Eugene Bavinger House | |
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
Front of the house
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| Location | 730 60th Ave., NE, Norman, Oklahoma |
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| Coordinates | 35°13′40″N 97°21′10″W / 35.22778°N 97.35278°W / 35.22778; -97.35278 |
| Built | 1950 |
| Architect | Bruce Goff |
| Architectural style | Organic |
| Demolished | 2016 |
| MPS | Bruce Goff Designed Resources in Oklahoma MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 01001354[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 13, 2001 |
| Removed from NRHP | February 28, 2017 |
The Bavinger House was completed in 1955 in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. It was designed by architect Bruce Goff. Considered a significant example of organic architecture,[2][3] the house was awarded the Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1987.[4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001,[2] and was removed from the National Register in 2017 after being demolished the previous year.[5]
The house was constructed over the course of five years by Nancy and Eugene Bavinger, the residents of the house, who were artists, along with the help of a few of Eugene's art students, volunteers, and local businesses. The Bavingers moved into the house in February 1955, and Life magazine featured the house in its September 19, 1955 issue.[6] Despite its remote location, the house became an attraction; the Bavingers first tried to limit visitors by charging a dollar per guest. Life reported that the tours had yielded over $4,000, and eventually (according to Goff) they raised over $50,000 before finally deciding they didn't want to be disturbed by the constant flow of tourists.[7]
The house was vacant for more than a decade and had fallen into disrepair before it was reported in 2008 that the house would be renovated and reopened for tours.[8] Fundraising efforts, however, ran into difficulties.[9][10] The house was damaged and its central spire left broken at a 45-degree angle after a powerful windstorm in June 2011.[9] The official website for the house stated that the house "will not be able to re-open",[10][11][12][13] which was later changed to "Closed Permanently", and in August 2012 further edited to say "The House will never return under its current political situation".[13] The official website was taken offline in August, 2011, and its domain license was allowed to expire.[14]
In April 2016 The Norman Transcript reported that the house had been demolished and completely removed, leaving only a vacant lot, as confirmed by the president of the Bruce Goff-focused preservation organization Friends of Kebyar.[15]
The wall of the house was a 96-foot long logarithmically curved spiral, made from 200 tons of local "ironrock" sandstone dynamited (by Eugene) from a piece of purchased farmland near Robin Hill School, a few miles away from the house and hauled back on Eugene's 48 Chevy flatbed truck. The structure was anchored by a recycled oil field drill stem that was reused to make a central mast more than 55 feet high. The house had no interior walls; instead there were a series of platforms at different heights, some with curtains that could be drawn for privacy. The ground floor was covered with pools and planted areas.[2][16][17][18][19][unreliable source?]
Closed due to storm damage . . . Due to severe storm damage we will not be able to re-open
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