Modern Photo of the Week - Morley Residence

Name: Morley Residence
Architect: John "Jack" Morley (for his own family)
Year Designed: Unknown
Builder: Unknown
Year Built: Circa Early 1950s
Location: 6735 Belinder Mission Hills, Kansas
Type: Residential
Style: Mid-Century Modern
Status: DEMOLISHED 12-07 to make way for another McMansion
Photographer: Unknown (Photo From Family)

A mid-century modern passive solar, post and beam design with south facing windows, clerestories and wide overhangs. It had mostly wood interior with some interior stone walls used for thermal mass. The exterior was predominantly stone and wood.

For a photo taken shortly before the house was demolished go here.

KCMODERN's Charles Phoenix Show a Huge Success







KCMODERN's "The United States of Charles Phoenix" show was huge success by all accounts. Over 200 people crowded beneath the wing of the Lockheed Constellation to enjoy CharlesPhoenix's retro vacation slide show. We made a lot of new Modern friends that evening because well over half the crowd was made up of people who had never been to a KCMODERN event before. Charles putting his spin on local Kansas City Landmarks like the White Haven Motor Lodge, Town Topic, Fritz's, Villa Capri and Johnny's Space Age Doughnuts was a first, one of a kind show for him and it was my favorite part of the show.The TWA Clipped Wings Stewardess fashion show was great to see. Can you believe some of the women can still wear their original uniforms from the '60s?

At intermission some people chose to tour the interior of the Lockheed Constellation and everyone enjoyed hand-crafted root beer supplied by 75th Street Brewery and three kinds of popcorn from Velvet Creme Popcorn. KCMODERN was proud to offer these local treats.When Charles went into his vintage retro vacation slideshow the audience was mesmerized by his delightful commentary and unusual, sometimes campy slides. It really was “the classic living room slide show supercharged.” I, for one, hope that we can bring him back next year to perform another show, The Charles Phoenix Christmas Jubilee!

A special thanks go out to our event sponsors, Bob Myers Properties, Bob Greenspan Photography, Retro Inferno and Michael Q. Gratz of Pulaski Bank. And thanks to all of you who attended!

Is this an undocumented Bruce Goff design?


While driving across town snacking on greasy burgers from Town Topic and shooting vintage roadside attractions and signage for the upcoming Charles Phoenix retro slideshow, we spotted a really odd house off of I-35, near the Southwest Trafficway exit. After some back alley encounters with neighbors and a few really funny looks form the locals, we snapped a few pics. So the question is, who is the Architect of this house? Bruce Goff? A student of Bruce Goff? Or just "In the Style of Bruce Goff?" Let us know if anyone knows the story behind this house.

(Edited on 2.9.09)
For the answer on these questions please go here.

KCMODERN crew visits Julius Shulman

KCMODERN regulars Eric Lehnert and Robert McLaughlin recently drove the 10 hour roundtrip to Oklahoma City in Eric's Mini Cooper to meet the famous mid-century architectural photographer, Julius Shulman. Julius is famous for his quintessential black and white views of California's Modern architecture, but many people do not realize that Mr. Shulman photographed many buildings in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Despite the torrential rain showers, the duo arrived on time for cocktails and the lecture. The talk featured many of Julius' iconic photos that were taken in Oklahoma. Afterwards, there was a question and answer period and then Robert managed to get his Taschen, Julius Shulman: Modernism Rediscovered tome signed by Julius. Robert even spoke to Julius about the possibility of a future Shulman exhibit in Kansas City. Julius, who was born on 09-09-09 will be 100 next October and insists that he will be coming back to OKC then for the opening of a new exhibit of his Oklahoma photographs.




Thanks to Lynne for the use of her Flickr photos. For more pics of this event go to Lynne's Lens.

Welcome to the New KCMODERN Blog

As we approach the beginning of our fourth year, KCMODERN has been contemplating how to best grow our web presence and reach new members. After three years of the painful and expensive task of updating and upgrading the present website, we have decided to move our efforts to a new KCMODERN blog format. The old site will remain, but will be supplemented by the new blog.

We hope this move will make KCMODERN’s web presence a more frequently updated and dynamic experience for our readers. It will allow us to keep members informed of upcoming events, add new information about great Modern architecture in our area and allow us to do some new things. Please watch for new regular features like the Modern Photo of the Week, Modern House Photo Tours and Modern Roadtrips.

Please add us to your blog roll, subscribe to our RSS feed, leave comments and by all means, check with us frequently. The blog will be our primary way of posting KCMODERN news and upcoming events from this point on. And if you are feeling really ambitious, submit your own article related to Modern architecture and design for us to post.

Also, please make sure we have your current email address so that we can reach you about events between blog visits.

Your KCMODERN founders Robert, Scott and Bob at the top of the Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma