The Citation, a mid-century modern ranch house located at 1727 South Erie Avenue in the Wedgwood neighborhood of Tulsa is featured in the new book Atomic Ranch: Midcentury Interiors.
The home was built in 1955 and was featured as part of the Tulsa Parade of Homes during National Home Week, September 15-23, 1956. The event was sponsored by the Tulsa Home Builders Association.
According to the Parade of Homes guide from 1956, “The Citation,” built by Lloyd Creekmore, has a combination kitchen, utility, dining room, and family room that “is sure to be the cynosure if discriminating eyes.” One bathroom has a translucent plastic ceiling, square tub, and a unique divider between the double sinks and commode. The extra large master bedroom has a built in television set. The living room has slanted and beamed ceilings, ribbon strip mahogany paneling, and a corner fireplace with a built-in barbecue rotator.
In 2010 Modern Tulsa, a committee of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, contacted Atomic Ranch Magazine concerning their announced search for potential homes for their newest book Atomic Ranch: Midcentury Interiors. ModernTulsa corresponded with Atomic Ranch and put them in touch with homeowner Jennie Cluck. Atomic Ranch photographed the home in 2011 and the book was released in 2012.
Atomic Ranch: Midcentury Interiors takes eight postwar homes and examines what makes these homes special and why. From an aluminum kit house and several modernist gems to a traditional builder’s ranch and a suburban split-level, the book showcases living stylishly retro while still having a modern life.
Homeowners’ stories offer solutions for furniture arrangements, flooring, window coverings, fresh finishes and much more. Styles range from classic midcentury and comfortable modern to a ’50s time capsule meets eclectic IKEA. Sidebars discuss contemporary vs. original kitchens and baths, window replacement and appropriate colors inside and out, giving readers plenty of ideas and resources to translate to their own ranch homes.
And the coverage is geographically diverse: Rochester, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. represent the East Coast, while Portland, San Mateo and Calistoga make up the Western locales. And in between are great houses in Dallas, Cincinnati and Tulsa—making the title regionally relevant.
ModernTulsa is a volunteer endeavor focused on enhancing the appreciation of Tulsa’s 20th Century Modern Design and Pop-Culture Heritage. Operating as a committee of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, Modern Tulsa aims to perpetuate Tulsa’s Modern Heritage via promotion, preservation and education.
The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture is a resource that recognizes, records, and encourages preservation of the built environment and advocates quality future development that enhances Tulsa’s livability.
The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture objectives are to: be a credible voice that identifies valuable architectural structures, spaces, sites and architectural works of merit; educate the public about the built environment; promote and encourage preservation and/or rehabilitation of significant architecture; and be a repository for historical architectural drawings and material.
Credits: Photographs by Jim Brown from Atomic Ranch
Midcentury Interiors by Michelle Gringeri-Brown.
Reprint permission by Gibbs Smith.