Article originally posted by Architectural Digest
Following a series of financial struggles, Frank Lloyd Wright’s only skyscraper, Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, has shuttered its doors, reports the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. The closure is only the latest chapter in a saga that began with the building’s controversial sale to private investors in March 2023. Now, longtime tenants of the mixed-use building have been given a month to vacate the premises, and the building’s once-public museum (The Price Tower Arts Center) and hotel (The Inn at Price Tower) are no longer accepting visitors.
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.
Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images
The 19-story, 221-foot building originally housed offices and apartments for the H.C. Price Company. However, after the business closed in 1981, the building struggled to find its place. It was sold to Phillips Petroleum Company, which used it for storage. In 2000, Phillips donated the tower to a newly formed nonprofit, the Price Tower Arts Center. They created a museum dedicated to Wright, opened a boutique hotel—The Inn at Price Tower—and established two floors as the Copper Bar and Restaurant. Other spaces were rented as offices, but the nonprofit struggled with rising maintenance costs, eventually falling deep into debt.
In March 2023, Price Tower sold to Copper Tree Inc., a group of private investors helmed by Cynthia Blanchard, for a mere $10. As part of the inexpensive price, the company agreed to take on the nonprofit’s debt and pour $10 million into the preservation of the building, according to the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise.
However, the news caused controversy, as some community members worried about the implications of Price Tower becoming a for-profit enterprise. Others wondered if Copper Tree Inc., which was formed only a year earlier, had the expertise to renovate a historical building. Meanwhile, some community members were alarmed by Cynthia Blanchard’s ties to HeraSoft, a cryptocurrency company helmed by her husband, Anthem Blanchard. Just two months after Copper Tree Inc.’s purchase of Price Tower, Anthem claimed the company was financially insolvent in court, according to the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise.
Despite promises from the new owners to revitalize the building through new development, including upscale restaurants, nothing permanent has materialized. Instead, the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise estimates that the debt has now ballooned to $2 million.
To keep the building afloat, Copper Tree Inc. allegedly began selling off some of the building’s furniture and artifacts, which are protected through an easement donated to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in 2011 by the Price Tower Arts Center as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site nominations. The items believed to be sold include architectural copper relief panels, a one of a kind rolling directory board, an armchair, and copper tables and stools.
According to Barbara Gordon, the Conservancy’s executive director, the easement remains intact, and as such, “This collection of items cannot be sold,” she says. This easement is a legal agreement that ensures the preservation of significant buildings and collections, protecting it through future ownership as it becomes part of the property deed. The Conservancy has enlisted lawyers to negotiate the return of items believed to be in the possession of a Dallas-based art gallery and filed UCC Financing Statements against Cynthia Blanchard, Copper Tree Inc., and Green Copper Holdings on August 8.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images
“Frank Lloyd Wright designed in a holistic environment. He considered not just the building, but the items inside it,” Gordon says. “It’s important to keep the items together to understand the design.”
Reportedly, Blanchard was privately courting buyers for the Price Tower, but now the skyscraper is heading to the auction block. On August 22, Price Tower was listed with Ten-X, an online auction site, with a starting bid of $600,000. The auction will begin on October 7 and will run through October 9. The reserve price remains undisclosed.
“This move allows us to reach a broader audience of potential buyers who can appreciate the property’s unique architectural significance,” Blanchard wrote in a press release. Blanchard did not return AD’s messages requesting comment.
The 60,335-square-foot building sits on 2.07 acres, and all the fixtures, furniture, and equipment for the restaurant and hotel will be included. This will allow new owners to reopen the businesses promptly if they wish. Currently, around 10,500 square feet of the tower holds offices, while the hotel uses approximately 49,800 square feet.
“We are committed to securing a fair and competitive sale, and we encourage all interested parties to participate in this unique opportunity to become a part of the ongoing history of Price Tower,” real estate broker Scott Schlotfelt told the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise.
The listing did not disclose how the historical art and artifacts covered by the easement would be addressed, though the valuable art collection is required to remain with the building. Gordon notes that the terms of the easement require that the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy be able to meet with prospective buyers to explain what it would mean for their purchase.
“Our hope is that Price Tower can find new investors dedicated to its preservation and the easement to safeguard these collection items,” Gordon said.
Long-time tenants in the building included B Monthly, a local magazine, which has already begun moving out. Managing Editor Keith McPhail says that he’s sympathetic to the challenges any owner of Price Tower will face, as many improvements that would make it more modern and energy efficient can’t be completed due to the building’s place on the National Historic Registry.
“I hope the community can come together and support the Price Tower. It’s sad to see the building chained up and the lights off,” McPhail says. “Seeing it dark at night is a sad day.”
“Our hope is that Price Tower can find new investors dedicated to its preservation and the easement to safeguard these collection items,” Gordon said.
While the ultimate fate of Price Tower is unknown, Bartlesville residents remain hopeful it can be saved. “Any place can have beautiful architecture, but the stories that make an impact leave lasting memories,” says Maria Gus, executive director of Visit Bartlesville. “We believe the story of the Price Tower is far from over.”
