was in Oklahoma for the Kick-Off of the Collinsville Comp Plan in September 2022. So, he went to Bartlesville. Why? Great question!
A nighttime view looks at the Price Tower’s exterior in Bartlesville, OK.
Why Bartlesville, OK?
First, Did you know the City of Collinsville is roughly equidistant from Tulsa, about 50 miles north, and Bartlesville, OK? Second, Bartlesville is home to Phillips Petroleum Co., one of the largest oil companies in the world. Third, a Bartlesville native founded it.
Phillips Petroleum is now two companies – Conoco Phillips and Phillips 66 – and the local outlets are the largest employers in town. Another historically significant business, the H.C. Price Company, was founded in Bartlesville by Harold Charles Price, Sr. (H.C. Price). In 1937, the H.C. Price Co. specialized in pipeline construction, and most major US oil companies were on its client list.
What Geoff saw
That brings us to one of America’s most famous visionary architects and a revolutionary concept. Bartlesville is also the home of Frank Lloyd Wright’s only skyscraper. The other is the Johnson Wax Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin.
The journey to realize the Price Tower, one of only two vertically-oriented Frank Lloyd Wright works, is fascinating. Wright wrote a book called The Story of the Tower, documenting the design and construction. Commissioned in 1952 as the corporate headquarters for the H.C. Price Co., it was completed in 1956.
The Price Tower is now a 19-story National Historic Landmark recognized as one of Wright’s most significant works by the American Institute of Architects.
When finished, the H.C. Price Co. occupied the top seven floors and rented the lower floors to businesses and professionals. Phillips Petroleum purchased Price Tower in 1981, including a bar, a museum, and a hotel you can stay in! While there, Geoff decided to spend the night at The Inn at Price Tower, which occupies the upper floors of the Wright skyscraper.
A portion of the Frank Lloyd Wright Section for the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It was completed in 1956.
Since late 2006, the top three floors, restored to their 1956 appearance, have been open for tours by special appointment. The restoration includes replicas of the original draperies, furnishings, and upholstery fabrics.
A look into a room at the Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK.