On the Market: Two NE Oklahoma MCM Treasures

by Lynne Rostochil.  First three photos of Osher House by Lynne Rostochil; the rest of the photos are from each home’s real estate posting on Zillow.

  Osher House Tulsa 3

Last week, two mid-century modern masterpieces hit the market, the quirky Osher House in Tulsa and the even quirkier, if possible, Acorn Hull House in Catoosa.

In the nearly 3,000 sf, free-form style Osher House, architect A. Blaine Imel pays homage to his OU professor, Bruce Goff, with his use of aqua glass cullets on the facade.  The rest of the design is all Imel, though!  The house was built in 1963 and has been in the same family for 43 years;

Osher House Tulsa 1

Osher House Tulsa 2

You can check out the listing for more details — here are the photos:

Osher House Tulsa listing 2

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The home was listed for $439,900 and remained on the market for just two days before it sold.  I hope the new buyer will love this unique place as much as the previous owner has.

The second house to hit the market this week is located in Catoosa, home of the iconic Blue Whale along Route 66:

route 66 blue whale catoosa

To say that the Acorn Hull House is a one-of-a-kind design is a vast understatement:

acorn hull house

The nearly 14,000 sf home was designed for R.D. Hull, who invented the world’s first spincast fishing reel in 1947, which was produced by the Zero Hour Bomb Company (Zebco).  To pay homage to Hull’s fortune-making invention, Stanfield designed the home in the shape of a fishing reel — love that!.  At the time the home was designed, Stanfield, Imel, and Frank Wallace (who designed the space age ORU campus in Tulsa) were practicing together, so all three of these visionary architects may have had a had in the home’s unique design.  Construction began in 1969 and this jaw dropper of a home was completed in 1971.

Rumor has it that Zebco fishing rods are buried all over the 80-acre property.  When customers would send in their rods to be repaired, Hull just replaced them and used the old rods as landfill.  I hope the new owners go on a little treasure hunt with metal detector in hand in search of those old rods!

The best part of the Acorn Hull House is that it doesn’t look like one thing has been updated since it was new, which is a GREAT thing.  Everything is original and looks just as fresh and fun as it did back in 1971!

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And here’s the massive indoor pool — WOWZA!!

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The home, which has never before been on the market, is listed for a mere $6,000,000 and comes with the 80 unspoiled acres and two lakes.  Although that’s a little out of my price range, I hope the new buyer appreciates the home’s perfect vintage state and doesn’t feel the need to “modernize” the place.  You can go to the listing and see even more photos and discover what an amazing time capsule Acorn Hull House is!

Go here to see a news story about the house.  You can also read a Tulsa World article about the sale.