The Art Deco, Boston Avenue United Methodist Church has an 8,000-member congregation that has met in the heart of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, since 1893.
The church has all the elements of Art Deco design, the celebration of the vertical, zigzags, abstract organic plants, the use of metals & glass with a wide range of natural stone, terra cotta, Indiana limestone and Minnesota granite can all be found, most noticeable at the top of the tower.
From a Plaque within the Church.
"Boston Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church.
Has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
This Church possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America."
Designated by the National Parks Service.
From the Church Web Site:
"The Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, located in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma was completed in 1929. It is considered to be one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical art deco architecture in the United States and has been designated by the Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark as well as listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History of the Building from the Church Web Site:
"Architects were hired, then dismissed when their suggestions were less than inspiring. Finally, in desperation, the wife of Building Committee Chair C. C. Cole asked Miss Adah Robinson, a University of Tulsa art instructor, for her help. The sketch Robinson produced a few days later was a real shock to committee members, but her idea gradually caught on. The design was done in a new art deco style rather than the then-popular Gothic architecture, and included a round sanctuary and a slender 15-story tower. With the 1920's oil boom at its peak, church members were optimistic enough about the future to embrace both the new look and the $1,500,000 commitment. Robinson's design was approved, and Rush, Endacott, & Rush architectural firm was hired. A young man named Bruce Goff , one of Robinson's students and an employee of the firm, did the drafting and another former student, Robert Garrison, created the sculptures. Robinson supervised the project, working closely with church members and construction workers through the building's completion. Construction took over two years, and finally on June 9, 1929, church members moved into the twentieth-century art deco masterpiece that still houses the Boston Avenue congregation today." Text Source: Text Source: (
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