The Price Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright’s only realized high-rise building, and a beloved landmark in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, has been going through a financial controversy, with recent developments announcing an October auction, as revealed by the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. Designed in 1952, the tower was commissioned by Harold C. Price, Sr., as a multipurpose tower for commercial and residential use.
In March 2023, the structure was sold by the nonprofit organization PTAC to a local company, Copper Tree Group, reportedly for a token fee of $10. Initially, the new owners revealed plans to renovate the tower and refurbish it to include a 19-room hotel and restaurant. Cynthia Blanchard, CEO of Copper Tree, also declared intentions to create a digital version of the tower for the Metaverse and to create additional revenue streams through Price Tower-themed NFTs.
Just 18 months after the acquisition, no renovation works had begun. Journalists also revealed that the Copper Tree Group had closed the structure, evicted tenants, laid off employees, and sold Wright-designed furnishings and artworks. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has reacted, aiming to protect the building and prevent the owners from selling certain items in order to preserve the integrity of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work.
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“The Tree that Escaped the Crowded Forest”: Lessons from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price TowerThe latest news release shows that the Price Tower is set to be sold in a public auction scheduled for October. The auction does not include the art collection inside the buildings, which is addressed as “Phase 2 of the new ownership transition.” According to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, they have not been notified about the sale, despite the obligation to do so per the preservation easement.
Due to various conditions, several works of modern architectural heritage have been declared under threat. The Wayfarers Chapel, known locally as "The Glass Church," designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Franck Lloyd Wright, has announced plans to be disassembled, after having suffered extensive damage due to “accelerated land movement” in the Palos Verdes peninsula in Los Angeles. Similarly, the Rothko Chapel in Huston, Texas is now indefinitely closed due to damages produced during Hurricane Beryl.
