Credit: architecturaldigest.com
After receiving the keys to Price Tower, Snyder immediately began pumping the water out of the basement and had power restored less than three days later. Now the team can begin tackling bigger projects: adding a sprinkler system to get the building up to fire code, evaluating the aged water pipes, and modernizing the elevator mechanics, while keeping to Wright’s original vision.
As Wright’s only completed skyscraper, Price Tower holds an important place among the architect’s work. Built in 1956, the iconic building showcases how Wright drew inspiration from the natural world. Indeed, the architect based the design on a tree, imagining a trunk formed by the central elevator shafts and the green copper panels and sun louvers on the exterior forming the leaves.
In fact, Wright called the building “the tree that escaped the crowded forest,” as it was originally intended for New York City but was ultimately built on the Oklahoma prairie. Designed in the late 1920s, the structure was planned as four apartment towers in the Big Apple, but construction never started due to the Great Depression. When the H.C. Price Company, an oil and gas company, contracted Wright to build its headquarters in Bartlesville in 1953, he revisited those 1920 designs, changing them to a single tower.
The Snyder family say they understand the responsibility they have taken on. “It’s not a renovation, it’s a restoration,” Snyder says. Whenever possible, they aim to preserve the building’s original features, including restoring and retaining the historic windows. Even when elements, such as doors that have to be replaced with fire-safe options, can’t be reused for their original purpose, they plan to repurpose them in new ways, like turning them into a striking headboard.
“We’ve appreciated getting to know the McFarlin team over the last several months, and our conversations have been very positive. We are reassured by their respect for Price Tower’s historic significance and their commitment to honoring our preservation easement,” the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy shared in a statement. “Their creative approach to the reuse of buildings, and the knowledge they have of the regional market, provide a strong foundation for revitalizing this treasured landmark. We are grateful that they are taking on this challenge, and we stand ready to support them with expertise and knowledge as they work to stabilize and preserve the building.”
Snyder-Amatucci emphasized that their team was in it for the long haul, with no plans to sell Price Tower when the restoration project is complete. “We want to make sure that everything we do is quality and done properly because…we’re going to be the ones ensuring that it’s a great experience and that it’s healthy for years.”
