Prairie House Selected for
2025 Most Endangered Places by Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.
On Thursday, May 30, approximately 50 people gathered at Preservation Oklahoma’s headquarters, to unveil the 2025 Most Endangered Places in Oklahoma. Along with the President of the Preservation Oklahoma Board of Directors, Tori Raines, Prairie House Preservation Society’s board member and now Vice President, Ron Frantz was the co-emcee.
Eight properties scattered across Oklahoma made the 2025 list. Herb Greene’s 1961 Prairie House in Norman, Oklahoma, was one of the listed properties. Executive Director Beau Jennings, in attendance, spoke about the architectural importance of this internationally known dwelling. From the Preservation Oklahoma website, this is the description of the house:
The Prairie House is considered by some to be one of the most coherent embodiments of the type of organic architecture exemplified by Bruce Goff and his followers. Herb Greene designed his own Prairie House in Norman. Greene’s residence drew popular acclaim after Julius Shulman published photos of the home in the 1961 issue of Life magazine. The Prairie House is one of only three buildings still standing in Norman from this significant era in Oklahoma history. There is a critical need to preserve this endangered historic architecture, and plans are being developed in hopes of restoring and developing the structure.
Other 2025 Most Endangered Properties include:
Remnants of WWII POW Camp, Alva, Oklahoma
Orpheum/Cook Theater, Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Canadian County Jail, El Reno, Oklahoma
West Winds Motel, Erick, Oklahoma
The Vogel House, Vinita, Oklahoma
Grady County Historical Society Museum, Chickasha, Oklahoma
Arkansas River Valley Archeological Sites associated with Spiro Mounds, Spiro, Oklahoma
We appreciate the Selection Committee’s review of our nomination, and Preservation Oklahoma’s promotion of the 2025 Most Endangered Properties List.