Then: Image courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Now: As the house appeared on my visit in December 2009
Name: George Kraigher House
There are great buildings in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. You can drive around and see some very interesting architecture. I can't mention architecture in this town without mentioning the Price Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright's "Prairie Skyscraper", very artistic and great scale...
They now have a hotel and restaurant on the top floors and a very cool museum on the first two floors.
Frank Lloyd Wright and Bruce Goff is ever present in the town, whether it's work by them or architects influenced by them at the University of Oklahoma or other schools nearby.
Very interesting house and plan...at the rear of the house, on the second floor which is ground level, it has a pool... now real estate beige, the original was redwood stain and a turquoise trim with beautiful masonry...
These two homes were designed one after the other...Comer and Motsenbacker, in 1957, which is interesting to compare how Goff reacted to different programs, budgets and sites.
Two doors down the street from the Motsenbocker house is a David Runnels(architect from Kansas City) designed house that was remodeled by Bruce Goff in 1959. 
From the front, it's all Goff in this extensive remodel, from clear glass ashtrays in the doors and wood panels to strong geometric elements in the overall fabric of the design. (click on images to enlarge)
It seems like yesterday, when again we were going to enjoy the beauty of a Bruce Goff jewel over our Christmas holiday in 1997. Waiting for a call to go over to Shin'enKan, the most "fantastic" piece of architecture built, we received a call that it was on fire and "it was bad." As you can see, it certainly was. We got as close as we could to take pictures of the fire and the aftermath. It was a very sad experience for my family. I think they all understood something very important had been lost. At least we were fortunate to have had a "relationship" with this work of art.
Needless to say and to make a long story short, the Price family sought out the best architects of the time. Bruce Goff was hired by Joe Price to design his home, and subsequent additions, ultimately becoming his Opus... Harold Price Sr., his father, had hired Cliff May to design the family home at Starview Farms, and at Goff's insistence hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design an office building, the Price Tower. Harold Jr. hired Wright to design his home, essentially creating an architectural theme park. The May designed house was in bad condition and razed by developers. The only remaining house is the Wright designed house called "Hillside".
They may not exist anymore, we have been unable to locate them, but a nifty little enclave of homes near 55th and Maple, Mission, KS, resemble the flood houses. I remember some were built with flat roofs, others gabled. Now, all have gabled roofs.
Comparing the photos and disregarding the gabled roofs, vinyl siding and shutters, you can almost see the flat roof and similar window treatment. Sadly, most have lost their crisp modern styling.
This house was an award winning Jones and Emmons design ("Case Study" architects from California) for Don called the "Castillian." (for more about Don's California architect connection, see articles on www.KCModern.com) A lavish open one story plan featuring many windowwalls, multiple outdoor terraces and a true sense of modern living. As far as we can tell, there were seven of these homes built in the Kansas City area and one was located in Richmond, MO. This one is located near 68th & Belinder in Mission Hill, KS. (Look for more on Belinder street soon) The house, altered drastically with Spanish styling, was unique for the type in that it had a basement/bomb shelter below the carport. As has happened in other communities throughout the United States, Belinder street has seen many changes over the last few years, many mid-century modern houses have been torn down. Because of this, we have significant concern about the future of a Marcel Breuer designed house down the street (see previous photo of the week).
The fine styling was definitely from a studied hand. After doing some research, I found the architect was Earnest O. Brostrom. (He designed some notable buildings in KC in the Prairie idiom, we will revisit him later.) This house was built in 1915, it was 25 years old when the black and white photo was taken. (In 1940 Kansas City took photos of all built structures for tax purposes.) The exterior appears to be in good shape with fine brickwork. Note the Wrightian planters and flaired roof lines at the fascia. I guess when the trees grew large enough the awnings were no longer needed. Click on the image to enlarge...to be continued...
IT'S DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE THIS AREA WITHOUT A SKYSCAPE OF TREES-
Next we drove by these houses in Prairie Village on 79th Street and Colonial. These houses are versions of the house plan featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Called the "Home for You in '52"(actually building them since 1950, with it's success, it was considered an important ranch house design). Designed by Francie Drummond with help from architect, Gier Sloan( He's another story Robert or I will go into) "as suggested by Miller Nichols" of JC Nichols Real Estate Co., who had a strong opinion about how houses should look in his developments.
Awesome tree! Must have been 25-30 years old in vintage photo...don't you love it that you can see the garage on the house on the next street in the background. You get a real feel for the "first-ring" suburbs. Almost looks the same, though no door shutters, and the door has been altered with a sidelight( probably an 80's thing) typical Drummond low chimney.
Talk about a "skyscape"! Prairie Village is a city of trees, but at one time builders sold lots with "views" of the city, nature, etc. The most striking thing to me is the garage door replacement with a "manufactured" door with raised panels, ugh! The easiest way to impact a "period" home is with poor choices of doors and windows...
Don Drummond, a builder of a significant number of modern homes in Kansas City, started building in 1947 after returning from the Navy's Engineering Corps where he oversaw building of various Miltary base housing projects during WWII. The black and white photos were provided by Don. He built his first fifteen houses in the 2900 block of E. 52nd St., Kansas City, MO. The only houses that were vacant or in differed condition were the ones from the vintage photos.
These homes were designed by Don. He said he was having difficulty getting building permits when his father-in-law, the honorable Judge Woodruff said "order the concrete." Must have been a "Pendergast thing". . . he got his permits. Then he ran into difficulty when an "early" buyer was Italian and the "Mortgage Man" said "no one else will want to move in. . . reconsider." This was before Fair Housing. These houses narrowly missed destruction when the Bruce R. Watkins Trafficway was constructed a block away to the west. These photos attest to the difficulty of revitalization of certain neighborhoods during these economic times. . . to be continued. . .
