Brief history of Price Tower
A brief history of the Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK.
Andy Dossett / Examiner Enterprise, Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy initiated legal action to protect the significant collection of architectural and design objects related to the Price Tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Conservancy, which holds a conservation easement for Price Tower, expressed concern that the building’s owners recently sold items covered by the easement without the organization’s consent and may intend to sell more in the future. To address this, the Conservancy filed declarations under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) against the owners to inform prospective buyers that these items cannot be sold without their consent.
“The new owners have purchased a world-famous piece of architecture as well as a museum collection,” said Barbara Gordon, executive director of the Conservancy. “A conservation easement covering the building and items in the collection was donated to the Conservancy in 2011 and is recorded on the property deed.”
In March 2023, the Price Tower Arts Center, the nonprofit organization that owned the tower, held a special general meeting and unanimously approved the sale of the tower to a “local group” consisting of the owners of Herasoft, Anthem and Cynthia Blanchard, and a group of former Herasoft employees primarily based in Florida.
At the time, the sale was described as the best way to make the tower “a place that our community and all of Oklahoma can be proud of and experience.”
The new owners came up with a bold plan to transform the tower into a so-called “Silicon Ranch,” which included a $10 million capital injection, NFTs, a crypto coin, upgrades, restaurants, and licensing deals. None of these plans or promises came to fruition.
Conservation authority steps in to preserve Tower’s legacy
In late April 2024, the Examiner-Enterprise reported that the new owners of Price Tower, due to financial difficulties, had sold items from the collection to a Dallas-based midcentury design dealer. After the news broke, the Conservancy reminded the Blanchards that they were not allowed to sell items protected by easement without their consent.
In late June, the Conservancy discovered that the protected items were part of that sale. Items offered for sale online included a unique rolling signpost board, architectural copper relief panels, an armchair, and copper tables and stools, all designed by Wright for Price Tower.
In early July, the Conservancy sent legal notices demanding that the items cease reselling and be returned to the Price Tower collection. Although the Conservancy has not received a response from the tower or its owners, it has communicated with the Dallas dealer who still owns the items.
The Conservancy says it is prepared to take legal action against any purchaser of items under its easement to ensure the preservation of the unique collection in Price Tower.
“The owners have no right to sell protected items without our consent,” Gordon said. “This practice is not a sustainable way to finance the operation of the tower. It kills the goose that laid the golden eggs.”
“After the sale, the items will lose their direct connection to the tower and will no longer be available to visitors and residents of Bartlesville.”
The Blanchards, owners of Price Tower, did not respond to a request for comment at the time of this article’s publication, but have previously told other news outlets that although they initially agreed to the easement, it no longer applies, so they can do whatever they want with the tower and its artifacts.
